The 2003 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an

all-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

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 (appro ...

game played on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 at Rocket Arena in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, home of the NBA's

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in 2003. The game was the 26th annual version of the

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

first played in 1978.

2003 game

The game was telecast live on ESPN.

Luol Deng Luol Ajou Deng (born 16 April 1985) is a South Sudanese–British former professional basketball player. He was a two-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 2012. Born in South Sudan that was then part of Republ ...

, Olu Famutimi and David Padgett did not play due to injuries.

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

, who played wearing number 32 instead of his usual 23, since that number was retired in honor of

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

, was named the game's MVP after finishing with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. James was the East team leading scorer, while Shannon Brown led the West team with 23 points.

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

finished with a game-high 10 assists. Of the players who participated in this game, 5 declared for the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

and were selected: LeBron James (1st overall pick), Travis Outlaw (1st round, 23rd overall), Ndudi Ebi (1st round, 26th overall), Kendrick Perkins (1st round, 27th overall) and James Lang (2nd round, 48th overall).

Dunk contest

The Powerade Jam Fest took place on March 24, 2003, at

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

's Woodling Gym, and was broadcast on ESPN on April 4, 2003. LeBron James was the winner with 250 points.

East roster

West roster

Coaches

The East team was coached by: * Head Coach Ron Hecklinski of Anderson High School (

Anderson, Indiana Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. The population was 54,788 at the 2020 census. It is named after Chief William Anderson. The city is the headquarters of the Church of God and its Anderson ...

) * Asst Coach Joe Nadaline of Anderson High School (

) * Asst Coach Doug Mitchell of North Central High School (

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

) The West team was coached by: * Head Coach Gary Ernst of Mountain View High School (

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

) * Asst Coach Dennis McGowan of Mountain View High School (

) * Asst Coach Jason Palmer of Mountain View High School (

)

References

External links

McDonald's All-American on the web
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald's 2002–03 in American basketball

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2003 in sports in Ohio Basketball competitions in Cleveland 2000s in Cleveland