When it came time to announce the West MVP for the 13th annual McDonald's All-American game, Shawn Bradley was headed for a drink of water.
Figuring he wasn't in the running, the 7-6 star from Emery County High School wasn't paying much attention.But then the public address announcement jerked him back to the moment.
"All of a sudden I heard `West MVP, Shawn Bradley' and I said `whoa . . . you gotta be kidding me,' " Bradley said later as he reacted to still another honor to come his way.
Despite sharing time with 7-foot hometown star Eric Montross, Bradley contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots in just 16 minutes of action off the bench.
His West team, which trailed most of the second half but was down just two points with 2 1/2 minutes left, lost 115-104 to the smaller but quicker East at Market Square Arena.
The East MVP was Khalid Reeves of Christ the King High School in Middle Village, N.Y. Reeves, a 6-4 guard, scored 11 straight points down the stretch when the East took control. He finished with 22 points, six assists and 10 steals.
Ironically, Reeves and Bradley would have been college teammates if Arizona had won the heated recruiting battle for Bradley. Among a number of high-profile college coaches in the crowd of 12,033 was Arizona's Lute Olson.
"It was a big surprise," Bradley said of the West MVP honor. "I just worked hard all week but I didn't think I'd done anything special. It's a great honor to get. I'm elated."
Bradley said the MVP award capped a week where he learned a lot. Not all of it was basketball.
"For one thing, I've got 19 more friends (the other McDonald's All-Stars)," he said.
"I also learned from visiting the kids in the hospital that there are really a lot of people less fortunate than me. I guess I knew that before, but I appreciate it more now. I got a lot out of talking to those kids in the hospital and making their day."
Wherever he went during the week in Indianapolis, Bradley was the center of attention. Long after the game ended Sunday, he was surrounded by a group of high school girls who wanted pictures taken with the Brigham Young recruit before they'd let him make his way to the team bus. When he was finally finished posing and signing autographs, he gave each of them a very high five.
Bradley, the tallest player in McDonald's game history, was one of three 7-footers on the floor. He and Montross had to battle 7-2, 295-pound Luther Wright of Elizabeth, N.J., inside. But the battle was decided by Reevus and the other slashers.
"Quickness, quickness, quickness. That was the difference," said West coach Norm Held of Anderson, Ind. "We had so many turnovers and they got so many loose balls because of their quickness.
"The pace of the game was definitely to their advantage. They (the East) must have had six or seven three-on-none fastbreaks on us."
Led by Reeves, the East forced the West into 26 turnovers that led to 44 points.
"Reeves just opened up the game for us," said East coach Vito Montelli of St. Joseph's High School in Trumbull, Conn. "He's got great hands and he just plays hard."
Reeves shared game-high honors with North Carolina recruit Clifford Rozier of Bradenton, Fla. Rozier will join Montross and East teammates Brian Reese and Derrick Phelps at North Carolina. The Tar Heels have the year's top-rated recruiting class and some analysts are calling it the greatest ever.
Ed O'Bannon, a 6-8 forward from Los Angeles, shared West scoring honors with 6-9 Louisville recruit Anthony Cade of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. O'Bannon, the object of a recruiting battle between Arizona, Arizona State, UNLV, UCLA and USC, was the only other player besides Bradley among the 20 McDonald's All-Americans from west of the Mississippi River.
Held praised Bradley for his work throughout the week, but added that he needs time to mature physically.
"I think he made a good decision about where to go to college. Getting six years to play four (counting time out for his LDS mission) will help him," Held said. "He's a big kid with great hands who can do a lot of things, but he needs time to develop."