TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — Sequoyah Schools’ basketball fans know she’s special. The coaching staff at Kansas University discovered it, now the nation may find out. Senior Angel Goodrich has been nominated to be a McDonald’s All-American, an honor only 24 high school basketball players nationwide ever receive.

“The McDonald’s All-American Game is unlike any other sports all-star event,” said Sequoyah girls’ basketball head coach Bill Nobles. “There is only one truly recognized national event for basketball and it is the McDonald’s All-American Game. This is the same game that introduced players like Candace Parker of Tennessee to the rest of the country.”

The McDonald’s All-American team was started in 1977 to showcase the nation’s top basketball players. In 2002, the girls’ game was added and competition for a spot on the team is pretty tough. Players must first be nominated for having an outstanding junior year or an excellent summer in basketball camps and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) tournaments. Then, a selection committee comprised of the nation’s most knowledge high school prep scouts, coaches, analysts and high school sports newspaper reporters vote on the top players. Winning players will receive notification of their placement on the team in early February and the McDonald’s All-American game will be played on Wednesday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

“For Angel, this would be the pinnacle of individual achievement, while at the same time exposing the country even further to the wonderful things we are doing here at Sequoyah,” Nobles said.

Goodrich has led the Sequoyah girl’s basketball team to three straight state championships as state tournament Most Valuable Player and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Oklahoma for 2007. Goodrich, 17, is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and is the daughter of Fayth and Jonathan Lewis of Tahlequah. She has signed a letter of intent to play college basketball for the Kansas Jayhawks after graduation from Sequoyah.