There is not a lot you can learn from an all-star game in any sport.  But watching the McDonald’s All-American Game (MAA game) I look to see which players are the most aggressive.  Sharing the ball and running the offense is important when building a team.  But with only a handful of days of practice, there is not a lot to be learned about teamwork in this game.  Instead, the key question is which players are the born leaders and the natural aggressors.  Who finds himself in a group of talented players and demands the ball?

In the early going, that player was Bradley Beal, the sharpshooter headed to the Florida Gators.  He opened the game by driving the ball to the bucket and banking it of the window for two.  Then he pulled up and calmly sank a three pointer.  And then he finished his scoring streak with a nice offensive rebound and tip-in.  And Beal’s early success was all the more impressive given that he was being guarded by the heavily hyped Duke recruit Austin Rivers.

Late in the first half, James McAdoo (headed to North Carolina), took over with some nice pull-up jumpers.  And in the second half McAdoo had a couple of nice steals and dunks that basically sealed the win for the East.  But for the most part, the game featured balanced scoring and a nice showcase of multiple players.  In fact, all 24 players scored in the game, which does not always happen.  Here are a few individual notes:

- Louisville recruit Will Blackshear (despite having an arm in a sling on Tuesday) played on Wednesday and scored.

- Syracuse recruit Michael Carter-Williams did in fact have the best haircut in the MAA game.  But he also had the biggest blown dunk in the game.  He missed a beautiful alley-oop pass in the first half.  Carter-Williams redeemed himself in the second half by drawing a charge on Indiana recruit Cody Zeller.

- Michigan St. recruit Branden Dawson has been heavily hyped as an offensive rebounding monster, and naturally the first time he touched the ball was on an offensive rebounded and put-back for a score.  The claim is that he is under-sized for a forward, but he certainly did not look undersized in the post in this game.  If Purdue could play a 6’5” player in the post most of last season, Michigan St. should have no trouble using Branden Dawson there, particularly if he is this strong.

- We also learned that Duke recruit Marshall Plumlee’s hidden talent is “shrimping”.   Hey, if you have to list something, it beats “singing”.  If you list “singing” someone might ask you to sing.  No one can ask you to show off your “shrimping” ability.

- PJ Hairston of North Carolina can shoot.  Assuming he doesn’t start the season stone cold like Harrison Barnes, he will be a much needed perimeter option for the Tar Heels next year.

- Ohio St. recruit Shannon Scott had a quiet night, but he still impressed me with his hustle, grabbing at least five steals in the game.

But in the end, the player who impressed me the most in this game was Kentucky recruit Anthony Davis.  Davis is probably going to be a more physical Jon Leuer.  Like Leuer, Davis was a guard who grew 7 inches towards the end of high school.  So he both seems to possess the natural quickness of a guard, and the size and shot blocking ability of a 6’10” player.  And Davis also showed the best hustle in the MAA game.  In the first half Davis blocked a shot and then he ran across the floor and dove out of bounds to save it for his teammates.  He’s my way too early pick for freshman-of-the-year next year.

Davis’ future teammate, Mike Gilchrist, took home co-MVP honors with James McAdoo.  But Gilchrist contributed a couple of very late scores to pad his stats, and did not quite make the flashy plays for his team.  Davis was the player that made you say “wow”.  Or as Jay Williams put it, Anthony Davis reminds you quite a bit of Kevin Garnett.  And for a player at any level, that’s a fantastic compliment.