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McDonald’s All-Americans: East Team
SF Al-Farouq Aminu
HIGH SCHOOL: Norcross, Ga.
COLLEGE: Wake Forest
BUZZ: Having a huge season and aiming for a third straight state championship.
SG William Buford
HIGH SCHOOL: Toledo (Ohio) Libbey
COLLEGE: Ohio State
BUZZ: The McDonald’s All-American road continues for the Buckeyes.
PF Ed Davis
HIGH SCHOOL: Mechanicsville (Va.) Benedictine School
COLLEGE: North Carolina
BUZZ: Having as good of a senior season as any big man in the nation.
PG Tyreke Evans
HIGH SCHOOL: Aston (Pa.) American Christian
COLLEGE: undecided
BUZZ: Could lead the game in scoring. He is wired to put the ball in the hole.
PF Jamychal Green
HIGH SCHOOL: Montgomery (Ala.) St. Jude
COLLEGE: Alabama
BUZZ: The high-energy big man is one of the toughest players to defend inside.
SG Sylven Landesberg
HIGH SCHOOL: Queens (N.Y.) Holy Cross
COLLEGE: Viginia
BUZZ: A huge senior season helped push him into the game.
SG Mike Rosario
HIGH SCHOOL: Jersey City (N.J.) St. Anthony
COLLEGE: Rutgers
BUZZ: Has helped pilot St. Anthony to an undefeated high school record and No. 1 overall ranking.
PF Samardo Samuels
HIGH SCHOOL: Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s Prep
COLLEGE: Louisville
BUZZ: Has shined in nearly every national event he has played in this season.
SF Chris Singleton
HIGH SCHOOL: Dunwoody, Ga.
COLLEGE: Florida State
BUZZ: Hoping to help his Dunwoody team win another state title down the home stretch.
PG Kemba Walker
HIGH SCHOOL: New York (N.Y.) Rice
COLLEGE: Connecticut
BUZZ: One of the top pure point guards in the nation and is the best setup man in this game.
SG Elliot Williams
HIGH SCHOOL: Memphis (Tenn.) St. George’s
COLLEGE: Duke
BUZZ: One of the most complete guards in the nation.
C Tyler Zeller
HIGH SCHOOL: Washington, Ind.
COLLEGE: North Carolina
BUZZ: Putting up ridiculous numbers in final year in the Hoosier State.
McDonald’s All-Americans: West Team
PF Luke Babbitt
HIGH SCHOOL: Reno (Nev.) Galena
COLLEGE: Nevada
BUZZ: First national accolade of many for future Nevada star.
SG Demar DeRozan
HIGH SCHOOL: Compton, Calif.
COLLEGE: USC
BUZZ: Players like DeRozan shine in the McDonald’s game. See J.R. Smith and Gerald Green.
PG Larry Drew
HIGH SCHOOL: Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft
COLLEGE: North Carolina
BUZZ: Another North Carolina-bound All-American.
C Michael Dunigan
HIGH SCHOOL: Chicago (Ill.) Farragut
COLLEGE: Oregon
BUZZ: The gritty center should be a defensive force inside the paint in this game.
PG Jrue Holiday
HIGH SCHOOL: North Hollywood (Calif.) Campbell Hall
COLLEGE: UCLA
BUZZ: Having as good of a senior season as anyone in the nation this year.
SG Scotty Hopson
HIGH SCHOOL: Hopkinsville (Ky.) University Heights
COLLEGE: undecided
BUZZ: Along with Evans, he’ll be one of the few unsigned prospects in the game.
PG Brandon Jennings
HIGH SCHOOL: Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill
COLLEGE: Arizona
BUZZ: Has been waiting for this big stage since the day he started high school.
SG Malcolm Lee
HIGH SCHOOL: Riverside (Calif.) J.W. North
COLLEGE: UCLA
BUZZ: Gets lost in the California shadow of Holiday and DeRozan but worthy of McDonald’s game.
PF Greg Monroe
HIGH SCHOOL: Harvey (La.) Helen Cox
COLLEGE: Georgetown
BUZZ: The big man really shined last summer playing with many of these same players.
C B.J. Mullens
HIGH SCHOOL: Canal Winchester, Ohio
COLLEGE: Ohio State
BUZZ: The best NBA big man prospect in the class of 2008.
PG Iman Shumpert
HIGH SCHOOL: Oak Park (Ill.) Oak Park River Forest
COLLEGE: Georgia Tech
BUZZ: Smooth, steady and full of star-power.
PG Willie Warren
HIGH SCHOOL: Fort Worth (Texas) North Crowley
COLLEGE: Oklahoma
BUZZ: Of all of the players in the game, he has the biggest chance for a wow moment.

