The 2008 McDonald's All-American Game takes place this Wednesday, March 26, at the Bradley Center. (Getty)

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March 24, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- Wayne Embry, profiled earlier this season in bucks.com’s ongoing series marking the 40th anniversary of the Milwaukee Bucks, probably never realized what a pioneer he truly was – time and again.

Embry, who was named to five consecutive National Basketball Association All-Star teams during stints with the Cincinnati Royals spanning 1961 through 1965, was the starting center when the expansion Milwaukee Bucks played their very first game Oct. 16, 1968, at the Milwaukee Arena.

Less than four years later, the Bucks named Embry the first African-American general manager in the history of the NBA.

And several years after that, Embry and Milwaukee businessman Sherman Claypool bought the McDonald’s Restaurant located just across State Street from the building where the Bucks played their first game. Embry, always a hands-on leader, could often be spotted flipping hamburgers behind the grill. Bucks players and coaches parked their cars in the restaurant’s lot.

Little did Embry know that one day, the site of his McDonald’s would become the foundation of the Bucks’ new home, the Bradley Center. And this week, it has become the epicenter of high school basketball’s most celebrated national spectacle.

Milwaukee will host the 31st annual McDonald’s All-American High School Boys Basketball Game and seventh annual Girls Game on Wednesday, March 26, at the Bradley Center. The girls game will tip at 6 p.m. and be broadcast live on ESPNU. The boys game will start at 8:30 and be telecast live onn ESPN. Proceeds will benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RHMC) of Eastern Wisconsin.

As a prelude to the games, the Powerade Jam Fest will be presented from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, March 24, at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The event will include a slam dunk, team ball and 3-point shooting competition.

Tickets for both the games and the Jam Fest may be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, the Bradley Center Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets or charged by phone at (414) 276-4545.

The current Milwaukee Bucks have three distinguished McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Game alumni among them.

Center Dan Gadzuric was the first to participate in the showcase back in 1998 at the SCOPE Arena in Norfolk, Va. The game was the first in the McDonald’s series to be nationally televised live by ESPN.

Ronald Curry, who went on to play at the University of North Carolina and later for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League, was chosen the most valuable player of that contest. Some of Gadzuric’s other fellow competitors included current NBA players Al Harrington, Richard Jefferson, Corey Maggette, Tayshaun Prince, Mike Miller and former Buck Joel Przybilla.

"My experience was awesome, because I came from a little country, the Netherlands, and went to a high school (Governor’s Academy of Byfield, Mass.) where a lot of people don't know where it's at,” Gadzuric said. “Getting to play in the McDonald's game was huge. A lot of people come from all over the place to view the game, you get a lot of exposure, and it's good for your basketball career.

"I did pretty good. All I remember was dunking the ball all the time. That's never a bad day. It was really a lot of fun. I can't remember where the game was; I remember at that time, I didn't know where I was. I was so overwhelmed at the time, at that age. Everything there was so new to me."

Gadzuric enjoyed more than just the spotlighted basketball game. McDonald’s All-American Game participants take part in charitable events in the days leading up to the games.

“You get an opportunity to meet a lot of people, and visit the kids and the families at the Ronald McDonald House,” Gadzuric said. “It's just a great organization that does a lot to help people. It was just an awesome experience."

Bucks guard Mo Williams followed in Gadzuric’s footsteps three years later. The Jackson (Miss.) Murrah High School standout was among the competitors when the West defeated the East, 131-125, in the McDonald’s classic at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

Eddy Curry, now of the New York Knicks, was voted most valuable player. Other future pros in the lineups that evening were Williams, Tyson Chandler, Josh Childress, David Lee, Kwame Brown and former Bucks point guard T.J. Ford.

Williams remembers the game like it took place yesterday.

"It was great,” he said. "I had seven points and four or five assists. I was just having fun. That game is not about stats; it's about going out and enjoying yourself. We definitely had a good time. I made a lot of friends. We had a great class, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

“It was kind of like my first introduction to national exposure. The things you do as far as going to the local McDonald's ... people see you and they love you. They ask for your autograph. For a lot of guys, I think that's their first introduction to the national limelight. You see some of that in your state, and at your high school, but nothing like that. It's the best. My experience was just great."

