What Happened to the 1995 McDonald's All-American Team?

The 1995 McDonald's All-American Game might be the most amazing group of high school basketball players ever assembled.

What Happened to the 1995 McDonald's All-American Team?

There is no greater honor for a high school basketball player than being named a McDonald's High School All-American. Since the game was first played in 1977, it has featured players who became household names and global sensations.

While today's modern basketball fan has every top prospect's highlight reel at their fingertips, there was a time when you got exactly one opportunity to see the nation's top high school basketball players. That was the McDonald's All-American Game.

One of those years was 1995, perhaps the most unique year in the game's history. This game — won by the West, 126-115, on April 2, 1995, at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri — featured 14 future NBA draft picks, including nine first-rounders and one player who changed the game of basketball itself.

Here's how things turned out for those 1995 McDonald's All-Americans after their time on the team, ranked by the quality of their basketball careers.

22. Randell Jackson (East)

High school: The Winchendon School (Winchendon, Massachusetts)

Position: Power forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-11, 215 pounds

College: Florida State

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995)

Bottom Line: Randell Jackson

Randell Jackson was one of two players to make the 1995 McDonald's All-American team from Massachusetts. He ended up being a solid player in three seasons at Florida State, where he averaged 11.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for his career.

Jackson's career hit a wall after he decided to leave school early for the NBA draft and went undrafted in 1998. While he managed to play one season in the NBA, he spent a decade traversing the globe playing in different pro basketball leagues.

21. Taymon Domzalski (West)

High school: New Mexico Military Institute (Roswell, New Mexico)

Position: Power forward/center

Height/weight: 6-foot-10, 245 pounds

College: Duke

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), Dial Award (1995), ACC All-Freshman Team (1996), three-time ACC champion (1997-99)

Bottom Line: Taymon Domzalski

Taymon Domzalski was a classmate of Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher growing up in Lovington, New Mexico, before transferring to New Mexico Military Institute in his senior season.

Domzalski was an ACC All-Freshman team pick at Duke and played all four years of college there, including a trip to the 1999 NCAA championship game, before playing three years of pro basketball overseas and in the U.S.

While most players on this list see their lives and careers solely focused on their basketball success, Domzalski proved to be an outlier. After his basketball career was over, he returned to Duke to obtain his medical degree before completing his residency at USC and has been a physician in Los Angeles for the last 20 years.

20. Sam Okey (East)

High school: Cassville High School (Cassville, Wisconsin)

Position: Forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-7, 220 pounds

Colleges: Wisconsin/Iowa

Career highlights: Two-time Division 4 State Champion (1994, 1995), Wisconsin Mr. Basketball (1995), Big Ten Freshman of the Year (1996), WBCA Hall of Fame

Bottom Line: Sam Okey

Sam Okey's rise to one of the top basketball recruits in the nation from tiny Cassville High in Cassville, Wisconsin, was truly something to behold. You don't get a lot of big-time basketball talents out of towns with populations barely over 1,000.

Okey found himself on the wish list of every big-time basketball program in the country as he led Cassville to a 54-0 record and back-to-back state championships as a junior and senior.

But bad luck dogged Okey from almost the moment the McDonald's All-American Game ended. Signed to play for Wisconsin and head coach Stan Van Gundy, he ended up playing for Dick Bennett after Van Gundy was fired at the end of the 1994-95 season.

Okey was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 1996, but he butted heads with Bennett to the point where he transferred to Iowa for his final season. Okey broke his wrist midway through his first season there and ended up bouncing around pro basketball in Europe and then back home in the CBA for three seasons.

19. Luther Clay (East)

High school: Maine Central Institute (Pittsfield, Maine)

Position: Power forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-9, 225 pounds

Colleges: Purdue/Rhode Island

Career highlights: None

Bottom Line: Luther Clay

Luther Clay is another case of being about one or two years too early to really cash in on his basketball talents. Had he been part of the Class of 1996 or 1997, he would have gotten the green light to go directly from high school to the NBA.

But this was 1995 and Clay joined up with former Maine Central Institute teammate and future NBA center Brad Miller at Purdue. Clay washed out of Gene Keady's program after one season and finished his career at Rhode Island, where he played on an Elite Eight team alongside Lamar Odom in 1998 and averaged 12.4 points and 8.0 rebounds as a senior.

There's not a lot of information available about Clay following his college career other than one season with the Florida Sea Dragons in the USBL.

