Photos: All-American Championship

Top recruits in the nation gather in NoLa to compete for bragging rights.

This past Sunday, on the in-between day of NCAA Final Four Weekend, 38 of the top high school seniors and underclassmen in the country gathered in New Orleans to compete in the second-annual All-American Championship. The Championship consisted of two all-star games, which featured several McDonald’s All-Americans, but also a few “McDonald’s slights”—those who feel they were snubbed from the prestigious event and came into NoLa with a chip on their shoulders. SLAM was in the building for both games, and snapped a handful of photos from the event (above), courtesy of Steve Puppe. In addition to the pics, here’s a short synopsis of both games, but be sure to check out our full recap for more details.

With four teams representing the East, West, North and South regions of the country, a handful of players impressed, but none moreso than UConn-bound Omar Calhoun (Middle Village, NY). Representing the East, Calhoun stole the show, scoring 26 points and taking home MVP honors in his team’s 84-72 win over the West. Texas commit Cameron Ridley scored 16 points in a losing effort, and was named MVP for the West. In the North vs. South game, Florida commit Braxton Ogbueze, a point guard at United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte, NC), sank two free throws with nine seconds left to give the South an 86-85 win. UNC commit Joel James was named MVP for the South, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Michigan-bound Glenn Robinson III earned MVP honors for the North with 16 points.