Spalding boys basketball star Cam Whitmore selected to play in McDonald’s All American game

Spalding senior Cam Whitmore, a five-star recruit committed to Villanova, is one of 24 boys basketball players nationwide who has been selected to play in the McDonald’s All American game in March in Chicago.

Whitmore, who has risen from a relative unknown early on in his high school career to one of the best players in the country, was chosen among 380 boys. The game will be broadcast on ESPN on March 29 at 9 p.m. after the girls game at 7 p.m.

The Baltimore Catholic League Player of the Year as a junior in 2020-21, the explosive 6-foot-7 forward averaged 22 points and 11.7 rebounds while leading the Cavaliers to a 12-3 record. Whitmore picked up where he left off, and he’s averaging 22.4 points and 12 rebounds per game. Spalding is 16-3 after beating John Carroll on Monday.

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See the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference scoring leaders through games played on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. NOTE: Not all teams submitted stats and players must average at least 10.0 points per game to qualify.

”The honor is a tribute to his hard work. He’s been great, he’s been coachable, worked his butt off, he’s been a great teammate, a great role model in school and each year he has grown,” Cavaliers coach Josh Pratt said. “Any time we’ve had one-on-one conversations and talks as a team, he’s responded and done great.

“There’s still a lot of work ahead — he’s only 17 years old and people don’t realize that. He’s a young kid that’s learning his way and he’s really kept an even keel. He doesn’t get too high or too low and he does a great job of keeping things in perspective.”

Whitmore, who on Aug. 30 narrowed his college choices to Villanova, North Carolina and Illinois before committing to the Wildcats in October, is ranked No. 15 nationally in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports after entering the summer outside of the top 100. ESPN lists him as a four-star recruit and the No. 29 player overall, while Rivals ranks him No. 22 in the class. Whitmore is rated the top player in Maryland by all three publications.

Whitmore is the first local boys player to be selected for the McDonald’s All American game since former John Carroll star Immanuel Quickley and Mount Saint Joseph standout Jalen Smith played in the 2018 game. Quickley went on the play at Kentucky and is now in the NBA with the New York Knicks, while Smith played at Maryland and is now a member of the Phoenix Suns. Both were first-round NBA draft picks.

Baltimore Sun reporter Glenn Graham contributed to this story.