18. Albert White (West)

High school: Inkster High School (Inkster, Michigan)

Position: Small forward/shooting guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-6, 210 pounds

Colleges: Michigan/Missouri

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), two-time Detroit Free Press All-State (1994, 1995), All-Big 12 (1999), CBA All-Star (2003), All-CBA Team (2003), CBA All-Rookie Team (2000)

Bottom Line: Albert White

Albert White was one of the most coveted players in the U.S. coming out of Inkster High in metro Detroit. He ended up at the University of Michigan for one season before a massive NCAA scandal saw him bounce to Missouri for the next two seasons.

White had one great season at Missouri and was named All-Big 12 in 1999 before he left school to enter the NBA draft but wasn't selected. White bounced around various pro leagues in Europe, the U.S. and Canada for the next 12 seasons and last played for the London Lightning in the National Basketball League of Canada in 2011.

17. Derek Hood (West)

High school: Central High School (Kansas City, Missouri)

Position: Power forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-8, 210 pounds

College: Arkansas

Career highlights: Two-time Parade All-American (1994, 1995), two-time All-SEC (1997, 1999), SEC All-Tournament Team (1999), CBA All-Rookie Team (2000), two-time All-NBA D-League (2002, 2003), NBA D-League champion (2003)

Bottom Line: Derek Hood

Derek Hood was a midwestern hoops legend in the early 1990s who seemed destined for NBA stardom. That's before he was market-corrected by 1995 McDonald's All-American Game teammate Kevin Garnett, who was essentially Hood but just four or five inches taller.

Hood still had a stellar career at Arkansas, where he was a two-time All-SEC selection and helped the Razorbacks make the Sweet 16 as a freshman in 1996. He played one season in the NBA and six seasons of pro basketball, including several years in the NBA D-League, which was the precursor to the NBA G-League.

16. B.J. McKie (West)

High school: Irmo High School (Irmo, South Carolina)

Position: Point guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds

College: South Carolina

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), CBA All-Star (2001), Bundesliga All-Star (2004)

Bottom Line: B.J. McKie

B.J. McKie became a South Carolina hoops legend at Irmo High before doubling down and becoming the leading career scorer at the University of South Carolina. McKie's No. 3 jersey was retired by the Gamecocks in 2005, and his son, Justin McKie, also played for Irmo and then for South Carolina.

McKie played professional basketball 12 seasons for teams overseas and in the U.S. He's been a college assistant coach since the end of his playing career and is currently on the staff at Wake Forest.

15. Kris Clack (West)

High school: Anderson High School (Austin, Texas)

Position: Small forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 185 pounds

College: Texas

Career highlights: Two-time All-Big 12 (1998, 1999), two-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team (1997, 1998)

Bottom Line: Kris Clack

Anderson High's Kris Clack was the first McDonald's All-American to come out of Austin and the first to sign with the University of Texas. Anderson went 100-12 during Clack's three seasons on the varsity before he went on to become a two-time All-Big 12 pick with the Longhorns.

Clack was selected by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 1998 NBA draft but never played in the NBA, instead playing one season in the IBL before playing eight more seasons overseas.

Clack's high school jersey was retired by his alma mater in 2020.

14. Wayne Turner (East)

High school: Beaver Country Day School (Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts)

Position: Point guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 180 pounds

College: Kentucky

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), two-time NCAA champion (1996, 1998)

Bottom Line: Wayne Turner

Wayne Turner went from a prep superstar in Massachusetts to having one of the most venerated college basketball careers ever. He set the NCAA career record for games played at Kentucky while leading the Wildcats to three consecutive NCAA championship games and winning national championships in 1996 and 1998.

Turner's pro career wasn't as great of a story. He played one season with the Boston Celtics before spending a decade bouncing around various professional leagues all over the world, including a season with the Harlem Globetrotters.

13. Ryan Robertson (West)

High school: St. Charles West High School (St. Charles, Missouri)

Position: Shooting guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-5, 180 pounds

College: Kansas

Career highlights: MSHSAA state champion (1995), Dutch Cup champion (2003), Eredivisie champion (2003), three-time All-Eredivisie (2002-04)

Bottom Line: Ryan Robertson

Ryan Robertson played alongside future Kansas teammate Paul Pierce in the 1995 McDonald's All-American Game after becoming a prep superstar in suburban St. Louis.

Robertson was a key contributor for Kansas in all four seasons and was on one of the greatest teams to not win an NCAA championship in 1998, along with Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Raef LaFrentz, Scot Pollard and Greg Ostertag.

Robertson played six seasons of professional basketball, mostly overseas, but did spend one season in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings, who selected him in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft.

