Date March 31, 2004 City Oklahoma City, OK Attendance 14,402 | Arena Ford Center Officials 1
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MVP/MOP Dwight Howard,
J.R. Smith | ||
The 2004 McDonald's All-American Boys Game was an All-star basketball game played on Wednesday, March 31, 2004 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, home of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder. The game's rosters featured the best and most highly recruited high school boys graduating in 2004. The game was the 27th annual version of the McDonald's All-American Game first played in 1978.
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The 48 players were selected from 2,500 nominees by a committee of basketball experts. They were chosen not only for their on-court skills, but for their performances off the court as well. Coach Morgan Wootten, who had more than 1,200 wins as head basketball coach at DeMatha High School, was chairman of the selection committee. Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden, who has been involved in the McDonald's All American Games since its inception, served as chairman of the Games and as an advisor to the selection committee.
Proceeds from the 2004 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Games went to Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC®) of Oklahoma and its Ronald McDonald House® program.
2004 game
The game was telecast live by ESPN. In the games first appearance in the state of Oklahoma, the 14,424 in attendance were treated to a high scoring affair which featured seven NBA first round draft picks.
The East broke out to an early lead with their impressive inside-outside game. Five East Team players scored in double figures, led by J.R. Smith’s (Denver Nuggets) game high 25 points. J.R. excited the crowd on numerous occasions with his high flying dunks and long distance jumpers. The East also saw a solid contribution from Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), who amassed 19 points and eight rebounds. J.R. and Dwight shared the John R. Wooden Most Valuable Player Award. The East controlled the second half of the game, in route to their 126-96 victory.
Other key contributors for the East included, power forward Al Jefferson (Boston Celtics), who recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds, and swingman Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies), who put up 10 points and four assists. Point guard Sebastian Telfair (Boston Celtics), dished out a game high 11 assists and Rajon Rondo (Boston Celtics), had 14 points and four assists.
The West Team had several outstanding players who shared the spotlight. DeMarcus Nelson led the West with 22 points and five rebounds. High school teammates from Detroit, Joe Crawford (Kentucky) and Malik Hairston (Oregon) contributed 15 and 11 points respectively, while 6’11 center and first round draft pick Robert Swift (Oklahoma City Thunder) added 10 points and five rebounds.
Coaches
The East team was coached by:
The West team was coached by:
Home: West
(* = Starting Line-up)
Schedule
The Powerade JamFest is a skills-competition evening featuring basketball players who demonstrate their skills in two crowd-entertaining ways. The slam dunk contest was first held in 1987, and a 3-point shooting challenge was added in 1989.