Tyreke Evans was named MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game after scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the East’s 107-102 victory Wednesday over the West at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Rutgers-bound guard Mike Rosario had a stellar game for the East, scoring 18 points on 
f-13 shooting to go with five steals. He was 1-of 4 from 3 and had a nice breakaway dunk. Lightning quick UConn commit Kemba Walker was also very impressive in scoring 13 points. Arizona-bound point guard Brandon Jennings, sporting an old-school high-top fade, flashed his passing skills and athleticism while tallying 10 points and nine assists for the West.
Evans, one of two undecided players in the game, will announce his college choice April 16 on ESPNU and will decide between Memphis, Texas, UConn and Villanova. Somebody might want to wake up ESPN announcer Thom Brennan and let him in on it. At one point, Brennan was asked for his best guess on where the 6-6 Evans would end up and he said, “My best guess is he’ll leave Philadelphia, so I say Louisville, Tennessee or Texas.” Two of those three schools aren’t even recruiting Evans.
If you’re Rutgers, you couldn’t ask for a better week of publicity. First Fred Hill’s staff lands commitments from 6-8 St. Benedict’s junior Greg Echenique and 6-7 Blair Academy junior Austin Johnson on Monday. Then Rosario goes out and plays with the 23 best players in the nation, garnering free press for Rutgers on ESPN.
“I’m very excited,” Rosario told me for a story before the game. “It was just something that I dreamed about since I was a kid. I looked at TV and went, ‘Wow, those guys are going to be labeled as McDonald’s All-Americans.”
In the girls game, five Rutgers commits participated, with RU-bound Brooklyn Pope scoring 13 points and future teammate Nikki Speed adding nine points, four assists and two steals in a victory for the West. Pope and Speed were named Co-MVPs.
(Photo courtesy Rivals)
