Joining an elite list that features some of the greatest players to play for Kentucky, incoming Wildcats Johnson and Quickley were selected to participate in the 41st annual McDonald’s All American Game on March 28 in Philips Arena in Atlanta. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET and air on ESPN.
Johnson will suit up for the west team and Quickley will play for the east.
With the selections of Johnson and Quickley, UK has signed 32 players during the John Calipari era who have been named to the prestigious high school event, more than any other school in the country during that time period. Multiple players from each signing class have been tabbed McDonald’s All Americans during the Calipari era, including five in the 2013 and 2017 classes.
A 6-6 shooting guard out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, Johnson is a consensus five-star player and one of the best in the class of 2018. A native of South Hill, Virginia, he previously played for Huntington Prep in Huntington, West Virginia, before transferring to Oak Hill for the 2017-18 season. Johnson is ranked as high as the No. 7 overall prospect by ESPN. Rivals ranks him as the nation’s No. 14 overall player while 247Sports has him at No. 15.
Johnson led his Boo Williams (Va.) AAU team to the semifinals of the Peach Jam after averaging 20.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists during the Nike regular season. Johnson took home MVP honors at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in June. Johnson was one of 54 players selected for the USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp in October.
A 6-4 guard out of the John Carroll School in Bel Air, Maryland, Quickley is a consensus five-star prospect. Considered a consensus top-three player at his position, he’s ranked as high as No. 12 by ESPN, No. 14 by 247Sports and No. 15 by Rivals. In his junior season at John Carroll, Quickley averaged 23.7 points and 7.2 assists.
Quickley scored 30 or more in five games, 20 or more in 14 games and finished with eight double-doubles. He also averaged 25.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and shot 42.1 percent from 3-point range in the Adidas Summer Championships in July. He was a member of the 2017 USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team that competed in Cairo. Playing under Calipari, Quickley averaged 6.7 points and 2.4 assists in 18.3 minutes per game. He was named the Baltimore Sun Metro Player of the Year in 2016.
UK’s current signing haul, which also includes highly regarded scorer Tyler Herro, is considered a consensus top-five class with the spring signing period upcoming. In every season in the Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed a top-three recruiting class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking.
Kentucky has signed 64 McDonald’s All Americans since the team began in 1977, including current Wildcats Sacha Killeya-Jones (2016), Quade Green, (2017), Kevin Knox (2017), Nick Richards (2017), Jarred Vanderbilt (2017) and PJ Washington (2017).
Former and current Wildcats who played in the McDonald’s All America Game previously during Calipari’s tenure include: Bam Adebayo (2016), Devin Booker (2014), Isaiah Briscoe (2015), DeMarcus Cousins (2009), Anthony Davis (2011), De’Aaron Fox (2016), Archie Goodwin (2012), Green (2017), Aaron Harrison (2013), Andrew Harrison (2013), Dakari Johnson (2013), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011), Killeya-Jones (2016), Knox (2017), Terrence Jones (2010), Brandon Knight (2010), Doron Lamb (2010), Marcus Lee (2013), Trey Lyles (2014), Malik Monk (2016), Alex Poythress (2012), Julius Randle (2013), Richards (2017), Marquis Teague (2011), Karl-Anthony Towns (2014), Tyler Ulis (2014), Vanderbilt (2017), Washington (2017), Kyle Wiltjer (2011) and James Young (2013).
Tickets for the 2018 McDonald’s All American Games will go on sale in the coming weeks via Ticketmaster or the Philips Arena box office. Ticket on-sale details will be shared via the McDonald’s
All American Games social channels at a later date.
The current Wildcats are on the road in Columbia, South Carolina, to take on South Carolina. That game is scheduled for a 9 p.m. ET tip Tuesday on ESPN.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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For more information contact:
Eric Lindsey
