If you want to win an NCAA title you need a good coach, a great resume…and a McDonald’s All-American. Only 1 championship team since 1979 has not had such a player (Maryland in 2002). The 42nd annual McDonald’s All-American Game will take place on March 27th in Atlanta, GA, and the rosters were announced on January 24th after selecting the 24 best players in the nation from a whopping 2500 nominees. If you do not think these guys can make an immediate impact in the fall, just ask Coach K how he likes having 2018 honorees RJ Barrett/Zion Williamson at Duke! 1 of the other ACC schools who has already signed an All-American is Louisville, as they will be bringing in Samuell Williamson next season. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Samuell about being a McDonald’s All-American and his growth during the past few years.
How did you 1st get into basketball? My dad just put the ball in my hands at an early age and my siblings played as well so I wanted to be like them.
Last September you signed with Louisville (over Alabama/Baylor/Florida/Georgia/Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas/Texas A&M/UConn): what made you choose the Cardinals? I felt that Coach Chris Mack believed in me more than any other coach did. Louisville is a basketball school with a rich tradition and I want to help them compete for a championship.
Louisville has had 3 different coaches during the past 3 years (Mack/David Padgett/Rick Pitino): was it hard to go through the recruitment process while the school’s coaching staff kept changing every single spring? Not at all: some other schools had coaches with questions about their own job security but I have no doubt about Coach Mack.
What do you think about the current Louisville roster? I know that Jordan Nwora/Dwayne Sutton are having good years and the whole team is playing good basketball.
You are 6’7”: what position do you play in high school, and what position do you expect to play in college? I play the 3 in high school and will play mostly the 3 in college but perhaps a little SG as well.
In January you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It meant the world to me. It is something I have been dreaming about since I was a kid: I could not believe it when I heard the news.
You are 1 of 2 honorees from the state of Texas (Tyrese Maxey attends South Garland High School): have you ever played with/against him, and are you looking forward to seeing him again when you face his Kentucky team next fall? We have played mostly against each other for the last 5-6 years but played together a little bit last summer and have also been on the same team at some camps. I am very excited to play against him and his Kentucky team next year.
Many of the other All-Americans have been 5-star prospects for a while but you only recently made the leap from 4-star to 5-star: how has your game improved during your high school career? I consider myself a late-bloomer. I was a 0-star just 2 years ago but have improved my athleticism/explosiveness as well as my ball-handling skills.
You are currently averaging 25+ PPG at Rockwall High School: what is your secret for being a great scorer? Just to stay aggressive: you have to mix it up and score from all 3 levels including getting to the FT line. I also like to get my teammates involved on offense.
Will you get a nice summer vacation or is it going to be a quick transition from high school to college? It will be a pretty quick transition: I will head up there as soon as I graduate this spring.