Article published March 31, 2008
OHIO'S MR. BASKETBALL
Libbey's Buford named a Parade All-American
By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Libbey High School senior basketball star William Buford has garnered yet another prestigious award.
The 6-foot, 5-inch shooting guard has been named to the 10-player first team on the 52nd annual Parade All-America Boys' Basketball squad.
The 2008 All-America teams will be featured in the Parade Magazine supplement in The Blade on Sunday.
Buford is joined on the Parade first team by fellow Ohio State recruit B.J. Mullens, a 7-1 center from Ohio's Canal Winchester High School. Brandon Jennings, a 6-2 guard from Oak Hill Academy, a prep school in Virginia, is the 2008 Parade boys' player of the year.
"It's a real big honor," Buford said of the Parade selection. "It feels like my hard work has paid off. It feels good to be named to the first team, but I still feel I need to keep working harder to get better."
On March 12, Buford was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball for 2008, the highest award for state high school players. He was previously named to the 20-member Jordan Brand All-America team, and to the 24-member McDonald's All-America team. Buford played in the 32nd annual McDonald's all-star game Wednesday, scoring six points, including two dunks.In conjunction with the McDonald's team honor, Buford and Libbey coach Leroy Bates are scheduled to appear at the McDonald's restaurant at 1540 Broadway in south Toledo tomorrow at 4 p.m.
Buford will discuss his experience at the McDonald's game, which was played in Milwaukee. He will also sign autographs for the public.
Buford's final high school-related basketball contest will be the seventh annual Jordan Brand all-star game April 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
That game will be televised live nationally on ESPN2 at 9 p.m.
"The fact that he's scored over 2,000 points and was named Mr. Basketball in Ohio make him well deserving of this award," said Mr. Bates, whose Cowboys have won the past two City League championships.
"He's shown that he's a prolific scorer and our Libbey team has performed exceptionally well with him as the cornerstone. His being selected to these teams adds credibility to the awards."
The Libbey standout concluded his prep career with the Cowboys (24-3) on March 15 in the team's heartbreaking 70-69 overtime loss to Chillicothe in the Division II state championship game at Value City Arena in Columbus. Chillicothe's Ray Chambers scored the winning basket on a buzzer-beating layup.
Buford scored 29 points in his prep finale against Chillicothe to cap his four-year Cowboy career with 2,059 points. That is the second-highest total by a Toledo prep player.
Former Macomber, Ohio State, and NBA star Jim Jackson scored 2,328 points in his four-year prep career with the Macmen.
Contact Steve Junga at:
sjunga@theblade.com,
or 419-724-6461
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