RIVERSIDE - When an assistant basketball coach yanked Malcolm Lee out of his economics class without explanation last month, the Riverside North guard figured he was about to receive a tongue-lashing.

Instead, Lee's coaches gave him something he has dreamed of for years: an invitation to play in the nation's most prestigious high school all-star game.

The UCLA signee will play alongside future Bruins teammate Jrue Holiday and future USC forward Demar DeRozan for the West team in tonight's McDonald's All-American Game in Milwaukee.

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2007 / The Press-Enterprise

Riverside North's Malcolm Lee, who is heading to UCLA, averaged 23.7 points per game and grabbed 7.4 rebounds as a senior.

Lee is the third area player to be selected for the all-star game, joining Fontana's Corey Benjamin in 1996 and Norco's Erika Arriaran in 2005.

"It's a big opportunity to show my skills," Lee said. "Ever since I was little, I dreamed of playing in that game. It's the most prestigious all-star game and it's been going on the longest."

In the four years since he arrived at North, Lee has impressed Coach Mike Bartee as much with his unselfishness as his uncanny court vision and quick first step to the basket. When North lost several top big men before the season, Lee, who is 6-foot-5, volunteered to switch to center for the Huskies, playing out of position for the rest of the season because that's where the team needed him most.

Lee still put up gaudy statistics as a senior, averaging 23.7 points per game and grabbing 7.4 rebounds among taller, stronger kids. He led the Huskies to the CIF-Southern Section Division 1-A quarterfinals, where their fourth-quarter comeback against Glendora fell two points short.

"You put Malcolm on a team where he can play his natural position and he's 10 times more effective," Bartee said. "He's a natural point guard, and he played totally out of position. I appreciate it big time because he put team before self."

While being selected to the McDonald's game is perhaps the greatest honor a high school player can receive, it also raises the expectations for Lee as he prepares to enroll at UCLA in the fall. Lee got a glimpse of the pressure in his final high school game last month when Glendora students chanted, "Where's McDonald?" at him during a sub-par first half.

"I guess when you get honored, people are going to hate," Lee said. "When I heard that chant, I had to pick it up."

Lee could receive immediate playing time at UCLA next season depending on whether guards Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison return to school. To prepare for that opportunity, he's focused on getting in the weight room and adding muscle to his slender 165-pound frame.

Bartee plans to hang a banner in North's gym commemorating Lee's invitation to the McDonald's game. He planned to make the trip to Milwaukee for the game along with Lee's parents.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Bartee said. "I've had a chance to do a whole lot of things in this business, but I've never had a player in that game. It's the perfect way to cap a great career."

Reach Jeff Eisenberg at 951-368-9357 or jeisenberg@PE.com