2014 McDonald’s All American Games Girls POY Finalists ARIEL ATKINS - #24 Height: 6-0 Position: Guard • Duncanville High School, TX Hometown: Duncanville, TX • College: Texas PPG: 17.7 • RPG: 6 • SPG: 5.1 Atkins is an athletic and versatile guard that can defend, score and bring down rebounds. Defensively, Atkins is a lock-down defender with the quickness to stay in front of anyone and force turnovers. Offensively, Atkins looks to exploit her defender’s weaknesses, utilizing a strong mid-range jump shot, impressive speed in transition and her ability to finish at the rim. This fall, she will play for Karen Aston at Texas, joining McDonald’s All American teammate Brooke McCarty. KELSEY MITCHELL - #3 Height: 5-8 Position: Guard • Princeton High School, OH Hometown: Cincinnati, OH • College: Ohio State PPG: 27.1 • RPG: 4.6 • APG: 6.4 Mitchell is a high-powered scorer with the ability to carry a team offensively. A versatile player, Mitchell can finish at the rim in traffic but also hit long-range shots consistently. Mitchell is also a tenacious defender and has excellent court vision on both ends of the floor. A success in the classroom, Mitchell was named to her conference All- Academic team from 2010-2013 and is an honor roll student. Next season, Mitchell will join her twin sister, Chelsea, to play at Ohio State for head coach Kevin McGuff and her father, Mark, an assistant coach on the staff. SHAKAYLA THOMAS - #20 Height: 6-0 Position: Guard/Forward • Sylacauga High School, AL Hometown: Sylacauga, AL • College: Florida State PPG: 34 • RPG: 5.4 • SPG: 5.2 Thomas is a physical offensive player that uses her speed and athleticism to attack the basket. With a long wingspan and jumping ability, she is an effective rebounder on both ends of the court. Thomas
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2014 McDonald’s All American Games Girls POY Finalists
ARIEL ATKINS - #24 Height: 6-0 Position: Guard • Duncanville High School, TX Hometown: Duncanville, TX • College: Texas PPG: 17.7 • RPG: 6 • SPG: 5.1 Atkins is an athletic and versatile guard that can defend, score and bring down rebounds. Defensively, Atkins is a lock-down defender with the quickness to stay in front of anyone and force turnovers. Offensively, Atkins looks to exploit her defender’s weaknesses, utilizing a strong mid-range jump shot, impressive speed in transition and her ability to finish at the rim. This fall, she will play for Karen Aston at Texas, joining McDonald’s All American teammate Brooke McCarty.
KELSEY MITCHELL - #3 Height: 5-8 Position: Guard • Princeton High School, OH Hometown: Cincinnati, OH • College: Ohio State PPG: 27.1 • RPG: 4.6 • APG: 6.4 Mitchell is a high-powered scorer with the ability to carry a team offensively. A versatile player, Mitchell can finish at the rim in traffic but also hit long-range shots consistently. Mitchell is also a tenacious defender and has excellent court vision on both ends of the floor. A success in the classroom, Mitchell was named to her conference All-Academic team from 2010-2013 and is an honor roll student. Next season, Mitchell will join her twin sister, Chelsea, to play at Ohio State for head coach Kevin McGuff and her father, Mark, an assistant coach on the staff.
SHAKAYLA THOMAS - #20 Height: 6-0 Position: Guard/Forward • Sylacauga High School, AL Hometown: Sylacauga, AL • College: Florida State PPG: 34 • RPG: 5.4 • SPG: 5.2 Thomas is a physical offensive player that uses her speed and athleticism to attack the basket. With a long wingspan and jumping ability, she is an effective rebounder on both ends of the court. Thomas
has a knack for scoring and uses her variety of offensive skills to score points in bunches. Thomas compares her game to that of 2003 McDonald’s All American, LeBron James. Next fall, Thomas will play for Sue Semrau at Florida State, becoming the fourth female McDonald’s All American to play for the Seminoles.
BRIANNA TURNER - #11
Height: 6-3 Position: Forward • Manvel High School, TX Hometown: Pearland, TX • College: Notre Dame PPG: 20.3 • RPG: 11.4 • BPG: 3.6 Turner dominates opponents on the defensive end of the floor with her height and explosive athleticism, altering shots and preventing traffic in the lane. Offensively, Turner is a polished post player with a developed mid-range game. Turner is excellent in transition and many times converts the defensive rebounds she collects into points for her team. Both of Turner’s parents played college basketball with her father playing at Lamar and her mother playing at Houston. Turner will join fellow McDonald’s All American Kathryn Westbeld to play for Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame next season.
JATARIE WHITE - #40
Height: 6-4 Position: Forward/Center • Providence Day School, NC Hometown: Charlotte, NC • College: South Carolina PPG: 22.5 • RPG: 9 • BPG: 2.4 White has great strength and aggressively attacks the basket. A solid low-post finisher, she’s able to execute in heavy traffic and is very assertive offensively. An excellent defender, White can shut down opposing team’s post players, blocking and altering shots at will. Thanks to her height, athleticism and scoring ability, White compares her on-court style to that of 2002 McDonald’s All American, Chris Bosh. She will join fellow McDonald’s All American, Bianca Cuevas, to play for Dawn Staley at South Carolina next season.
A’JA WILSON - #22 Height: 6-4 Position: Guard/Forward • Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, SC Hometown: Hopkins, SC • College: Undecided PPG: 35.7 • RPG: 14.6 • BPG: 4.7 With great footwork and balance, Wilson can attack the basket and score with ease. She uses her athleticism and quickness to get out in transition, run the floor and score quickly. At 6-4, Wilson uses her height and strength to play through contact, finish at the rim and consistently reach the foul line. Wilson models her game after 2004 McDonald’s All American, Candace Parker. She’s the sixth girls player from South Carolina to play in the Games. She remains undecided on her college
selection* but is considering Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
