Breaking Down The 2020 McDonald’s All-American Roster

Finally, the day arrived. It took time, for sure, but on Thursday Jan. 23 the McDonald’s All-American Game roster was finally made public. As you already know, because you’re a fan of Spring high-school hoop showcases, the roster contains 24 players from all around the country and is packed full of talent.

Up to eight players are ranked inside 247Sports Composite top 10 players in the 2020 class of ballers and the rest of the field doesn’t fall even just one bit short of that level. Let’s get through what the announcement brought with it and analyze both where these studs come from and where they are headed next—at least those who have already made their near-future decisions.

Presenting the 2020 MCDAAG’s 24-man roster

We made it! Another year, another list full of talented hoopers poised to fill your YouTube inbox with highlight tapes and your Twitter feed with short clips of impossible pre-game dunks and plays full of flair. There will be voices out there clamoring for more competitive games, like those from “back in the day”.

Sure, but hey, why not focusing on what these players do instead of what they don’t? At the end of the day, this is just for fun, folks! Enjoy this thing and forget about competitiveness. We’ll have plenty of that coming our way from all of these studs in no more than a couple of years, so there will be time for at at a much brighter and higher stage.

Without further ado, here are your 2020 MCAADG’s participants, as currently ranked on 247Sports Composite:

Now, that’s a loaded field of names. As a quick rundown of things, we have:

• Every player ranked first through fifth in the 2020 HS class
• Eight out of the max top-10 seniors making the cut (no. 6 Jalen Johnson and no. 7 Makur Maker missed it)
• Seventeen of the top-20 players in the nation (no. 20 Devin Askew missed it), including nine straight ranked from 11th to 19th
• Five players from the 21st to the 30th spot on the ranks
• Just two guys out of the top-30, no. 31 Dawson Garcia and no. 58 R.J. Davis

Compared to MCDAAG’s rosters from the past (I have data going back to the 2003 season), the 2020 class ranks high no matter the angle you look at it from. There are only two prospects ranked outside of the top-30 (there were fewer—one—only in 2017), the average rank of those selected came out at 16.25 (ninth overall in the past 18 years), and there are 20 kids ranked inside the top-25 (third-most since 2003).

Just in case you weren’t convinced to tune in come April, I guess all of that makes for a strong case to get you pasted to the TV by the time these guys get to ball together.

Where do players come from?

Let’s break down things in different categories so they are easier to digest, starting with the states players come from:

• Surprisingly, up to 13 US states will be represented in this year’s MCDAAG
• California leads the pack with five names hailing from the Golden State
• Florida is the only other state with more than two players—four—to claim
• Texas is one of four states (along with Georgia, Minnesota, and Illinois) with two prospects and has the best-ranked guys on average of them
• The rest of the states (Massachusetts, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, and New York) present one-off bids, with Missouri boasting the highest-ranked one

Moving on to actual high schools they’re playing their senior seasons at, here is what we have:

• A grand total of 19 preps will be represented in the game
• Montverde Academy (FL)—a true high school staple—will put three names in the 2020 MCDAAG
• Three organizations were able to put a couple of kids in the final roster: IMG Academy (FL), Prolific Prep (IL), and Sierra Canyon (CA)
• There are 15 other HS with guys making the cut. The best ranked—no.1 in the nation Evan Mobley—is playing at Rancho Christian in Temecula these days

Where are these kids going to play next?

We’re still away from the final day of decisions from the 2020 class of seniors, but of the 24 men that made this year’s MCDAAG roster we already know where 20 of them will be playing come next season. Here is a little breakdown of what these committed-kids have ahead:

• 20 of the total 24 players have already committed to a DI NCAA College to play for during the 2020-21 season
• North Carolina leads the way with four commits to their name, followed by Duke with three and Kentucky with two
• Kentucky’s two players have an average rank of 9.5, followed by Duke’s 26.4 (three players) and North Carolina’s 27.3 (four players)
• Up to 11 other colleges have one player from the roster committed to them. USC snatched the best senior of the class, while Oklahoma State came away with the second-best ranked player in the nation (Cade Cunningham)

As far as those uncommitted, here is what we can tell you at this point:

• There are four undecided players: no. 3 Jalen Green, no. 5 Ziaire Williams, no. 8 Greg Brown, and no. 11 Josh Christopher
• Jalen Green is debating between Memphis and Oregon, yet the last predictions all point toward Memphis getting him
• Ziaire Williams will most probably stay in-state, with Stanford leading the way over USC for now
• Greg Brown is almost a lock to become a Texas Longhorn next season but Kentucky has made a late push that could flip him
• Josh Christopher’s name has been all around the place, from HBCU Howard—as I wrote about a while ago—to UCLA, where it seems most plausible he ends at

So, when is the game and where can I catch it?

The game will be played on Wednesday April 1, 2020 at the Toyota Center (Houston). The Clutch City will host the full event, which will start with its activities at 4:00 PM. The Girls Game will kick off the show at that time with the Boys Game expected to see its tip-off at 6:00 PM.

Nothing confirmed yet, but ESPN will most probably broadcast the game as it’s been the case for the last few years. And I, like you, can’t wait.