The 2004 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an all-star

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

game played on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at the Ford Center in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, the future home of the NBA's

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

(then the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

). The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in 2004. The game was the 27th annual version of the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

first played in 1978. The 48 players were selected from 2,500 nominees by a committee of basketball experts. They were chosen not only for their on-court skills, but for their performances off the court as well. Coach

Morgan Wootten Morgan Bayard Wootten (April 21, 1931January 21, 2020) was an American high school basketball coach for 46 seasons at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He led the Stags to five national championships and 33 Washington Cathol ...

, who had more than 1,200 wins as head basketball coach at

DeMatha High School DeMatha Catholic High School is a four-year Catholic high school for boys located in Hyattsville, Maryland, United States. Named after John of Matha, DeMatha is under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a member of the Washington Ca ...

, was chairman of the selection committee. Legendary

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

coach

John Wooden John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as head ...

, who has been involved in the McDonald's All American Games since its inception, served as chairman of the Games and as an advisor to the selection committee. Proceeds from the 2004 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Games went to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC®) of Oklahoma and its Ronald McDonald House® program.

2004 game

The game was telecast live by

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. In the game's first appearance in the state of Oklahoma, the 14,424 in attendance were treated to a high scoring affair which featured seven NBA first round draft picks. The East broke out to an early lead with their impressive inside-outside game. Five East Team players scored in double figures, led by J.R. Smith’s (Denver Nuggets) game high 25 points. J.R. excited the crowd on numerous occasions with his high flying dunks and long distance jumpers. The East also saw a solid contribution from Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), who amassed 19 points and eight rebounds. J.R. and Dwight shared the John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award. The East controlled the second half of the game, en route to their 126-96 victory. Other key contributors for the East included, power forward Al Jefferson (Boston Celtics), who recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds, and swingman Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies), who put up 10 points and four assists. Point guard Sebastian Telfair (Boston Celtics), dished out a game high 11 assists and Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics), had 14 points and four assists. The West Team had several outstanding players who shared the spotlight. DeMarcus Nelson led the West with 22 points and five rebounds. High school teammates from Detroit, Joe Crawford (Kentucky) and Malik Hairston (Oregon) contributed 15 and 11 points respectively, while 6’11 center and first round draft pick Robert Swift (Oklahoma City Thunder) added 10 points and five rebounds.

East roster

West roster

Coaches

The East team was coached by: * Head Coach Bob Flynn of

Cardinal Gibbons School , motto_translation = "Send forth Your Spirit" , accreditation = Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools , rival = Mount Saint Joseph High School , sister_school = Seton Keough High School , mascot = ...

(

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

) * Asst Coach Neil Jones of

(

) * Asst Coach

Leroy Combs Edwin Leroy Combs (born January 1, 1961 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a retired professional basketball small forward who spent one season in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are a ...

of Noble High School (

Noble, Oklahoma Noble is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,481 at the 2010 census. Noble is Cleveland County's third-largest city behind Norman and Moore. History On A ...

) The West team was coached by: * Head Coach A.D. Burtschi of

Putnam City High School Putnam City High School (commonly, PC, Putnam City Original, and PCO) is a secondary school located in Warr Acres, Oklahoma, a northwestern suburb of metropolitan Oklahoma City, U.S.. It is one of three high schools in the Putnam City School Dis ...

(

) * Asst Coach Gary Wright of

Northwest Classen High School Northwest Classen High School is a public high school serving students in grades 9–12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History Northwest Classen High School was built in 1955 to accommodate the growing population in the northwest corridor of Okla ...

(

) * Asst Coach Don Tuley of

Capitol Hill High School Capitol Hill High School (CHHS) is a public high school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is part of the Oklahoma City Public Schools. The high school has recorded a significant history with noteworthy sucess in interscholastic sports activities. ...

(

)

Boxscore

Visitors: East

Home: West

(* = Starting Line-up)

All-American Week

Schedule

* Monday, March 29:

Powerade Powerade is a sports drink created, manufactured and marketed by The Coca-Cola Company. Its primary competitor is Gatorade, owned by PepsiCo. History In 1988, Powerade became the official sports drink of the Olympics, alongside Aquarius, anot ...

JamFest ** Slam Dunk Contest ** Three-Point Shoot-out * Wednesday, March 31: 27th Annual Boys All-American Game The

JamFest is a skills-competition evening featuring basketball players who demonstrate their skills in two crowd-entertaining ways. The slam dunk contest was first held in 1987, and a 3-point shooting challenge was added in 1989.

Contest winners

* The 2004

Slam Dunk contest was won by a member of the women's team,

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...

. This was only the second time a woman has participated in the slam dunk competition, and the first time a woman won the contest.

References

External links

McDonald's All-American on the web
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald's 2003–04 in American basketball

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2004 in sports in Oklahoma Basketball in Oklahoma