Top players to showcase skills at All-American Games on TSN Digital

CHICAGO (AP) — Dariq Whitehead looks forward to playing on coach Jon Scheyer’s first team at Duke next season.

He is determined to help continue the winning legacy established under Mike Krzyzewski and is ready to embrace that daunting challenge.

“That’s something we all look forward to doing,” Whitehead said.

While the Blue Devils gear up for a Final Four matchup with archrival North Carolina, Whitehead is getting ready to face some of the best high school players. The McDonald’s All-American Games are back after a two-year hiatus, with the top boys and girls showcasing their skills at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena on Tuesday.

Watch the McDonalds All-American girls game on TSN.ca and the TSN App at 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt., followed by the McDonalds All-American boys game at 9pm et/6pm pt.

“There’s a lot of greats who come here, a lot of legends who come here,” said Whitehead, a prized wing player from New Jersey who attends Montverde (Fla.) Academy. “To be a part of that culture and tradition is something you look forward to as a kid, and that’s something I always had a dream of. That’s something I got to check off the list my senior season.”

The event has been a showcase for some of the best players ever since its inception in 1977. It’s featured greats from Magic Johnson to Michael Jordan to Shaquille O’Neal to LeBron James. And after getting alled off because of the pandemic, it’s back for the first time since 2019.

It’s also, maybe in some small way, another sign of normalcy returning.

It’s hard to say exactly how high school sports participation numbers compare nationally to where they were before the pandemic, though there8 million to 9 million athletes competing, National Federation of State High School Activities