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP)—There’s no quit in the UCLA Bruins. Good thing, since they keep finding trouble and inventing ways to escape.

Darren Collison scored the go-ahead basket on a one-handed layin with 9 1/2 seconds remaining, Josh Shipp blocked Donald Sloan’s final drive and the West Region’s No. 1 seed held on for a 53-49 victory over Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night.

“Once the time clock goes zero, zero, we’ll stop playing,” Collison said. “We’ve been through that all season. We knew what we had to do; we knew who was going to win, and all the coaches said we just had to do the right things to win the game.”

The Bruins (33-3) won their 12th in a row and will face Western Kentucky or San Diego next week in Phoenix. Their 33rd win is a record at the tradition-laden school that has 11 national championship banners, and their 96th NCAA tourney victory trails only Kentucky’s 100.

“That was reminiscent of a lot of games we seem to be in lately, where we’re having to make dramatic comebacks in the last few minutes,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “But the one thing that I love about our team is that they know in their heart they’re always going to win the game. They’re going to find a way.”

Urged on by a pro-UCLA crowd that made it seem like a home game, the Bruins rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half.

Freshman Kevin Love had 19 points and 11 rebounds—his 21st double-double— and UCLA overcame the combined 3-for-14 shooting of Shipp and Russell Westbrook. Love had seven of UCLA’s 11 blocked shots.

“I was just very into it,” said Love, who squeezed the ball and screamed toward the crowd during a late timeout. “I flexed so much, my muscles kind of hurt after this and also I stuck my tongue out so much that it was pretty crazy.”

Sloan led the Aggies (25-11) with 12 points and Josh Carter added 10. A&M was trying to get back to the final 16 for the second straight year. Instead, the Aggies fell to 7-10 in NCAA tourney games and 0-4 against UCLA.

“I thought we were in total control, always one step ahead,” first-year A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. “I thought we were going to win.”

Collison led UCLA with 21 points, including 14 in the first half when he didn’t miss a shot from the field, line or 3-point range.

Love, the newcomer to NCAA tourney pressure, and Collison, the wily veteran of consecutive Final Four appearances, dominated the final 3 minutes. Love converted consecutive turnaround jumpers—one tied it at 45 and the other gave the Bruins their first lead since late in the first half.

“Kevin’s two little fallaways were incredible shots,” Howland said. “Those are like little H-O-R-S-E shot plays, unbelievable with that kind of stuff on the line. Your season’s on the line and he could step up and make those plays. That’s why he’s a great player.”

But Joseph Jones, who bumped and clawed with Love in the post most of the game, got in front of the Pac-10 Player of the Year and scored A&M’s first field goal in nearly 10 minutes to tie it at 47.

The first of Collison’s two one-handed layins put the Bruins back in front by two with 55 seconds left. Sloan tied it for the final time at 49 before Collison floated in another one-hander, furiously pounding his chest as the crowd exploded.

“That was vintage Darren Collison,” Howland said. “Driving down the lane, going right, high off the glass, kissing it in. The second one was really a blessing because that thing kind of rolled in. Believe me, I’m very thankful.”
Texas A&M Mark Turgeon yells from the sideline during the second half against UCLA in their second round basketball game at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, March 22, 2008 in Anaheim, Calif.
Texas A&M Mark Turgeon yells f…
AP - Mar 23, 12:23 am EDT

Shipp was credited with the block on Sloan’s desperate drive.

“I drove and went up to shoot a layup and it was brought back down either by my force or somebody else’s,” Sloan said. “Leave it up to other people to see, but it didn’t go our way.”

Westbrook punctuated the comeback with a fastbreak dunk at the buzzer that triggered a huge celebration on one bench and despair on the other.

“That was same thing we do all year—lock down, switch everything and fortunately, I was able to get my hand on it and make the play,” Shipp said. “The guy had just made a shot, so we knew he was most likely going to take it.”

The Aggies had planned to go for a 3-pointer on their final play, with Dominique Kirk as the shooter and Carter as the decoy. But that didn’t develop.

“I was going to run out of here with a one-point win,” Turgeon said. “Sloan just went a little too quick, but he was feeling good about himself and thought he could get to the basket.”
UCLA coach Ben Howland argues a call during the first half against Texas A&M in their second round basketball game at the NCAA West Regional on Saturday, March 22, 2008 in Anaheim, Calif.
UCLA coach Ben Howland argues …
AP - Mar 23, 12:22 am EDT

The Aggies outscored the Bruins 27-11 over both halves, including 8-0 and 7-0 runs, for a 36-26 lead. Carter opened the second half with a 3-pointer, then his jumper hit the side of the backboard and went in before Jones scored around Love to give the Aggies their largest lead.

