2024 Girls McDonald’s All-American Game: Notes and Takeaways

While the McDonald’s All-American Game doesn’t offer stakes, it provides one of my favorite platforms to watch pre-college. It’s just fun. It’s a milestone for these players, the culmination of entire youth careers validated by playing in a phenomenal showcase. It’s something we get to look back on in time as they take flight and develop.

This time last year, Hannah Hidalgo and JuJu Watkins were showing out in the same game. Now, they both respectively led their teams to deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. Having it fully click that it’s gone a full year from them showing potential as high school rounds out to producing at All-American levels as true freshmen…. That’s what it’s all about!

Who stood out in the game and what stood out about their play?

Sarah Strong & Joyce Edwards

Sarah Strong and Joyce Edwards, numbers 1 and 2 respectively in ESPN’s HoopGurlz rankings, split the MVP award for the game. While I normally would not consider myself a proponent of co-awards, this felt right. Strong dominated the 1st half, Edwards the 2nd.

Strong is currently uncommitted, set to choose between UConn, North Carolina, and Duke, and man, I just see the fit so strongly with UConn. She’ll succeed at a high level wherever she goes, but UConn just makes so much sense to me.

Strong dazzled with her range, including some self-created 3’s as she went 3 of 7 from deep with a hair trigger on her shot. The East team ran a lot of elbow and high post actions, and while Strong’s shooting was impressive, it was the quick passing and decision-making that stood out. It was almost funny that she finished with 0 assists, as she played such a key part in setting up the offense and making it flow. Assists are not always indicative of passing ability, and that game was a prime example.

Strong is so dynamic as the hub of the offense. She can slip, she can screen, she can pop. She has all the tools to be an incredibly dynamic 4, and all of those things fit remarkably well in Geno Auriemma’s offense.

I’ll be most curious to see how she keeps growing her all around game, but the shot is so smooth and in rhythm. Often, 4 players CAN shoot, but it’s another to be at the level that you command defenses on closeouts, and that will change the calculus.

Edwards shined brightly with her skill set as she got going in the 2nd half of the game, expanding the lead. At 6’2, Edwards is strikingly coordinated and strong, a deadly combination. Everything she does is compact, part of why her game is so efficient. She can play through contact and in tight spaces with how low her center of gravity is and the fluidity of her movements.

The potential she has in South Carolina’s high-low game is strikingly evident. She has the face-up game, the ability to rise and fire from mid-range, and the handle to attack off the dribble. The Gamecocks are already incredibly versatile, but adding Edwards takes them to an even higher level, which is a wild proposition.

I’m so fascinated to see how she keeps developing, with the foundation in place to become one of the most well-rounded and dominant combo forwards we’ve seen in the SEC lately.

USC Loading Up

The Trojans bring in the top class of the 2024 season both by number and by eye test. This group is so dynamic.

Kennedy Smith has long been one of my favorites in the class, a strong wing who can legitimately guard 1-5 that brings grit, size, and a great acumen to the defensive side of the floor.

She also tracks as a fantastic connector at the next level, someone who can continue and link plays, while also growing as an offensive creator herself. Smith can drive, she can post, she can handle, she can really shoot it, and she’s a capable and willing playmaker. Her versatility and immediate impact will be huge for USC next season.

I was most impressed by Kayleigh Heckel out of Long Island Lutheran. At 5’9 and with a quick first step, Heckel brings a very different look to USC, and I’m so excited about that. She was extremely dynamic playing with pace, pushing the tempo, generating paint touches and early offense. She can play on and off the ball, which will be key alongside JuJu Watkins. Especially with McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla graduating, adding more creation alongside JuJu is a must, and Heckel brings a different package with her quickness that the Trojans didn’t have outside their star this season.

Heckel has the ability to create easy offense with ease, and that will be a boon in Los Angeles in the coming years.

Syla Swords & Olivia Olson

The Michigan Wolverines earned their way into the NCAA Tournament this season, hard fought after a year of growth and development for a younger group. Syla Swords and Olivia Olson bring some pop to this team that I can’t wait to see play out in Ann Arbor.

The duo connected for the highlight of the game, something we could see more at the next level. Both players make so much sense as Wolverines in my mind. They can both dribble, pass, and shoot, fitting the mold of do it all players that Kim Barnes Arico likes. Olson impressed with her strength and off the dribble playmaking at her size. Swords is amongst my favorite players in the class, and she shined brightly in the game.

Her driving ability and polished footwork is so tantalizing. She’s silky getting to the rim, but also powerful and crafty. She’s always ready to shoot and is going to be a special player on the wing.

Notre Dame's New Look

Kate Koval, the top center in the class, is going to bring a totally new dynamic to the Fighting Irish, one they lacked this season. She has a dominant back to the basket game and touch on the interior. She’s grown her range and that’s something that could pop even more in South Bend, especially in trail situations, which the Irish already look for.

She showed off her passing as well, not the kind of stuff that’ll necessarily wow you, but the kind of essential plays you need to make to be an offensive positive. Koval has grown quite a bit in how she reads the court when she’s double-teamed, and while there’s still room to progress, she’s at a good place headed into school.

Defensively, she has the mobility to play a few coverages and the strength to bang in the paint. There’s going to be a learning curve, as there is with essentially all freshman bigs, but the look she brings will be something entirely new to this squad, and one fans should be excited about.

Stray Thoughts

• I am so excited about UCLA's freshman class, represented in part at the game by Zania Socka-Nguemen and Kendall Dudley. Zania and Kendall played for the same high school and AAU teams and travel to LA as teammates once again, adding to the depth and versatility in UCLA's frontcourt. Zania is more of a post, but has a ton to like with her mobility and athleticism, as well as a gradually evolving skillset. I think Cori Close will do tremendous work developing her as she rounds out. Kendall is a player I'm so excited about to keep growing, a player I'd consider quite similar to Ohio State's Taylor Thierry. She runs the floor well, has good passing vision, and is assertive as a scorer. She has pro potential as she keeps expanding her skill set.
• Mikayla Blakes is going to fit in at Vanderbilt so well for Shea Ralph. She's dynamite off the dribble. She's grown tremendously as a shooter. She has legit size at the guard spot. I'm also incredibly excited about her potential on the defensive end, strong on closeouts with a big wingspan and quick feet, which makes so much sense in Vanderbilt's matchup zone.
• Allie Ziebell and Morgan Cheli had quieter perfomances, but that's much more to do with how the teams were constructed, in my opinion. It's pretty simple to see their potential fit at UConn jump right off the page. Ziebell is a dynamite shooter. Cheli is a bit of a do everything glue player that will bring so much versatility to the Huskies. I'm excited to see how they unfold in Storrs throughout their careers.
• Me'arah O'Neal and Justice Carlton both popped for different reasons. I liked what we saw from O'Neal's potential as a driver, dishing a very nice pass to Carlton in early offense off the bounce. Carlton has the feel of a great Texas player, in the mix of everything in the paint with a tremendous nose for the ball.
• I really dig Zam Jones (headed to NC State). Lightning quick off the dribble, head up and scanning in transition, and a blur in the full court. She plays with a confidence and verve that's quite infectious, and adds another dynamic guard to the Wolfpack.