McDonald's All American Game 2012: Holding Devonta Pollard out Is Right Call

When the rosters (see ESPN.com) for Wednesday's McDonald's All-American Game were announced, Devonta Pollard's name stood out.

Pollard stood out a) because he's widely regarded as one of the top recruits at small forward in the country and b) because he hasn't yet decided where he will be playing college ball. Thus, there was some added intrigue regarding his appearance in Wednesday night's game.

Since then, there's been some bad news. Pollard won't be playing.

Dave Telep of ESPN was one of many to break the news:

"

This stinks. Devonta Pollard will not play tonight. Suffered a concussion at practice on Tuesday.

— Dave Telep (@DaveTelep) March 28, 2012"

Pollard's status was in doubt as soon as he got hurt on Tuesday. He could have risked playing, but holding him out of action was the wise call to make. Telep hit the nail on the head when he tweeted that Pollard simply cannot risk any further contact.

There's no arguing with the decision. It's no secret that concussions are a major hot-button issue in the sports world right now, and it would have looked pretty suspect if Pollard had been allowed to play in a mere All-Star game just one day after suffering one. 

Pollard himself is without a doubt disappointed, but his future has to come first. He's a hot recruit now, and his status could have been thrown up in the air if he had gone out on the court on Wednesday night and taken another blow to the head.

So what exactly will audiences be missing now that Pollard has been ruled out?

Well, Rivals.com has him down as the No. 2 prospect at small forward in the nation, for one. He's listed at 6'7" and about 190 pounds. The book on Pollard is that he is a strong player in the post and an above-average defender.

There's more to say, but it's best for everyone if I just let the video explain Pollard's game:

Per Rivals.com, Pollard has received offers from Alabama, Georgetown, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri and Texas. 

According to Tide Nation, Pollard's plan was to put his recruitment on hold this week so he could focus on the game. However, he did hint that he's narrowed his list of schools to five, and he admitted that he has already eliminated Kentucky as a possibility.

Pollard has visited Missouri and Texas, and he is scheduled to visit Alabama and Georgetown in April. He says he wants to make a decision by the end of next month.