12. Louis Bullock (East)

High school: Laurel Baptist Academy (Laurel, Maryland)

Position: Shooting guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 180 pounds

College: Michigan

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), Washington Post Player of the Year (1995), USA Today All-American (1995), EuroCup champion (2007), two-time Spanish League champion (2005, 2007), Spanish League Finals MVP (2005), All-EuroLeague (2001)

Bottom Line: Louis Bullock

Louis Bullock was a high-scoring guard who stepped into the fray at the University of Michigan in the post-Fab Five era, lighting up Big Ten competition. He ended his career as the school's second-career leading scorer and played the most minutes of any player in Michigan history, despite only playing three seasons before leaving school early for the NBA draft.

But according to the NCAA and Michigan record books, Bullock never played a single game for the Wolverines after all his records were wiped out by an NCAA scandal involving booster Ed Martin. Which sucks.

Bullock was picked in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves but never played in the NBA, instead spending over a decade as one of the best players in the top European leagues.

11. God Shammgod (East)

High school: La Salle Academy (New York City)

Position: Point guard

Height/weight: 6-foot, 170 pounds

College: Providence

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), Big East All-Rookie Team (1996), two-time All-Big East (1996, 1997)

Bottom Line: God Shammgod

Providence's God Shammgod (12) flies to the hoop against Arizona's A.J. Bramlett (42)

God Shammgod — yes, that's his actual name — was known as Shammgod Wells in high school, where he played alongside Ron Artest (now known as Metta World Peace) at La Salle Academy in New York City and played AAU basketball on a team with the late Kobe Bryant.

Shammgod went to using his birth name in college and starred at Providence alongside fellow future NBA player Austin Croshere, where they led the Friars to the Elite Eight in 1997. Shammgod played two seasons in the NBA where he is best known for creating a crossover move that thousands of basketball players have imitated — the "Shammgod."

He then spent another decade playing in pro leagues all over the world. Shammgod has been the director of player development for the Dallas Mavericks since 2019.

10. Jelani McCoy (West)

High school: St. Augustine High School (San Diego, California)

Position: Power forward/center

Height/weight: 6-foot-11, 225 pounds

College: UCLA

Career highlights: All-Pac-10 (1997), NBA champion (2002), All-NBA Development League (2008)

Bottom Line: Jelani McCoy

Jelani McCoy was one of two players from California on the 1995 McDonald's All-American team alongside Inglewood High's Paul Pierce, but McCoy was the only one headed to play for defending national champion UCLA.

McCoy had a productive career at UCLA and left school as the career leader in blocks before being selected by the Seattle SuperSonics in the second round of the 1998 NBA draft. McCoy played seven seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002.

He played professionally overseas until 2012, and his career encompassed 19 teams and touched pretty much every corner of the globe.

9. Robert Traylor (West)

High school: Murray-Wright High School (Detroit, Michigan)

Position: Power forward/center

Height/weight: 6-foot-8, 300 pounds

College: Michigan

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), NIT Most Valuable Player (1997), NIT champion (1997), NABC All-American (1998), Big Ten Tournament champion (1998)

Bottom Line: Robert Traylor

Robert "Tractor" Traylor became a subject of fascination for basketball fans in high school because of his size and skill. There are not a lot of basketball players who look like NFL offensive tackles.

Traylor was one of three players in the 1995 McDonald's All-American Game signed to play for Michigan. His car accident while driving with recruit Mateen Cleaves as a freshman triggered the NCAA investigation that led to most of the significant records from the 1990s, including Traylor's whole career, being wiped from the record books.

Traylor was part of one of the most famous trades in NBA history the day he was selected No. 6 overall in the 1998 NBA draft by the Dallas Mavericks and traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki.

Traylor played seven seasons in the NBA and another six seasons overseas. He was playing for a team in Puerto Rico in 2011 when he suffered a massive heart attack and died. Traylor was just 34 years old.

8. Ron Mercer (East)

High school: Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia)

Position: Guard/forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-7, 210 pounds

College: Kentucky

Career highlights: Two-time Parade All-American (1994, 1995), two-time Tennessee Mr. Basketball (1993, 1994), AP All-American (1997), NCAA champion (1996), SEC Player of the Year (1997), NBA All-Rookie Team (1998)

Bottom Line: Ron Mercer

No player had a higher ceiling at the 1995 McDonald's All-American Game than Oak Hill Academy's Ron Mercer, one of the most sought-after high school basketball recruits of all time and the No. 1-rated recruit in the Class of 1995.

