Whitmore, Whitehead lead East over West in McDonald's game

CHICAGO (AP) — Villanova-bound Cam Whitmore scored 19 points, future Duke Blue Devil Dariq Whitehead added 13 points, and the East beat the West 105-81 at Wintrust Arena on Tuesday night.

The showcase event that has shined a light on greats including Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James made its return after being canceled the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. The current crop showed why they are the best high school players in the country, whether they were throwing down vicious dunks or making acrobatic layups.

Whitmore had eight rebounds. Whitehead added seven rebounds and seven assists while taking MVP honors as the East rolled to an easy win.

Duke-bound Mark Mitchell led the West with 19 points.

Former NBA star Jermaine O'Neal sat courtside wearing a Louis Vuitton jacket and Chicago rapper G Herbo sat four chairs to his left. Lil Baby performed at halftime.

The East had already put on quite a show by then, racing out to a 58-38 lead.

Whitehead nailed three 3s and had 11 points to go with five assists in the half. Whitmore scored nine points, and the 6-foot-7 guard from Archbishop Spalding near Baltimore punctuated it with a windmill dunk in the closing seconds that drew the loudest roar from the crowd until Lil Baby took the floor.