The Front Row: The total package

JENNINGS DAZZLES: Wednesday’s McDonald’s All-American game was even sloppier than I expected.

These high school games are typically disjointed affairs, but this one barely resembled basketball.

Tyreke Evans — quite possibly the biggest ball hog I’ve ever seen — was named the game’s MVP.

Fortunately, Arizona recruit Brandon Jennings submitted enough spectacular plays to justify the immense hype.

The 6-foot-1 point guard from Compton, Calif., valiantly tried to break the assist record, and would’ve done it had his teammates not booted five potential assists out of bounds.

He threw two alley oops off the backboard, including one from an impossible 35-degree angle for a highlight slam from USC recruit Demar DeRozan.

Even though his West team lost by five, Jennings led the game in crowd-thrilling plays.

The best part? Jennings showed up with a phenomenal high-top fade — a hairstyle that disappeared from public consciousness around 1992.

If Jennings comes to Tucson with that haircut, he will immediately take his rightful place among my favorite basketball players.

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REDEMPTION: I don’t know if I’ll ever meet a more fascinating athlete than Kassim Ouma.

A month after I started writing for the Green Valley News, Ouma knocked out Francisco Mora at the Desert Diamond Casino.

That week, I got the chance to chat with Ouma, a thoughtful, well-spoken young man with a quick wit.

At an age when most kids enroll in first grade, Ouma was abducted by a Ugandan militia group and trained to kill.

He escaped and found solace in boxing, with his life serving as the inspiration for the documentary, “Kassim the Dream,” which premieres on April 25.

However, Ouma’s career has fallen on hard times after back-to-back losses to Jermain Taylor and heavy underdog Saul Roman.

Tonight, he battles former “Contender” star Cornelius Bundrage on ESPN2.

If Ouma (25-4, 15 KOs) hopes to remain in the middleweight title mix, he needs a win in the worst way.

I’m not going to lie; I’m rooting for him. Keep the dream alive, Kassim.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747