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The McDonald’s All American game has long been one of the premier events for high school basketball players, this year’s edition being no exception. Even better, though, the 2008 edition may have taken place in Milwaukee, but it had a decidedly L.A. flavor.

It all started Thursday night when the West swept the competition in the Powerade Jam Fest, led by local stars. Taft High’s Larry Drew Jr., son of the former Laker and current Atlanta Hawks assistant coach and bound for North Carolina, won the three point shooting contest. The honors kept coming as Campbell Hall senior Jrue Holiday (left), heading to Westwood in the fall, teamed up with Girl’s All American Nneke Ogwumike of Houston to win the team ball competition, while Compton High star and future USC Trojan Demar DeRozan took home honors in the Slam Dunk Contest.

As for the game, Wednesday night, the West came up short losing 107-102 to the East at the Bradley Center, but it was still a strong night for local hoops. Holiday finished with 14 points. Malcolm Lee of Riverside North, also headed to UCLA, scored three points. Drew Jr. added seven, and DeRozan pitched in 10 points for the West. Brandon Jennings of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, seen by many as the best PG in the Class of 2008, finished with 12 points and nine assists for the West. Yes, Jennings’ school is on the east coast, but he’s originally from Southern California and played for Compton Dominguez High School before transferring to Oak Hill. He originally committed to USC before de-committing and signing with the University of Arizona. (Their collective efforts earned them high marks on RiseMag.com’s game report card.)

Tyreke Evans of Pennsylvania earned game MVP honors, recording 21 points and 10 rebounds for the East.

There were plenty of local stars in the girls game, as well, as the West cruised to a 80-64 win. Jasmine Dixon of Long Beach had eight points, and point guard Nikki Speed of Marlborough, with nine points, four assists, and two steals was named co-MVP along with Brooklyn Pope of Fort Worth (all three are headed to Rutgers). Many of you probably saw one of the four dimes Speed dropped on the night- a sick over the head pass featured on SportsCenter’s Top Ten.

All in all, it was an excellent show in Milwaukee, to say the least, for local high school hoops.

Rahshaun Haylock is a production assistant for CBS2/KCAL9 Sports and does play-by-play and sports reporting for SportsNetUSA.net Internet radio. He likes to take a look at some of the less-talked about issues in SoCal sports.

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