Basketball: Three Future Buckeyes Named to McDonald’s All-America Teams – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio Three future Ohio State basketball student-athletes were named to the 2008 McDonald’s All-America squads Wednesday. William Buford, B. J. Mullens and Samantha Prahalis will represent Ohio State and the nation’s top high school recruits March 29 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
Buford, who will be a freshman guard for the Buckeyes next year, will represent the East team in the McDonald’s event in 2008. The 6-5 guard currently plays for Libbey High School in Toledo, Ohio. Mullens, a 7-1 center from Canal Winchester (Ohio) High School, will represent the West. Mullens also signed with the Buckeyes last November and will be a freshman next season.
Thad Matta, Ohio State head coach, has added a total of five McDonald’s All-Americans to the Buckeye men’s basketball program in his four years in Columbus.
Prahalis, who will represent the East squad, is one of the nation’s best prep point guards who has been starting for her varsity team since the seventh grade. She is ranked as the sixth-best prospect at her position in the country by HoopGurlz.com and the 12th-best overall by All-Star Girls Report. The 5-7 guard is averaging 30.1 points, 7.7 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 7.4 steals this season for Commack High School on Long Island. Prahalis has had the three highest scoring games of her career this season, including a career-high 50 points against Central Islip last week.
Prahalis is the sixth Buckeye to make the McDonald’s All-America team in head coach Jim Foster’s tenure, joining Jessica Davenport (2003), Brandie Hoskins (2003), Marscilla Packer (2004), Alison Jackson (2007) and Jantel Lavender (2007).
On the men’s side, 12 past and future Buckeyes have been associated with the annual event. Four McDonald’s All-Americans were a part of Ohio State’s 2006-07 squad that finished 35-4 overall, 15-1 in Big Ten Conference play, won the league regular season title outright and played for the NCAA national title vs. Florida last April. Ivan Harris, Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook, all former McDonald’s All-Americans, played for the Buckeyes last season.
Clark Kellogg (1979), Perry Carter (1987), Treg Lee (1987), Jim Jackson (1989), Charles Macon (1992) and Greg Simpson (1992) all played for Ohio State after playing in the McDonald’s All-American game. Harris played in the 2003 event while Oden, Conley Jr. and Cook played in the 2006 contest.
