SOUTH BEND - While Luke Zeller was the fan favorite, it was Josh McRoberts who created the most buzz. Both Indiana boys basketball standouts competed in the 2005 McDonald's All-American Boys High School Basketball Game at the Joyce Center on the campus of Notre Dame Wednesday night with McRoberts' East squad prevailing 115-110 over Zeller's West team.

Zeller, who will be matriculating at Notre Dame this fall, seemed weary just four days after hitting the biggest shot in Indiana high school basketball since Bobby Plump and finished 0-2 from the field with no points and just one rebound. Zeller, a senior at Washington High School in southern Indiana, hit a half court shot to defeat Plymouth in the 3A state final Saturday.

As Zeller struggled, Carmel's Josh McRoberts flourished. The Duke recruit racked up 17 points and 12 rebounds en route to MVP honors.

McRoberts was complemented by Oklahoma State signee Gerald Green (Houston, Texas) and Greg Paulus (Manilus, NY). Paulus will join McRoberts at Duke and played well at the point guard spot. Green used his slashing ability along with hitting six three-pointers to finish with a game-high 24 points. Paulus finished with 13 points and nine assists.

The trio helped the East squad jump out to a 54-27 lead with 6:43 left in the first half. The West's head coach and former Warsaw head coach Al Rhodes could only watch as his team struggled offensively and defensively.

"I didn't think as men we came out with enough intensity in the first half," said Rhodes.

That changed in the second half as a trio of Kansas recruits brought Rhodes' squad from the dead.

Mario Chalmers (Anchorage, Alaska), Micah Downs (Bothell, Wash.) and Julian Wright (Chicago Heights, Ill.) will be playing for Bill Self in Lawrence next year and gave the Jayhawk faithful hope for the future as the trio combined for 42 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

"I was really impressed with all three of the Kansas guys," said Rhodes.

He was especially impressed with the athletic Wright who wowed the crowd with several gravity-defying dunks but wowed Rhodes with tenacious defense.

"Julian came in and we brought him in at the post. They were really hurting us with that high screen where Paulus was coming off the post. So we put Julian up there so we could do a better job of trapping Paulus when he we come up," Rhodes said.

That trapping defense led to four steals late in the game that turned the contest from a laugher into a thriller.

Chalmers became hot from beyond the three-point arc in the second half, hitting three trifectas.

Trailing 65-43 at halftime, the West squad began chipping away and by the 14:34 mark of the second half, had reduced the East's lead from 22 to nine at 80-71.

For the next several minutes the West squad hovered around the eight-point deficit mark, but finally drew closer with a 7-0 run over the course of just one minute. When Tyler Hansbrough (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) hit two free throws with 5:16 left in the game, the East trailed by just a bucket at 100-98.

The East tied the game at 106-106 on a monster dunk by Monta Ellis (Jackson, Miss.). Green and Paulus scored two quick baskets and the West squad never looked back.

Hansbrough finished with 25 points while Martell Webster (Edmond, Wash.) added 16 points but struggled from the field, hitting just 6 of 15.

Louis Williams (Snellville, Ga.) had 14 points for the East squad while Eric Devendorf (Bay City, Mich.) added 13 off the bench.

Rhodes made his mark in Warsaw playing a disciplined style of basketball that relied on playing with poise and patience. That's quite a departure from the style of play at an All-American game where quick shots and flashy play reign supreme.

Rhoades did try and install a base offense but quickly found out that wasn't his team's game plan.

"We had three sets and we didn't have enough patience to run them. Is that fair?" Rhodes diplomatically stated.

And how did the players take to the old-school Rhodes?

"He was really good to work with," said North Carolina-bound Bobby Frasor (Chicago, Ill.). "He brought a lot of intensity in and knows what's he talking about. Some of the guys may have complained about playing time, but you'll have that at something like this. But Coach Rhodes was great to be around. He has a lot of knowledge."

Wright was also a member of the Rhodes' fan club.

"He was great. He had a lot of flair and intensity. He's a person who has a lot of faith in players and talks success, not just on the court but off the court," said Wright.

The game featured 24 players from 15 states and the East's Eric Boateng, who hails from England. [[In-content Ad]]