Andrew Wiggins, UK signees set for McDonald’s All-American

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By Tom Hurley | @TomHurleyKernel

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Eight UK signees take to the floor in Chicago on Wednesday night to play in front of a national television audience in the 2013 McDonald’s All-American games.

The annual event features the who’s who of high school basketball.

Only two of the top 21 players in Scout.com’s Class of 2013 rankings are missing from the boy’s portion of the event.

Undecided 6-foot-8, 215-pound small forward Andrew Wiggins, the top-ranked recruit in the Class of 2013, has been the focus of media attention since players began gathering in Chicago this past weekend.

UK remains in the mix for his services and some future Cats are using the opportunity to practice with Wiggins to encourage him to choose UK.

Both Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson are on the East team along with Wiggins.

Randle told Ben Roberts of NextCats his plan for practice sessions with Wiggins.

“Pass him the ball out here and be like, ‘This is what you’ll get next year.’ ”

Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Marcus Lee and James Young will suit up for the West roster against Randle, Johnson and Wiggins.

Among their teammates on the West squad are the second- and sixth-ranked players in the class, forwards Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon.

Parker will play at Duke next season while Gordon announced his commitment to Arizona on Tuesday evening.

UK was among the final four schools being considered by Gordon.

Marion County guard Makayla Epps will be flying the UK flag on the girl’s East team with Linnae Harper representing the Cats on the West squad.

Chicago native Harper and Miss Kentucky Basketball 2013 Epps will suit up for UK head coach Matthew Mitchell in the 2013-14 season.

Players from both the boy’s and girl’s teams took part in a skills competition on Monday.

The highlight of the night saw Florida signee Chris Walker win a dunk contest that also featured Wiggins and Gordon.

The girl’s game gets under way at 7 p.m. live on ESPNU with the boy’s game beginning at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.