That’s when UCLA rallied with a 17-8 run. Love scored seven, Collison hit his fifth 3-pointer over 7-foot DeAndre Jordan and Westbrook scored four in a row—his first points of the game—to cut it to 44-43 with 5:51 remaining.

“We did a good job against their defense, their pressure,” Turgeon said. “It just came down to Love and Collison at the end making plays.”

Even as the Bruins were scratching their way back, they were missing shots and committing some of their 14 turnovers. But the Aggies had their own problems, with Jordan and Carter picking up their third fouls at the same time.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute returned for the Bruins after missing two games with a sprained left ankle. He was clearly rusty, with a team-high eight turnovers and four fouls.

Turgeon had predicted the first team to 50 would win. It just wasn’t his.

“I just hate to see it end,” he said. “We were just really coming on.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 15-over-2 club nearly added a new member Thursday night at the Verizon Center.

Duke (28-5) needed a steal and a layup from Gerald Henderson with 12 seconds left to ward off 15th-seeded Belmont 71-70 in what turned out to be a thrilling first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament.

Gerald Henderson scored 21 points - including the game-winning basket.

Belmont (25-9) led for most of the final two minutes, going up 70-69 on two free throws from senior guard Justin Hare with 2:02 left. The Bruins then warded off a couple of Duke misses, including a short hook from Henderson that bounced in and out.

But in the final 20 seconds, Henderson intercepted a pass, drove downcourt and leapt through traffic as he laid the ball over the front of the rim. “We will be remembered as the team that almost did it,” Hare said. “It’s so hard going out that way.”

Hare launched a 40-foot prayer at the buzzer that glanced off the left side of the rim.

Belmont had an out-of-bounds play under its basket after Henderson’s clutch drive with 4 seconds left, but an errant pass was intercepted by Nelson.

Belmont would have been just the fifth No. 15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game. Richmond beat Syracuse in 1991, Santa Clara beat Arizona in 1993, Coppin State beat South Carolina in 1997 and Hampton beat Iowa State in 2001.

Belmont, the Atlantic Sun Conference champ, was playing in its third consecutive tournament as a No. 15 seed. The Bruins lost by a combined 69 points to UCLA and Georgetown in the past two seasons, but they felt far more confident about matching up with the Blue Devils - who lack the size and the inside scoring threat of most No. 2 seeds.

The undersized Bruins used a guard-heavy lineup to beat Duke at its own game. They constantly spread the court on offense and focused on launching 3-pointers and trying to beat defenders off the dribble. When Duke lagged off the outside shooters, Belmont shot 3-pointers. When Duke defenders moved up, Belmont ran backdoor cuts.

“When we saw the film, I noticed they were a similar team to us,” Belmont guard Alex Renfroe said. “I always thought it was going to be a good game.”

Renfroe was proved right.

Belmont wasn’t intimidated, and had it not made some mistakes down the stretch, it could’ve pulled off the upset. Duke’s lack of an inside game was glaring, but Belmont’s lack of athleticism wasn’t an issue.

Duke didn’t lead by more than five points in the first half until freshman Taylor King hit a fadeaway jumper from near the free-throw line to put the Blue Devils up 42-35 at halftime.

Belmont used a 7-0 run to cut Duke’s lead to 51-50, and the Bruins went on take a 58-56 lead on a three-point play from Renfroe with 10:59 left. Duke appeared to take back control when two Henderson free throws put the Blue Devils up 69-65. But Belmont’s Andy Wicke answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the game. And after Duke’s DeMarcus Nelson missed a 3-pointer, Henderson bumped Hare in the backcourt, sending him to the free throw line for the shots that gave Belmont a short-lived lead.

“Watching them on tape, they looked really good,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “Watching them in person, they’re even better.”

GOTEBORG, Sweden (AP) — Mao Asada’s opening move was heart-stopping — and not in a good way.

As she went to take off for a triple axel, a jump so hard few women even try it, she slipped and slid across the ice.

“I was surprised myself,” Asada said.

But the two-time Japanese champion rebounded with a huge triple flip-triple toe loop combination, righting her long-program fortunes and capturing the gold medal at the World Figure Skating Championships on Thursday. She finished with 185.56 points, winning by almost a point.

“I learned that I still can make up for the mistake if the other elements are good,” Asada said. “Never give up. That’s what I learned this year.”

Two-time European champion Carolina Kostner of Italy won the silver (184.68 points) and South Korea’s Kim Yu-na finished third (183.23).

