Roseville's Mack Johnson Vying for a National Championship

As one of the stars of the Roseville High School boys basketball team, guard Mack Johnson is known as a three-point playmaker.

Johnson, a senior, is averaging about 18 points per game this season, including two or three three-point baskets.  Last year, as a junior, he set the school's record for most three-point baskets, 83. 

Now, Johnson's proficiency at scoring baskets from downtown is putting him in elite company. He is one of 32 high school boys from across the country in the running for the 2013 American Family Insurance National High School Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships.

More specificially, Johnson is currently one of 16 boys still in the running in the 3-Point championshps. 

For the second consecutive year, fans will decide the final player selected to each competition through Facebook voting (facebook.com/HighSchoolSlam). To vote on mobile, visit highschoolslam.com.

Each week for six weeks, contestants will compete in a bracket-style knockout competition, according to officials. Half the field will advance after each round and winners are wholly determined by fan voting. Voting for the first round of the competition will run until Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. ET.  The top vote-getter from each match-up will advance to the quarterfinal round.

You can see Mack Johnson's nomination video by clicking on to the YouTube video above this story, to remind you why he belongs! The contestants are vying for a spot in the official event which airs April 6 at 2 p.m. ET on CBS from Atlanta, Ga. in conjunction with the NCAA basketball championships.  

Johnson told Roseville Patch he learned earlier this month he had been submitted as a contestant in the three-point competition. Johnson credited the Raiders' team manager, Nas Ali, from last season for the honor. Ali, now a college student in Michigan, put together a highlight video of Johnson that depicts his three-point prowess.

"It's special that I have made it this far," said Johnson, of the honor.  

Johnson hopes people in our state get behind him and vote often for him in the Facebook balloting.  You can vote once every 24 hours, so go back daily to the voting page. 

"I'm the only person from Minnesota (in the competition)," Johnson noted. "I'd like to be the representative for the people in our state."

For Johnson, the national contest is coming at a time when he and his Raider teammates hope they win the Suburban East Conference championship this year, and then continue enough winning to make it to the state tournament. 

Whatever happens with the national three-point contest and Raiders' playoff aspirations, Johnson seems destined for a college basketball scholarship. He said he currently has offers from a handful of Division II schools and is also speaking to some Division I colleges. 

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