NEPA Sports Nation

Shoats a McDonald’s nominee

Justice Shoats from Holy Redeemer was among the boys in the East to make the list of nominees that were released Wednesday for the 45th anniversary McDonald’s All-American Games.

A list of more than 760 boys and girls from around the country was revealed for the March 29 event in Chicago. The games will be televised on ESPN2 in a doubleheader that begins at 6:30 p.m.

Shoats, a guard, was the only District 2 player on the list, which included 16 boys and 18 girls from Pennsylvania.

The top 24 senior boys and 24 senior girls, selected to play in the games, will be announced Jan. 25 on ESPN’s “NBA Today” show between 3 and 4 p.m.

Players were nominated by either a high school coach, athletic director, principal or member of the McDonald’s All-American Games Selection Committee. Players from 41 states and the District of Columbia made the llist.

Texas had the most nominees with 83. California was next with 73, followed by Maryland with 44.

Shoats was the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 Player of the Year and a first-team, all-District 2 selection by NEPABasketball.com as a sophomore. He was a first-team division all-star and second-team, all-District 2 selection as a junior.

Shoats also plays for the NEPA Elite Coyle 17U boys AAU team out of Riverfront Sports in Scranton.

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