Michael Jordan wasn’t allowed to play in the 1979 East-West Basketball All-Star Game.
Then just a phenom out of Laney High in Wilmington, Jordan was already suiting up in both the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. At the time, recent high school graduates could only play in two postseason games, so Jordan went with the national ones.
Jordan became the first notable basketball standout in North Carolina to miss the East-West All-Star Game, an official explained to the Charlotte Observer. The Old North State’s annual basketball event, held for the 76th time on the boys’ side, has hosted Hall of Fame inductees among the likes of Pete Maravich and James Worthy.
Flash forward 45 years. While players may be permitted to compete in multiple postseason games now, complicated NCAA schedules make it more and more difficult to pull off each year. Still, the North Carolina Coaches’ Association brings in rosters of top boys’ and girls’ players from around the state — and many of them took the floor at Novant Health Fieldhouse in Greensboro on Monday night.
There’s not a perfect time for basketball
N.C. State freshman Paul McNeil Jr. is among a handful of players who wound up pulling out of the East-West All-Star Game, though it’s not clear why.
For decades, the North Carolina Coaches’ Association hosted basketball, soccer and football all-star games during a week in the middle of July. Its football all-star game has recently been moved to December, hoping that could allow for more top college recruits to play. The other two remain during the summer.
After the basketball games — now inside the smaller Novant Health Fieldhouse — were played Monday night, the soccer all-star games are on Tuesday. At Grimsley High’s Jameison Stadium, the girls’ game starts at 6:30 p.m., with the boys’ following at 8:30 p.m.
Could the basketball all-star Game be moved to spring and follow the traditional high school season, like football?
The Carolinas Classic is already being held in Wilmington at the end of March. That all-star game pits top players from the states of North and South Carolina against each other — and Isaiah Evans, whom the Observer named the best N.C. high school basketball player of his generation, suited up and scored 19 points.
The plan for the foreseeable future is to continue hosting the top players it can get from around the state in this historic all-star game. Coaches wearing ballcaps and polos representing universities from all over the country were inside the fieldhouse on Monday night, and most of the all-stars had extended family members in the stands.
The games are still a ‘huge deal,’ especially for local selections
Molly Burns, a recent Ardrey Kell star who’s continuing her career at USC Aiken, cherished the opportunity.
The girls’ all-star game, which has been held 50 times, featured top talent from around the state. Jasmine Felton, heading to Campbell University after scoring more than 2,000 points at Northeastern High in Elizabeth City, was named MVP after scoring 30 points on 13-of-17 shooting in an 84-68 win for the East.
It was the West that dominated in a 108-92 victory for the boys. Jamias Ferere, of Southern Guilford, was named MVP after a 30-point night of his own. The East team ended up only having eight players.
For Burns, it was an incredible honor to just be chosen to compete in Monday night’s statewide all-star game. It wasn’t even just about the game itself, which was played before a packed house in Greensboro early Monday evening.
Throughout the weekend leading up to Monday, the all-stars practiced together and had team dinners. It provided a memorable, one-of-a-kind experience just a few weeks before going off to college.
“It’s a huge deal,” Burns said. “I’m talking to these girls — they have 200 kids at their school; I have almost 4,000 in mine. It’s just cool to connect with people that don’t come from the same background as you and the same experiences.
“It’s a great honor to experience this one last time before we go into this next journey. It is definitely one that I’ll remember and take with me — use the lessons I was taught here to carry on with me to the next level.”