Duke basketball signees overshadowed at McDonald’s All-American Game

The Duke basketball signees were overshadowed at the McDonald’s All-American Game. 

It was clear that the trio of Duke basketball players were not going to be the main storyline of the McDonald’s All-American Game on Tuesday night, barring an electric performance, due to the notable celebrities sitting court side.

LeBron James and his family were in attendance to watch his son, Bronny James, take the floor in one of his final events as a high school athlete from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

However, to James Jr.’s credit, he thrived on the attention and hype in an epic game of the historic event.

Bronny James finished with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and all of his made baskets were 3-point attempts as he silenced the doubters that criticized him for being invited to the game ahead of players ranked higher than him.

ALSO READ: Mackenzie Mgbako expects a ‘chip’ with Duke

The uncommitted four-star guard is reportedly still considering USC, Ohio State, and Oregon as his college destinations but did not attend any press conferences during the week to address his future.

Duke five-star shooting guard Jared McCain joined James Jr. on Team West as the future Blue Devil, who won the 3-point shootout on Monday night, made just 1-of-6 attempts from distance and missed a half court shot at the buzzer which would have sent the game to overtime.

McCain finished with nine points, one rebound, and two assists on 4-of-10 shooting overall as Team West fell, 109-106.

Duke basketball duo on Team East also struggles

Mackenzie Mgbako and Sean Stewart represented the Blue Devils on Team East but the Duke duo was also overshadowed by Kentucky standouts DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw.

Wagner, named as the game’s Most Valuable Player, posted all of his 19 points in the second half while Bradshaw dominated inside with 18 points and eight rebounds.

ALSO READ: Jared McCain ‘hyped’ to finally play with Tyrese Proctor

Mgbako was uncharacteristically passive in the game, attempting just two shots in nearly 15 minutes on the court and going scoreless, despite grabbing two rebounds, in the showcase event.

Stewart, like Bradshaw, showed his tenacity for physicality in the paint with eight rebounds as the Montverde Academy (Fla.) standout added six points to the winning cause on 3-of-8 shooting.

Sean Stewart won the McDonald’s All-American Powerade JamFest dunk contest while Jared McCain won the Powerade JamFest 3-point shootout on Monday night.

Duke has the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports, but five-star point guard Caleb Foster or five-star forward TJ Power was not invited to the game.