Over the weekend, the organizers of the 40th annual McDonald’s All-American Game, an annual basketball all-star game that features some of the best high school and prep stars from across the country, announced the rosters for the 2017 contest that will take place on March 29 at the United Center in Chicago.
While there were no players from New England selected for either the boys’ or girls’ rosters, Massachusetts will be represented on the bench, as Oliver Ames head coach Laney Clement-Holbrook was chosen to lead the East team.
OA athletic director Bill Matthews was notified early last week that Clement-Holbrook had been nominated and, according to the coach, the selection committee officially invited her to coach the team on Thursday.
Clement-Holbrook said that at the time she was too busy preparing for the Tigers’ important Hockomock game with division rival Attleboro on Friday, which OA won, to focus on the McDonald’s All-American Game selection, but she is appreciative of the recognition
“It is truly an honor but one that I am still surprised at because the work we do with our players is always our most important work,” said Clement-Holbrook by email on Monday.
She continued, “Certainly it is a chance of a lifetime to be around the very best in the sport that has been my life’s work.”
Last season, Clement-Holbrook broke the state record for career wins that was held by Vi Goodnow (Frontier Regional). The Tigers would go on to win the Davenport division title, the 18th league title under Clement-Holbrook, and the Div. 2 South title before losing in the state semifinal at the TD Garden.
As of Monday, Clement-Holbrook had 651 career victories, all of them with Oliver Ames.
The East roster contains six players from Texas, the most represented state in the game, and features talents such as University of Connecticut-commits Megan Walker (Monacan High – North Chesterfield, Va.) and Mikayla Coombs (Wesleyan School – Peachtree Corners, Ga.). This is the 16th edition of the girls’ game, which began in 2002, and the West has won 10 of the previous 15, including last year.
For more information about the McDonald’s All-American Game, visit http://www.mcdonaldsallamerican.com.