Mercer was the rare two-time Parade All-American in high school and seemed destined for NBA stardom after helping lead Kentucky to a national championship as a freshman and a national runner-up finish and All-American honors as a sophomore.

Selected No. 6 overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1997 NBA draft, Mercer was an All-Rookie selection before his career fizzled out and he wound up playing for seven different teams in nine seasons.

7. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (East)

High school: Joseph Wheeler High School (Marietta, Georgia)

Position: Forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-9, 225 pounds

College: California

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), two-time Mr. Georgia Basketball (1994, 1995), AP All-American (1996), All-Pac-10 (1996), Pac-10 Freshman of the Year (1996), NBA All-Star (2002), NBA All-Rookie Team (1997)

Bottom Line: Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce battles Portland Trail Blazers' Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Shareef Abdur-Rahim was ahead of his time coming out of Cal, where he was a "One and Done" player about a decade before it became the de facto standard for elite college players.

He was also about a decade ahead of his time in what he could do on the court. Abdur-Rahim was a 6-foot-9 shooter who played in an era where height mostly determined where you played on the court with few exceptions.

How good of a shooter was Abdur-Rahim? He hit over 35 percent of his three-pointers in four different seasons, including a career-high 41.2 percent in 1997-98, and shot 81 percent from the free-throw line for his career.

One problem? He only made it to the postseason once in 12 seasons.

6. Antawn Jamison (East)

High school: Providence High School (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Position: Power forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-8, 210 pounds

College: North Carolina

Career highlights: North Carolina Mr. Basketball (1995), three-time All-ACC (1996-98), ACC Player of the Year (1998), ACC Tournament MVP (1998), two-time AP All-American (1997, 1998), National College Player of the Year (1998), two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2008), NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2004), NBA All-Rookie Team (1999)

Bottom Line: Antawn Jamison

Golden State Warriors' Bob Sura (3) and Antawn Jamison smile

In retrospect, Antawn Jamison should be considered a pretty underrated player in his era. And it's surprising that he was only 6-foot-8 — we would have sworn after watching him play in college and the NBA for over a decade he was at least 6-10 by how he played.

Jamison was paired with future North Carolina teammate Vince Carter on the East roster for the McDonald's All-American Game. It's wild to think the duo couldn't win a national championship together, but they did team up for a Final Four in 1997 and Jamison was named National Player of the Year in 1998.

Jamison played a whopping 16 seasons in the NBA, made two All-Star teams and was NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2004. One knock on Jamison's NBA career? He made it past the first round of the playoffs just twice.

5. Stephon Marbury (East)

High school: Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, New York)

Position: Point guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 180 pounds

College: Georgia Tech

Career highlights: Two-time Parade All-American (1994, 1995), Mr. New York Basketball (1995), two-time NBA All-Star (2001, 2003), two-time All-NBA (2000, 2003), NBA All-Rookie Team (1997), AP All-American (1996), All-ACC (1996), ACC Rookie of the Year (1996), three-time CBA Champion (2012, 2014, 2015), CBA Finals MVP (2015), CBA International MVP (2017)

Bottom Line: Stephon Marbury

New Jersey Nets' Stephon Marbury, left, shoulders into Los Angeles Lakers' Tyronn Lue

The most famous point guard to ever come out of New York City was Coney Island's Stephon Marbury, who earned the nickname "Starbury" when he was still in high school. Marbury gained national attention at powerhouse Abraham Lincoln High — the same high school in "He Got Game" — where he averaged 27.4 points, 8.3 assists and 3.1 steals as a senior.

Marbury was an All-American in his one college season at Georgia Tech and the No. 4 overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft before embarking on 13 roller-coaster seasons in which he was alternatively an NBA All-Star and franchise killer.

In an odd twist, Marbury spent the last decade of his career becoming a superstar in the Chinese Basketball Association and is beloved in the country. He is one of just five American basketball players ever to receive a Chinese "green gard" making him, for all intents and purposes, a permanent Chinese citizen. And he now owns and coaches the CBA's Beijing Lions.

4. Chauncey Billups (West)

High school: George Washington High School (Denver, Colorado)

Position: Point guard

Height/weight: 6-foot-3, 205 pounds

College: Colorado

Career highlights: Two-time Parade All-American (1994, 1995), three-time Mr. Colorado Basketball (1993-95), two-time Class 5A state champion (1993, 1994), four-time Class 5A All-State (1992-95), AP All-American (1997), All-Big 12 (1997), NBA champion (2004), NBA Finals MVP (2004), five-time NBA All-Star (2006-10), three-time All-NBA (2006, 2007, 2009), two-time NBA All-Defensive Team (2005, 2006), NBA Teammate of the Year (2013)

Bottom Line: Chauncey Billups

Chauncey Billups didn't get to play in the McDonald's All-American Game because of a shoulder injury, but he was still on the roster.

