McDonald's All-American pick Mia Pauldo of Paterson serves up burgers in her hometown

PATERSON — Mia Pauldo never thought she'd work at a McDonald's. She and her twin sister Mya Pauldo don't even eat McDonald's.

But on Saturday afternoon, Mia was taking orders – and signing autographs – at a Paterson franchise. It was part of hometown publicity for the upcoming McDonald's All-American basketball games.

Morris Catholic point guard Mia Pauldo is the only New Jersey player selected to participate on Tuesday, April 1, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. She's the third McDonald's All-American from Paterson, following Tim Thomas (Paterson Catholic) and Essence Carson (Eastside).

"It takes a village, and the village came out today," Pauldo said, tugging on the twin braids her mother, Filisha Latrell Pauldo, had put in early Saturday morning.

"This is where most of our support comes from. It starts in our house and expands to our town. ... It's my people, people who have seen me when I was a little kid. It means more because it's in Paterson. They've seen the development, so it's different because they know where it all started. If anything, (the support) is more genuine."

Morris Catholic senior point guard Mia Pauldo is the only New Jersey player invited to participate in the McDonald's All-American girls basketball game. Pauldo takes orders Saturday, March 22, at McDonald’s on Broadway in Paterson.

The whole Pauldo clan was part of the capacity crowd, including parents D.J. and Filisha, eldest brother Daizon, sister Nyasia, and younger brother Dahmari. All wore black McDonald's All-American T-shirts with "Pauldo 3" on the back. Mia herself had a similar jersey, except hers had a large "25" on the front and back.

Morris Catholic coach Rahim Huland El and teammates like Danielle Matus turned up as well. The Pauldo Twin Back Court led the Crusaders to four Morris County Tournament titles and three NJSIAA Tournament trophies, most recently on March 14 at Rutgers.

"It feels pretty special. It shows how any girl can achieve their goals in life," said 10-year-old Charlotte Estevez, the only girl on Paterson Youth Basketball's U-11 Rebels. "It's my dream to get to the WNBA. My coach (Nijeer Parks) is trying to show me how to work hard."

D.J. Pauldo popped by and pointed at Estevez, who had eight points in a game he had refereed earlier in the day. He said, "She's up next, a high potential player with heart."

Alisa Harrison, who owns three McDonald's franchises in Paterson, estimated about 300 of the exclusive "MP3" meals were sold during Pauldo's two-hour stint behind the register. It included a McDouble or McChicken sandwich, medium fries and a soda for $5.99.

Pauldo took plenty of orders, both at the front counter and the drive-thru.

The oddest thing she was asked to sign, she said, was a Nike sweatshirt, which was handed across the counter while she was at the cash register. The All-American Game is sponsored by Adidas, and the twins signed a Name, Image and Likeness deal with Puma before their sophomore season.

Morris Catholic senior point guard Mia Pauldo is the only New Jersey player invited to participate in the McDonald's All-American girls basketball game. Pauldo autographs a poster on Saturday, March 22, at McDonald’s on Broadway in Paterson.

Whanse Gil, a 12-year-old who plays for both the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology and Just Kids, gave her a light blue Anthony Edwards Nike sneaker. Gil said he'd won a $12 bet with his friend that the Pauldo twins' team would win at Overtime Elite, which he said was "pretty amazing."

Mia and Mya – identical guards listed at 5-foot-7, who are really a couple of inches smaller – have both signed National Letters of Intent with Tennessee. Filisha plans to move down to Knoxville. Grandparents Frank Robinson and Sharon Brown Robinson, who live three hours away in Fayetteville, North Carolina, expect to attend many games.

Sharon Brown Robinson remembered when the twins used to play in her backyard on East 32nd Street in Paterson.

"I used to tape them when they were this big," she said, putting her hand out around hip height. "This is nothing unusual. This is just the next level."

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ basketball player Mia Pauldo takes orders at McDonald's

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