James shines in McDonald's game

CLEVELAND -- LeBron James was content to simply be a high school All-Star Wednesday night.\nThe 18-year-old high school senior, an almost-certain No. 1 pick in this summer's NBA draft, scored 27 points in leading the East to a 122-107 victory over the West in the 26th annual McDonald's All-American high school basketball game.\n"I'm not even thinking about the next All-Star game," he said with a smile, when asked if he were already preparing for the NBA. "I'm just trying to have fun with my teammates and enjoy this latest victory."\nJames -- who didn't hit a shot outside 5 feet -- added seven rebounds and seven assists. He received a standing ovation as he received the MVP trophy from former UCLA coach John Wooden.\nMany of the record crowd of 18,728 at Gund Arena came from James' hometown of Akron, about 40 miles away. James led St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School to three state championships in his four years -- along the way becoming the only three-time winner of the state's Mr. Basketball award.\nIt was a fitting send-off.\nAsked if he had decided what he would do next, James said, "I really don't know. God will lead me in the best direction and I will follow his footsteps. Who knows where I may be? I just take one step by one step because you're not promised tomorrow."\nIn the opening minute, James -- who won the event's slam-dunk contest 48 hours earlier -- threw down a high-flying dunk that brought a roar from the crowd.\nHis passing brought bigger cheers -- including two alley-oop passes that led to dunks by East teammate Charlie Villanueva. One was a no-look backdoor lob pass. James also had a behind-the-back pass to a teammate for a layup and tossed a one-handed pass for another dunk.\n"LeBron's definitely ready to go pro," said Villanueva, who has verbally committed to Illinois but is also considering jumping to the NBA. "He's an unselfish player. He loves to pass the ball. He loves to get his teammates involved -- and I like that about him."\nBy halftime James had 10 points, five assists and three rebounds in 11 minutes as the East built a 60-51 lead in a game that featured almost no defense. At times, James didn't even come all the way down the floor to guard his man, hanging back awaiting an outlet pass that he could turn into another highlight.\n"He has such a big effect on the game," the West's J.R. Giddens said. "He's not only a scorer, but he's a passer. … Some of the players that guard him have so much respect for him. It seems like they never played 'D' before because they're, like, 'Hey, that's LeBron!'"\nJames led a fast break and then tossed a looping pass to Michael Jones, a Maryland signee, for a dunk that gave the East a 100-83 lead. On three successive possessions in the final minutes, James scored baskets -- once on a reverse double-pump dunk, another on a layup and a third on a one-handed dunk off a pass from Wake Forest-bound Chris Paul.\nNot everything he did on offense was flawless. He never did make a shot from the perimeter, finishing 12-for-24 and 0-for-5 from behind the 3-point line.\nThen again, he faced as much attention on the floor as he did in the stands, with several defenders accepting the challenge of trying to shut him down.