High School / Feb 22, 2010 / 12:00 pm

The nation’s biggest McDonald’s H.S. All-American snub

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Ryan Harrow (photo. Aurelien Meunier)

Ryan Harrow is beginning to sense a pattern.

When the selections for the 2010 McDonald’s All-American Game were announced live on ESPNU on Feb. 11, Harrow — a senior point guard at Walton High School in Marietta, Ga. — once again found himself on the outside looking in as he was denied a career-defining opportunity. General consensus among several media and fans was that Harrow was the biggest McD’s snub out of anybody.

“I found out that I didn’t make it about a week before it was announced,” said Harrow, ranked No. 26 in the High School Hoop national Top 50. “Players were getting their letters and I didn’t get one. It really hurt me because I put in the work to make it and I played well in front of the guys that vote on the team… It just really hurt.”

To be fair, the 2010 class is loaded with quality point guards: Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick, N.J.), Brandon Knight (Pine Crest, Fla.), Ray McCallum Jr. (Detroit Country Day, Mich.), Josh Selby (Lake Clifton-Eastern, Md.), Kendall Marshall (Bishop O’Connell, Va.), Joe Jackson (White Station, Tenn.), Keith Appling (Detroit Purshing, Mich.) and Cory Joseph (Findlay, Nev.) all made the game’s roster. Harrow was most likely a mere victim in the numbers game.

But, rightfully so, Harrow still doesn’t understand.

“I know there were a lot of good point guards,” said Harrow, an N.C. State signee who is averaging 32 points, six assists and six rebounds per game. “But I’m ranked higher than some of the guys that were picked, so they couldn’t have gone off of rankings. It just makes you wonder what they were basing it off of … I guess sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”

Another popular theory is that players associated with more high-profile colleges received favorable treatment: Irving is signed to Duke, Marshall to North Carolina, Appling to Michigan State, and Jackson to Memphis. Knight is still deciding between the likes of UConn, Kansas and Kentucky; McCallum has Duke, Arizona and UCLA in the running; Selby’s list is down to Arizona, Kentucky, UConn and Kansas; and Joseph’s list includes Texas, Villanova and UConn. If Harrow were on his way to the Tar Heels or Spartans instead of the Wolfpack, some believe he’d be on the McDonald’s roster.

But Harrow has grown accustomed to being overlooked. Although he was named to the 2K Sports All-American squad that traveled to France last summer, he’s been left out of other high-profile high school events. Back in August, Harrow wasn’t picked for the prestigious Elite 24 game at Rucker Park in Harlem. And then last week, after the McDonald’s snub, Harrow’s name was left off the Jordan Brand Classic roster — despite another player (Jelan Kendrick, Wheeler HS) and a head coach (Doug Lipscomb, Wheeler) from his same city getting the nod.

“It’s just another one of those things you’ve got to get past,” said Harrow. “Sometimes you work hard and it doesn’t work out like you want it to. This just means that I’ll be working that much harder from here on out.”

More High School Hoop stories:

- C.J. Leslie’s HSH Diary: Coach Drop-Ins & Final Four Picks

- Christ the King vs. Rice: The Greatest HS Basketball Spectacle Ever

- Austin Rivers HSH Diary: Tragedy & Triumph

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  • junior

    not gonna lie, this kid is nice.
    got a real quick handle, with some nice hops.
    definitely one of the best players in the country (one of).
    Hopefully he works harder on his game because of this snub and grows because of it.

  • nate

    i really cant believe this, dude is mad raw. it’s a shame he wont be able to display his talent nationally cause he would really put on a show.

  • http://www.dimemag.com Aron Phillips

    Ryan Harrow is not only one of the top talents in the country, he’s also one of the nicest kids I’ve met.

  • Michorizo

    He’s more of a Whopper guy anyway…BS if he was snubbed and better than someone that made the team, but at the same time, take it as a challenge kid. If you are even in the conversation of being part of this commercial game then you are top talent right now for your age group. It’s about hard work now, whether you made it on a McDonalds team or not.

  • http://dime eyes

    POLITICS. IT’S JUST PART OF LIFE. KARMA. This could really put a negative outlook & impression on his life. Of course hoping for the opposite though it’s tough to continually be overlooked for no justifying reason. Rankins & decisions are all bogus. It’s all favors & who you know. Which program you play for,Which agent,Who your coach is or knows.

    Hey if Chris Duhon was an All American. I know some of the judges are biased or just plain ol clueless. Hey’s to hoping he makes the league over the non-deserving players. Sometimes it’s better to be under the radar though hype is necessary for rankings & league consideration.

    When I played ball there was a kid ranked #1 in hoop scoop which was & maybe still a nyc ranking. All four years he was atop. Over much better & deserving players. Long story shrunk. He couldn’t even get a legit D1 scholarship. POLITRICKS. The games people. Who are you kidding?

  • Catbus

    Ray McCallum’s final 4 schools does not include Duke, but it does include Detroit, where his father coaches… for now.

  • Al

    eyes: Chris Duhon was a top ten player in his class and had put in serious work in high school.

    McDonald’s All American’s are picked on accomplishments more than potential or who is the most flashy .

    Ryan Harrow has is athletic , a very good passer and ball handler. He didn’t have a better high school career than Chris Duhon did and the class of 2010 is deeper at the guard spot than 2000.

    Ryan should’ve made the McDonald’s game or at least the Jordan game over Kendall Marshall

  • Jeff

    In response to NC State being irrelevant…consider this

    The media needs to be reminded of a few factoids

    1) Who established basketball as a force in the South (NC STATE–Everette Case)

    2) Who ended UCLA’s title run—NC STATE

    3) Who produced the best COLLEGE player of all-time– NC State (it’s debatable but probably DT should get the nod).

    4) Who played in and won arguably the greatest college game ever–NC State (Maryland ’74)

    5) Who produced the most amazing run of basketball ever–(1983 Pack)

    6) Who really brought the notion of March Madness, Cinderalla and a 64-team NCAA tourney field to the nation’s attention..—NC State.

  • BlakNR

    7) First college team to cut down the nets after winning a championship.

    8) First team to shine a spotlight on player introduction before games.

  • fernandoheel

    Ancient history for sure NC State blows and they needs a coach

  • Dre

    Look at the time frame you are mentioning about NC. State. I agree with you but that is ancient history, especially in the world of what have you done for me lately. NC. State hasn’t won a National Championship since 1983. I think Marshall was ranked higher is because he plays and does his thing in one of the toughest high school basketball conference in the country. He puts up numbers against Gonzaga, Dematha, Montrose, amd St. Johns Prep on a regular basis.

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