Spartanburg Day’s all-star is now a McDonald’s All-American.
Zion Williamson was selected for the country’s most prestigious high school all-star event on Tuesday. He was one of three nominees in the state, along with Landrum’s Foster Bridges and Aaron Nesmith from Porter-Gaud School in Charleston.
Nationally, more than 700 top male and female basketball players from across the country were considered by the Games’ Selection Committee. From that pool, the committee identified the top 24 boys and 24 girls to play in the annual event.
The teams will play March 28 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, with proceeds again benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities.
SDS athletic director Rita Harrell said the honor is a testament to Williamson's work ethic as much as his talent.
"Zion has a lot of goals for himself," she said. "He's harder on himself than anyone. He has goals that I thought were very ambitious with him playing at a small, academically-focused school like ours. He set out to be a McDonald's All-American years ago. For him to achieve that goal speaks volumes for the work he's put in."
Williamson, the nation’s No. 3 recruit according to Rivals.com and 247Sports and ESPN’s No. 2-ranked senior, has seen limited action this season due to a foot injury. He returned to action last week for the first time since late November. In four contests he has averaged 35 points, and had a 36-point, seven-rebound outing against Chino Hills (Calif.) in a nationally-televised game on Saturday.
Williamson, who will announce his college decision in an 8 p.m. ceremony on Saturday at Spartanburg Day, is the state’s first McDonald’s All-American since P.J. Dozier in 2015.
The 17th annual McDonald’s All-American Girls Game will tip off at 5 p.m. on March 28 and will air live on ESPN2. The 41st annual boys game immediately follows at 7 p.m. and will air live on ESPN.