Billups was and is still the greatest high school basketball player ever to come out of Colorado. The court at Denver's George Washington High, where he won a pair of state championships, is named after him.

Billups could have played anywhere in college but chose to stay close to home and attend the University of Colorado for two years, where he led the Buffs to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 28 years.

He went on to have a 14-year NBA career highlighted by leading the Detroit Pistons to one of the biggest upsets in sports history when they swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals and Billups was named NBA Finals MVP. He's been the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021.

3. Vince Carter (East)

High school: Mainland High School (Daytona Beach, Florida)

Position: Guard/forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-6, 195 pounds

College: North Carolina

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), Florida Mr. Basketball (1995), AP All-American (1998), two-time All-ACC (1997, 1998), eight-time NBA All-Star (2000-07), two-time All-NBA (2000, 2001), NBA Rookie of the Year (1999), NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion (2000)

Bottom Line: Vince Carter

Before he set an NBA record by playing 22 seasons over four different decades, Vince Carter was a high-flying prep superstar at Daytona Beach's Mainland High. He was also famously a saxophone major in the band and the Volusia County Player of the Year in volleyball.

At Mainland High, Carter began crafting his career as one of the greatest dunkers in basketball history, including winning the dunk contest at the McDonald's All-American Game.

Carter was an All-American at North Carolina alongside fellow 1995 McDonald's All-American Antawn Jamison before being drafted No. 5 overall by the Toronto Raptors in 1998 and winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2000.

That was the same year he pulled off the most spectacular in-game dunk in basketball history on the way to a gold medal for the U.S. at the 2000 Olympics. You might know it as "The Dunk of Death."

2. Paul Pierce (West)

High school: Inglewood High School (Inglewood, California)

Position: Small forward

Height/weight: 6-foot-7, 230 pounds

College: Kansas

Career highlights: Parade All-American (1995), California Mr. Basketball (1995), NBA champion (2008), NBA Finals MVP (2008), 10-time NBA All-Star (2002-06, 2008-12), four-time All-NBA Team (2002, 2003, 2008, 2009), NBA All-Rookie Team (1999), NBA Three-Point Contest champion (2010)

Bottom Line: Paul Pierce

Paul Pierce is probably the best source we have for what it was like to be on the 1995 McDonald's All-American Team — and maybe for describing what it feels like to be a McDonald's All-American.

Pierce starred at Kansas for three seasons before being selected No. 10 overall in the 1998 NBA draft and playing 19 seasons in the NBA, where he was a 10-time All-Star.

In the 1995 game, Pierce played 17 minutes and scored 29 points, but he was edged out for the game's MVP award by future NBA teammate Kevin Garnett. Together, they won the 2008 NBA Finals with the Boston Celtics for the only championship of either player's career.

1. Kevin Garnett (West)

High school: Farragut Academy (Chicago, Illinois)

Position: Power Forward/center

Height/weight: 6-foot-11, 220 pounds

College: None

Career highlights: National High School Player of the Year (1995), two-time Parade All-American (1994, 1995), McDonald's All-American Game MVP (1995), Illinois Mr. Basketball (1995), South Carolina Mr. Basketball (1995), NBA champion (2008), NBA MVP (2004), 15-time NBA All-Star (1997, 1998, 2000-11, 2013), NBA All-Star Game MVP (2003), nine-time All-NBA Team (1999-2005, 2007, 2008), NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2008), 12-time NBA All-Defensive Team (2000-09, 2011, 2012), NBA All-Rookie Team (1996)

Bottom Line: Kevin Garnett

Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Garnett, left, passes off

No high school basketball player changed the shape of basketball more than Kevin Garnett did in 1995 when he left Chicago's Farragut Academy and became the first player in 20 years to go directly from high school to the NBA. Garnett played his first three seasons of high school basketball at Mauldin High in South Carolina before transferring to Farragut for his senior season.

Garnett was named MVP of the 1995 McDonald's All-American Game with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in just 22 minutes, beating out future NBA teammate Paul Pierce for game honors.

Garnett went on to play 21 seasons in the NBA, where he was named NBA MVP in 2004 and led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA championship alongside Pierce.