Nobody wants to miss out on the next Kevin Garnett or Tracy McGrady, and no one wants to be responsible for drafting the next Kwame Brown.

That is why representatives from every single NBA team are expected Wednesday in South Bend, Ind., for the 28th annual McDonald’s high school All-America game — an event that has featured such NBA stars as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Vince Carter and Magic Johnson.

With this year’s high school class being judged a notch below the previous two, this version of the game won’t be the showcase it was in 2003 when James played in Cleveland, or in 2004 when seven players from the game in Oklahoma City — Dwight Howard, the overall No. 1 pick, Al Jefferson (Boston), J.R. Smith (New Orleans), Sebastian Telfair (Portland), Josh Smith (Atlanta), Robert Swift (Seattle) and Shaun Livingston (L.A. Clippers) — made the jump to the NBA.

Current mock drafts have North Carolina freshman Marvin Williams, Utah center Andrew Bogut and Wake Forest guard Chris Paul among the top three.

Among the players who will be watched most closely at this year’s McDonald’s game:

• Gerald Green, a 6-foot-8 swingman from Houston’s Gulf Shores Academy who has committed to Oklahoma State but is projected to be a lottery pick if he enters the draft. Online scouting reports say Green has NBA three-point range, a good mid-range jump shot, strong ballhandling and elevation skills and outstanding quickness on the defensive end. He was the MVP of the 2004 Reebok ABCD camp.
• Monta Ellis, a 6-3 combo guard from Lanier High in Jackson, Miss., who averaged 41.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists, has a quick shot release and may be the best pure scorer to come out of the high school ranks since Dajuan Wagner. Critics say he is too thin and note he may be a classic tweener — not skilled enough as a ballhandler to be a point guard and not tall enough for shooting guard. He has committed to Mississippi State.
• Louis Williams, a 6-3 guard from South Gwinnett High School in Snellville, Ga., who has a 40-inch vertical leap and a quick first step that has drawn comparisons to Allen Iverson. Like many players of his age and size, there are questions about whether his defensive instincts are good enough for the NBA — especially at his tweener size.

Among the other 21 players on the McDonald’s rosters, nine are committed to Duke, North Carolina or Kansas University (three each), and four others are headed to Washington or Oklahoma State (two each). The fan favorite Wednesday night just might end up being 6-foot-11 forward Luke Zeller of Washington (Ind.) High, who has committed to Notre Dame.

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More draft news: One player expected to end up in the top half of the draft lottery is 19-year-old center Martynas Andriuskevicius of Lithuania.

Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird traveled last month to Bologna, Italy, to see the 7-foot-3 Andriuskevicius play for Zalgiris Kaunas in a Euroleague game, but Andriuskevicius’ coach left him on the bench for the entire game.

“I recently sent the letter in which I make myself eligible for the next NBA draft,” Andriuskevicius told reporters in Europe. “(Former NBA player) Arvydas Sabonis (who owns Zalgiris Kaunas) has advised me to wait, but I want to try. I am even ready to spend one season on the bench, training to improve and get more strength, in order to play against the best the following season.

“I know that many people have said that I will be chosen quite high up, but I haven’t set myself any objectives,” Andriuskevicius said.

Andriuskevicius played sparingly in his club’s 19 games, scoring a total of 22 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while playing just more than nine minutes per game. One of his teammates on the Lithuanian team was former NBA guard Robert Pack.

Other international players expected to be first-round picks include Brazilian Tiago Splitter, Spanish forward Fran Vazquez, Serbian center Kosta Perovic and French center Johan Petro.

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Layups: Never in NBA history have two conference finalists failed to make the playoffs, but it could happen this season if Minnesota and the Los Angeles Lakers continue to falter. The Lakers dropped a 117-96 decision Thursday at Denver for their seventh straight loss, the franchise’s longest streak in 11 years.