Despite a record-setting 35 points from the USA’s Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman H.S. / Las Vegas, Nev.), the World Select Team captured an 84-75 win over the USA Junior National Select Team in the Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday night at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.

The final box score is here. And fan discussion was here.

Down by as many as 18 points in the first half, the USA fought back to take a 75-74 lead with 3:20 remaining in the game before the International squad closed on a 10-0 run to capture its fourth win and largest margin of victory in the 15-game history of the event.

“Obviously, we were down 52-34 at halftime. We had forced nine turnovers, but we dug a hole of 10-0,” said USA head coach Kevin Boyle (Montverde Academy, Fla.). “We got it to 32-26, and I think they out-scored us 20 or 22-2 to end the half to go up 18. We weren’t rotating good on defense. We were kind of standing and watching a little bit on offense. I don’t know if we started the game a little tight from the atmosphere, a lot of guys playing international basketball for the first time, or if they just came out more aggressive. In the second half we forced 14 turnovers, were able to turn them over a lot, able to get back into the game. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the job done with the hole being so large.”

Muhammad, in addition to setting the event scoring mark, also tied the U.S. record for field goals made (12) and set a new high for field goals attempted (19), while Kyle Anderson (St. Anthony H.S. / North Bergen, N.J.) grabbed a U.S. record-tying 10 rebounds to go with 12 points and four assists.

“I wasn’t really aware of (the scoring record),” Muhammad said. “I just thought my shot was going in tonight. I thought we really played well in the second half with the rotations on defense. If we would have done that in the first half, we would have come closer to winning the game.”

A trio of double-digit scorers led the World Team. Canada’s Andrew Wiggins tallied 20 points, including six attempted 3-pointers, tying the International record. China center Wang Zhelin added 19 points, and Croatia’s Dario Saric scored 13 points to go with 14 rebounds, which tied the previous World Team high.

The USA was plagued by ice-cold 35.9 percent (28-78 FGs) shooting from the field and was out done of the glass by a 57-34 margin. In fact, the World Team’s 57 rebounds established a new game high for the international squad.

“Wow, special win for us, for the World Team,” said Roy Rana (Canada), head coach of the World Team. “I know it hasn’t happened too often, so anytime you get a win over the USA it’s a good feeling. I thought we got off to a tremendous start and then hung on for our lives.”

The USA was sluggish in the first few minutes and trailed 10-0 before Muhammad put seven consecutive points on the board for the Americans, bringing the score to 12-7 with a pull-up at 6:15. The two teams were nearly even over the next 3:45, but two 3-pointers from the World Team helped push their advantage to 21-14 at the end of the first quarter.

The USA worked its way back to a six-point, 32-26, deficit with a fast-break bucket from Anderson at 5:09, however, the World Team outscored the USA 20-8 over the next five minutes and took its largest lead of the game into the halftime locker room, 52-34.

A 6-0 run to close the third quarter helped the USA cut the gap to nine points, 64-55, heading into the final 10 minutes.

The USA battled back in the fourth quarter and, after outscoring the World squad 20-10, took its first and only lead of the game, 75-74, with 3:20 on the clock. The USA’s lead was short-lived though, as the Internationals went back on top 78-75 with 45 second to go. The Americans’ fate was sealed when, with the shot-clock nearly expired, Wiggins heaved a 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net and put the game out of reach, 81-75, with just 22 seconds remaining.

Gary Harris (Hamilton Southeastern H.S. / Bowie, Md.) added eight points for the USA, while Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills H.S. / Little Rock, Ark.) finished with seven.


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2011 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT GAME
April 10, 2011

The USA Basketball Junior National Select Team’s depth and defense helped it withstand the first triple-double in Nike Hoop Summit basketball game history as the Americas rolled to a 92-80 win over the World Select Team Saturday night in front of a national television audience and a Rose Garden crowd of 8,955 in Portland, Ore.

While four U.S. players scored in double-digits and all 10 USA team members put points on the board, Bismack Biyombo (Fuenlabrada, Spain and DR Congo) tallied 12 points, 11 rebounds and a Nike Hoop Summit record 10 blocked shots for the first triple-double in the game’s history.

However, Biyombo’s individual performance was no match for a stellar USA team effort.

“I’m a big believer in having depth, and with this particular team you have quality depth,” said USA head coach Kevin Sutton (Orlando, Fla.). “Having a bench where you could rotate players in freely with very little to no drop off was part of our game plan. We wanted to use our length, we wanted to use our athleticism and we wanted to make it a full court game versus a half court game. So having depth contributed to us being successful tonight.”

The USA was led by 20 points from guard Austin Rivers (Winter Park H.S./Winter Park, Fla.); a double-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots from 6-9 Anthony Davis (Perspectives Charter/Chicago, Ill.); 16 points, five rebounds and five blocks from 6-7 forward Michael Gilchrist (St. Patrick H.S./Somerdale, N.J.); and 12 points and three assists from guard Quinn Cook (Oak Hill Academy/Bowie, Md.).

“This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and it’s a great opportunity that I got selected and got to play with them, and playing against the top talent in the world,” said Davis, who has signed to play at the University of Kentucky. “We really locked down on defense. Defense leads to offensive fast breaks, and that’s how we got our points. Luckily we came out with the win.”

