CHICAGO - Amile Jefferson and Kahleah Copper took turns on Wednesday night playing in the house that Michael Jordan built.
The Philadelphia-area stars appeared in respective boys' and girls' McDonald's All-American basketball games before more than 17,000 fans at the United Center.
Jefferson, a 6-foot-8 forward from Friends' Central, played about six minutes, had a pair of steals and hit a late jumper in the first half for an East team battling an 11-player West squad in a late game.
A two-time Gatorade Pennsylvania player of the year, Jefferson averaged 19.9 points and 10.2 rebounds for the Phoenix this past season. He's still considering a college destination, with Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina State, Villanova, and Ohio State his top options.
The United Center opened during the heyday of Jordan, the Chicago Bulls' Hall of Famer. It's now home court to Derrick Rose, the one-time McDonald's All-American and reigning NBA most valuable player.
East also battled the West in Wednesday's girls' game, although the geographic dividing line was unclear. One player from Chicago was on the East team, and a pair from the Chicago suburbs played for the West.
Copper, a Rutgers-bound guard, said she was thrilled.
"It was definitely a great experience and was definitely a challenge. We all love competition," she said. "I could have played better. I could have cracked the boards a little more."
The versatile and quick Copper averaged 20.4 points and 14.5 rebounds for Prep Charter. She played four minutes in the opening half, then started the second and played six more.
Copper collected her only points about five minutes into the second half and was 1 for 3 from the field with one rebound.
The East claimed a 79-78 victory on Bashaara Graves' free throw with less than one second left.
Joining Cooper on the East was Brianna Butler, a former Penn Charter star who wrapped up her career at New York's Nazareth Regional. She was scoreless in three minutes of action.
Games were played under college rules, with a shot clock and 20-minute halves instead of the quarters common in high school basketball.
The McDonald's game, now in its 35th year, has drawn stars ranging from Magic Johnson, Ralph Sampson, and Jordan in early years to current NBA stars such as Rose, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James.