Two years after Williams’ appearance, the McDonald’s game drew a record crowd of 18,728 for homestate favorite LeBron James’ last prep game in Ohio at Cleveland’s Gund Arena. James collected 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and was named MVP after leading the East past the West, 122-107.

One of James’ teammates was Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva, who staged an impressive display in his own right with 17 points, including several spectacular dunks.

The experience was a dream come true for Villanueva.

“I was a diehard fan of the McDonald's game growing up,” said Villanueva, who represented Blair Academy of Blairstown, N.J. “I never thought I'd ever play in it, but I made it, and it was a dream come true. It was a blessing.

"It was a great feeling, man, being one of those few, select guys in the U.S. to play in that game. That was definitely an honor. It was great for me. I was really excited. I played with LeBron, Chris Paul, Travis Outlaw ... a lot of the guys who played are playing in the pros now.

“It was tremendous. I had a lot of fun. I remember it like it was yesterday, and it's something I'll never forget."

Like his Bucks teammates, Villanueva enjoyed the off-the-court activities as well. They helped launch his career as not only a basketball player, but a great humanitarian.

"We visited hospitals,” Villanueva said. “We went to the local McDonald's and started serving people. We were working the drive-thru, flipping burgers and everything.

“I'd never done anything like that. It was kind of cool. I really had a lot of fun, and I enjoy doing whatever I can to help people to this day.”

No Milwaukee players will participate in this year’s game, but the city and state will both be represented.

Tom Diener of Milwaukee Vincent and Jim Gosz of Milwaukee King will serve as co-coaches of the Boys West team and be assisted by Marc Mitchell of Milwaukee Custer. Tom Klawitter of Janesville Parker will coach the Girls West team with assistance from Heidi Bunek-Hamilton of Arrowhead and Jane Dooley of Janesville Parker. Arrowhead High School junior Hallie King is making history as the first high school student to serve as statistician for the games.

The Boys West team includes Luke Babbitt of Reno, Nev.; Demar DeRozan of Compton, Calif.; Larry Drew II of Encino, Calif.; Michael Dunigan of Chicago, Ill.; Jrue Holliday of Chatsworth, Calif.; Scotty Hopson of Hopkinsville, Ky.; Brandon Jennings of Oak Hills Academy and Los Angeles, Calif.; Malcolm Lee of Moreno Valley, Calif.; Greg Monroe of Gretna, La.; B.J. Mullens of Canal Winchester, Ohio; Iman Shumpert of Oak Park, Ill.; and Willie Warren of Fort Worth, Texas.

The Boys East team features Amini Al-Farouq of Norcross, Ga.; William Buford of Toledo, Ohio; Ed Davis of Richmond, Va.; Tyreke Evans of Chester, Pa.; JaMychal Green of Montgomery, Ala.; Sylven Landesberg of Flushing, N.Y.; Michael Rosario of Jersey City, N.J.; Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict’s Prep of New Jersey and Montego Bay, Jamaica; Chris Singleton of Dunwoody, Ga.; Kemba Walker of Bronx, N.Y.; Elliot Williams of Memphis, Tenn.; and Tyler Zeller of Washington, Ind.

Entering this year, 718 boys have been chosen representing 45 states and the District of Columbia. 144 girls have been picked representing 35 states and the D of C.

Gadzuric, Williams and Villanueva are not the only McDonald’s All-American alumni with Bucks ties; far from it. No less than 33 future Bucks have taken part in the games since their inception in 1977.

Dell Curry, a Buck in 1998-99 whose son Stephen and his Davidson team have been among the upstarts of this year’s NCAA Tournament, played in the 1982 McDonald’s game.

J.R. Reid, who wore a Milwaukee uniform in 1999-2000, scored 23 points in the 1986 contest. That year’s cast included Reid’s future North Carolina teammate, Scott Williams, who became a Bucks favorite from 1999-2001, helping lead the team to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001. Williams is in his first year as a Bucks television commentator.

Former Kohler High School star Joe Wolf, one of a select few Wisconsin players to participate in the McDonald’s series, grabbed 14 rebounds in the 1983 edition and returned to his home state to play for the Bucks in 1996-97.

And when Milwaukeeans turn out to see the great tradition continue this week, they owe a debt of gratitude to Wayne Embry for laying the foundation and planting those golden arches almost 30 years ago.