St. Mark's Harrison Ingram On Rising To A McDonald's All-American

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - How does a player you've probably never seen and who doesn't attend a basketball powerhouse become a McDonald's All-American?

Harrison Ingram says, "I never was a kid who went to prep school. A lot of these kids who go to a prep school and other public schools... I never did that."

Since he was a kid, Ingram's had a dream. With the help of one of the top AAU coaches in the country, a plan to reach it was devised.

Vonzell Thomas, Harrison's former AAU coach, says the agreement was "to put him in front of the right media... playing against the best and let his game speak for itself."

And that's just what happened.

In 2019, Harrison was named MVP of the national title team on the Adidas circuit as a 16-year-old. Later that year, the St Mark's School of Texas sophomore faced the number-one rated player in the nation, Jalen Green, at American Airlines Center.

Harrison's stature grew when he was the best player on the court then, too.

In Harrison's words, "Doing that in front of the national media... showed that I'm just as good as these kids who get to show out in the school season."

This fall, Harrison is headed to Stanford. And that's due to his excellence on the court and in the classroom.

And there's a reason his name will be known even outside of basketball circles.

Harrison says, "I believe I'm the best player in the state and in the nation. No one puts the hard work in that I have."

Harrison's former AAU coach promises, "I don't know if it'll be after one year or two years, but you will see him in the NBA."

We'll say we knew him before he was on top of the world.