Milton HIgh's Shannon Scott Takes Home All American Award

Shannon Scott went to McDonald's for lunch today and walked out an All American. The restaurant chain honored the Milton High School senior point guard as one of 48 high school students chosen for the 2011 McDonald's All American High School Basketball Team.

The 6-foot, 2-inch Scott who already has committed to play for Ohio State University next fall, said he felt honored and very blessed to have earned this honor. A lot of people can't say they've reached this level. And he looked at all the great players who preceded him as another indication of the value of the honor.

Making at least the semifinals every year of his high school years isn't something many players can say they've done, he said.

"I feel like I had a great high school career," Scott said.

Losing in the state finals to Norcross on Friday upsets him.

"It still hurts me a little bit," Scott said, but he's getting over it.

His coach at Milton, David Boyd, said Shannon was one of the best players he's ever coached.

Now he's ready for the next step, playing at Ohio State.

The McDonald's All American team was announced in February, with fellow Georgian Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of Greenville joining Scott on the east team. The will be March 30 at 10 p.m. at the United Center in Chicago and will be broadcast live on ESPN. The begins at 7:30 p.m. that night, with a live broadcast on ESPNU. Brianna Banks of Fayette County High School in Fayetteville was one of 24 girls chosen as All Americans to play in that game.

Scott's mother, Trudy Scott, said being picked as a McDonald's All American is a reflection of all the years of hard work her son has done.

"He's really been so dedicated to his craft," she said. "It's really quite an offer."

Shannon had a lot of college officers, so the family went to visit quite a few schools and "met with so, so many coaches."

A friend of the Scotts compared the recruiting process to buying a house. All of them will say it's a nice place, but one is going to be like home.

"And that was the feeling we had when we got to Ohio State," Mrs. Scott said.

Her son has a chance to make an immediate impact at the Division I school. And the coaches are prepared to take him to the next level in his development, she said.

"The other piece important to me was the academics," Mrs. Scott said.

She said Coach Matta told her he'd never had a parent ask as many questions about the academics as she did

"My thing is, life after basketball. That's most important to me," she said.

Mrs. Scott said hopefully her son will have a good run in basketball, but he'd still be very young even when that was over, she said. His school has to help him be ready to find his place after basketball.

She even quizzed Ohio State alumni to see how they embrace the current players.

Ultimately, the family felt Ohio State was the right place for Shannon.

Shannon said his GPA is a little over 3.0 now, and he knows Ohio State will challenge him academically.

Shannon's family has been very supportive of him, making it to all of his games.

"Mom and dad feel like they should be a part of everything I do," he said, "and my sister."