Asada’s was by far the most spectacular fall of the evening, with the crowd of 9,431 groaning in unison. But it was not the only one.

All three Americans fell at least once — and their stumbles mean the United States will only be able to send two women to next year’s all-important world championships in Los Angeles. Results at the 2009 world championships determine how many spots countries get for the Vancouver Olympics.

The two best Americans needed to have a combined placement of 13 — fifth and eighth, say — to keep three spots at the 2009 worlds. But former world champion Kimmie Meissner was seventh, Bebe Liang was 10th and Ashley Wagner was 16th. That leaves no leeway for next year, with both U.S. skaters having to finish with the combined 13 to earn back a third spot for Vancouver.

It was hardly the result Meissner wanted after she shook up her training following a dismal showing at the U.S. championships. Meissner dropped longtime coach Pam Gregory and moved to Florida to train with Richard Callaghan, who coached Tara Lipinski to Olympic gold.

But Meissner fell twice, once on a salchow and once on a lutz, and finished more than 33 points behind Kim.

“I just want to do great. I did OK,” Meissner said.

As expected, the Asian women dominated this year in Goteborg, taking three of the top four positions. And, for the second year in a row, the bronze went to Kim.

The Grand Prix final winner had been shaken by a hip injury that kept her out of a competition last month, but she showed no signs of the lack of confidence she’d been confessing all week. Hers was the best long program of the bunch, with mesmerizing spins that defy both gravity and description as she appeared to lean both sideways and upwards at once.

“I thought I might have to give up,” Kim said, referring to how she felt after her fifth-place finish in the short.

Instead, she took the pressure off by treating the long program as a practice. “Considering my bad condition, I think a bronze is not a bad result,” Kim said.

Kostner came into the night with the slightest of leads after edging Asada in the short program, but lost it with a couple of shaky landings. While her long, lean figure — increasingly rare in an era of tiny teen-agers — is best suited to classical programs like her free skate, it was with her edgy modern short program that she seemed most sure of herself.

“Going into my program, I felt this responsibility that I actually have never felt before,” Kostner said. “I’m a little bit angry about the landings, they could have been better. But I had a lot of fun and that’s what matters most, right?”

It was certainly better than Miki Ando’s heartbreak.

Last year’s world champion withdrew two elements into her program after missing a combination and falling on a triple lutz. Cameras showed tears streaming down her face as she made the decision to quit. Ando said she decided to try to compete despite muscle strain on her left leg.

“Even if I didn’t win, it was important for me to try,” Ando said.

In ice dance, France’s Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder are in good position to make their first world medal a gold one. With 107.98 points going into Friday’s free dance, they have a four-point lead and Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto are still stuck in fifth place.

Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski of Russia are now second, passing Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in the original dance. But the margin between the two couples is slim, with the Russians just .45 points ahead: 103.97 to 103.52.

Belbin and Agosto came into worlds favored to become the first U.S. couple to win a world dance title. But a rare fall in compulsories dropped them to fifth place and, despite finishing fourth in the original dance, they weren’t able to make up any ground in the standings.

“This is the first time we’ve gone in hearing that perhaps we were one of the favorites for a title. That’s a lot of pressure to carry,” Belbin said. “I think I just had to put that out of my mind and realize that we can still gain a lot from this event — good or bad.”

The Americans did an energetic hoe down number, winning top levels for their elements across the board and raising the composite score to 99.71. The couple said they have been playing with elements to make it faster — and now just need to be careful not to overdo it in an attempt to make up lost ground.

“The elements are smooth. … We nailed the twizzle and we nailed the turns,” said Agosto, who jazzed up his costume with a pair of rodeo chaps over his jeans and fringe on his shirt. “It’s definitely my favorite.”

It’s finally over, or at least it will be by the end of the week.

The recruiting process for Jeannette, Pa., quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the nation’s No. 1 player, will end this week when he announces where he will play college football. Pryor has said publicly it is down to two schools, but won’t say which two. Here’s Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Mike Farrell’s take on the situation.

Pryor led his basketball team to a 76-72 overtime win over Strawberry Mansion in the Pennsylvania Class AA title game Saturday.
“I spoke to Terrelle late Sunday night after hearing about the Associated Press article where he said he was deciding this week,” said Farrell. “I knew he was going to say something about his football recruiting situation after that game, but wasn’t sure if he was going to narrow things down, give a date of his decision or what. We had discussed some things off the record; he just didn’t want it out there and he had some good reasons. I think he knew last week.”

The timing of the 6-foot-6, 235-pounder’s public comments shouldn’t be overlooked according to Farrell.

