MILWAUKEE – Most of the McDonald’s All-Americans surrounding Farragut’s Michael Dunigan and Oak Park’s Iman Shumpert expected to be where they were on Wednesday.
They’re the ones who have been talked about, written about, ranked in the nation and chased after by Roy Williams, Bill Self and everyone else since they entered high school. They would have been shocked if they hadn’t been standing on the Bradley Center floor in Milwaukee, where the East team defeated the West 107-102.
For Dunigan and Shumpert, who suited up for the West team, it was different. It was less than a year ago the McDonald’s game even became a possibility to them. Only when the final rosters were announced did it became a reality.
If Shumpert, a 6-4 guard, had been told his own story a year ago, he wouldn’t have believed it.
“No, probably not,” Shumpert said.
Shumpert wasn't even a blip even inside the state of Illinois last year. He had moments during his junior season, but he didn’t make anyone’s all-state team.
He had to go to Ohio to make his name. At the King James Classic, Shumpert shined and caught the eye of Scout.com’s Dave Telep. Shumpert fit Telep’s formula for a late-bloomer and by end of the spring Shumpert went from being unranked to No. 15 in the country.
From there, he blew up everywhere and ultimately chose to commit to Georgia Tech over North Carolina.
“He definitely helped set the stage for me,” Shumpert said of Telep. “Once he ranked me high, everybody said, ‘We have to check him out.’”
Said Telep: “My job is to go out and identify who that top one percent of players are. In this case [at the McDonald’s game], who the top one-tenth percent of players are. I liked Iman Shumpert. I liked everything about him. I liked his background. I liked his multi-position ability. I liked his skill for the game.
“We raised him pretty high, but he had to prove himself. He didn’t get on this McDonald’s team because one person liked him.”
Shumpert did not have a chance showcase himself in Wednesday’s game. He missed his lone shot and had five rebounds and one assist.
Unlike Shumpert, Dunigan, who joined Kevin Garnett and Ronnie Fields as Farragut McDonald’s All-Americans, has a story that revolves around potential.
From the moment he walked into Farragut as a freshman, he was hyped to be the next Kevin Garnett, Ollie Bailey and Elliot Poole. It took Dunigan time, though.
He started off real raw, improved a bit each year, but it wasn’t until he realized last spring he could dominate if he put his 6-foot-10, 248-pound body to use.
“I would hate the fact he would be the only big guy who would get the ball and pass it out before he made a move,” said Farragut coach William Nelson of Dunigan last season. “You have to be aggressive; you have to put in their face. These are the things I taught Kevin [Garnett] before he left me. He got a couple chances to talk to Kevin. He reiterated the same thing I said.”
Dunigan finished with six points, three rebounds and one block on Wednesday.
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