“Terrelle was hoping he would be playing for a state title in basketball on Penn State’s campus on Saturday, so there were certain things he didn’t want public last week and still doesn’t really want out there,” Farrell continued. “He has done his research. He has talked to the coaches - as well as players and recruits - from his top two teams. Now it seems like he’s ready to get it over with even though he has until April 1.”

Farrell feels the two schools he’s choosing between are obvious.

“To me, it’s Ohio State and Michigan,” Farrell said. “Had he eliminated Penn State before the basketball title game in State College, things could have gotten a little ugly or at least distracted the basketball team. There could have been some signs, some hecklers, just some general distractions that he didn’t want. I also don’t think he has ever wanted to disrespect Penn State in any way. Some of the things he’s said about Penn State like not liking the area and such, that’s just who he is ? he’s honest and tells it like it is. He loves coach Tom Bradley and has great respect for Joe Paterno, he’s always said that. I know he really wanted to win the state title and didn’t want his football issues to get in the way of things for his basketball teammates.”

Pryor scored 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead his team to a 76-72 overtime win over Strawberry Mansion in the Class AA title game Saturday. Shortly thereafter, he told the AP he’s going to sign his letter of intent and end the recruiting process.

“He didn’t even remember saying that he narrowed it down to two or whatever and didn’t know who he said it to, but he said it was accurate,” said Farrell. “He has a great deal of respect for all the coaches that have recruited him, so he doesn’t want to say one team finished second or third. I expect to see four hats (Oregon, Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State) on the table if he does the hat deal when deciding, but he’s down to two for sure.

“He wouldn’t tell me which two though, and I didn’t press him,” Farrell said. “But look at it this way. He waited until after he finished his game at Penn State to make this announcement, and he was on campus strictly for hoops - which means he never took his planned official visit to Happy Valley. He has never been to Oregon, so that leaves Ohio State and Michigan.”

Ohio State and Michigan look to be the final two for Pryor.
Pryor will talk to the head coaches at his final two schools this week before deciding.

“He spoke to Joe Paterno Sunday night and I got the impression that coach Paterno was not one of those two head coaches,” Farrell said. “I think he talks to Rich Rodriguez and Jim Tressel this week, talks it over one more time with his family and then decides.”

Farrell said Pryor had hoped to visit Penn State as well as take day trips to Ohio State and Michigan with his mother before deciding.

“He said that’s not happening now,” Farrell continued. “He said it’s his decision and his parents are backing him all the way. Is there a chance he sneaks in a visit to Penn State between now and when he decides? There’s always that chance, but it didn’t sound like it was in the plans reading between the lines.”

If Penn State is truly out, is Pryor’s father, Craig, OK with that? After all, it was Craig who wanted his son to delay signing so Penn State could get an official visit.

“I think he wanted to take his time and make sure he was making the right choice,” Farrell said. “He respected his family’s input, which is why he held off on Signing Day. His dad wanted him to give another look to Penn State. I know Terrelle talked to a few Western Pennsylvania guys currently on Penn State’s team recently about the coaching situation up there and the atmosphere. He did some research on his own, and I think his dad is good with that.”

So if it’s Ohio State and Michigan, who wins?

“To me, I’d be stunned if he picked anyplace but Ohio State,” Farrell stated. “He did say he was still doing research on Michigan and that he didn’t know, as of Sunday night, where he was going. But I think he’s pretty sure. He took that one-day trip to Ohio State for a basketball game recently, and he’s friendly with Ohio State signees like Michael Brewster and J.B. Shugarts. He really likes the area, the coaching staff and everything. There have been stunning decisions before and I’ve been wrong before, but Ohio State is my guess and has been for a long time.”

Did Pryor ever attempt to get to Penn State for that official visit?

“I think he was going to take it the same weekend his father, Craig, had emergency heart surgery a couple of weekends ago,” Farrell said. “There was a small window of opportunity to visit Penn State, but it didn’t happen.”

As for a date for the decision, Pryor indicated to Farrell he was still unsure of the particulars.

“I got a text from him Monday morning telling me I’d know when he does,” Farrell said. “He’s trying to work that out with his coach and principal. It is looking like it will be either Thursday or Friday of this week. He knows he’s going to have to do a news conference, although he’d rather just pick a school and end this.

“A lot of people said he did this for the attention, but I know that’s not true. He barely spoke to any media following Signing Day and some of the criticism really hit him hard. Once he decided to delay his decision, he wanted to wait until basketball was over to choose. It’s over now, and it’s decision time.”

And so the Terrelle Pryor saga, arguably the most hyped college football recruiting decision in history, is coming to an end.