The USA’s defense limited the World Team to 37.5 percent shooting from the field overall, including just 14.3 percent in the first quarter and 26.8 percent at halftime. Poor shooting meant the World Team was unable to capitalize on its 23 offensive rebounds and its 41-39 rebounding advantage over the USA.

“I was trying to win,” Biyomba said. “We came here; we’ve been practicing for four days. It’s really hard to play like we did today. We tried our best on the court, but something happened.”

The World Team’s Mateusz Ponitka (AZS Politechnika and Poland) put the first points on the board with a three pointer at 9:10, and for the first few minutes of the game the international squad led the Americans. Trailing 7-4, Gilchrist took over and scored the USA’s next seven points, converting an old-fashioned three-point play at 4:44 that gave the USA an 11-9 lead. It was the only lead change of the game as the USA never again trailed. After four U.S. players helped outscore the World Team 9-3 to close the quarter, the red, white and blue headed into the first break up 20-12.

“It’s hard to get a rhythm,” Rivers said. “A lot of us haven’t played with each other. I thought we actually did great for having not ever played with each other. I started out a little bit slow, and then I knocked down a couple shots and after that I just kept going. My teammates did a good job of finding me, and I just tried to get out in the open court because Anthony (Davis), (James) McAdoo and all of those guys were working so hard getting the rebounds. We were just sitting right there waiting so it worked out.”

As was the case throughout the game, the World Team several times threatened to take the lead from the USA in the second period, coming as close as three points, 27-24, following a 3-pointer by Kevin Pangos (Dr Denison HS, Ontario and Canada) at 5:39. Rivers scored eight points in the last 3:20 of the quarter, however, to help the USA take a 42-31 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Davis, who scored the first points of the second half with an alley-oop from Bradley Beal (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.) at 9:22, then scored six more points in the next 2:26 to give the USA a 50-36 lead at 6:56, but was sent to the bench at 6:43 with his third foul. The World Team took advantage and compiled a 6-0 run to cut the lead to eight, 50-42 at 4:51.

Two points from James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian/ Norfolk, Va.) ended the World Team’s streak, while Cook tallied seven of the USA’s next 16 points to help secure a 66-53 lead headed into the final stanza.

While the World Team never surrendered and twice came as close as nine points in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, the USA had an answer for every attack. Led by eight points from Rivers in the period, eight U.S. players scored to help the USA take its largest lead of the game – a 20 point advantage, 86-66, that came off of a Gilchrist free throw at 3:23.

“We implemented our game plan all week long and I thought the kids really believed in it and they really believed in their own talents,” Sutton said. “So tonight we went out and showed how talented we are, we executed our game plan and I really like how we sustained it over the course of the game.”

Tony Wroten (Garfield H.S./Seattle, Wash.) finished with a game-high five assists, and Davis’ 10 rebounds tied the U.S. Nike Hoop Summit record for rebounds. Tyler Hansbrough also grabbed 10 boards in 2005, as did Jermaine O’Neal in 1996 and Kevin Garnett in 1995.

Additionally, with six attempted 3-pointers, Davis Bertans (Union Olimpija and Latvia) and Portland local Kyle Wiltjer, (Jesuit H.S., Ore. and Canada) tied the international record for 3-pointers attempted. The World Team also tied international Hoop Summit records for field goals attempted with 80 and blocked shots with 11 rejections.

Ponitka was the top scorer for the international squad with 17 points, while Wiltjer added 12.

The Nike Hoop Summit, which sees America's top senior high school players take on a World Select Team consisting of many of the world's top players 19-years-old or younger, has given an extraordinary number of talented youngsters the chance to showcase their abilities. More than 100 Hoop Summit alumni have been drafted into the NBA.

With the win, the USA improves to 11-3 in the 14-game history of the event and has now won the last two Nike Hoop Summits.

Austin Rivers Nike Hoop Summit Interview Quotes

Opening statement: “It’s just a great opportunity to come out here and play with the top talent in the world. I was very excited that USA Basketball got us all together, kept us in shape and got us ready to play against this team. Fortunately for us, we came out with the victory.”

On his slow start to the game: “It’s hard to get a rhythm. A lot of us haven’t played with each other. I thought a lot of us actually did great for having not ever played with each other. I started out a little bit slow, and then I knocked down a couple shots and after that I just kept going. My teammates did a good job of finding me, and I just tried to get out in the open court because Anthony (Davis), (James) McAdoo and all of those guys were working so hard getting the rebounds. We were just sitting right there waiting so it worked out.”

On what Trail Blazers point guard Andre Miller said to him at halftime: “He said that he’s a big fan of mine, which is an honor because I’ve looked up to those guys and him. Watching him last night, he was ballin’ for the Blazers. For him to say that to me just means that some of my hard work is paying off. He told me to always stay humble and to stay hungry, because some kids get to this opportunity and they think they’ve already made it, and then they just slide right off. I’m determined not to be that person, and I’m just going to keep staying humble and try to get to where he is."

Bismack Biyombo Hoops Summit Interview Quote

On tonight's game: “I was trying to win. We came here, we’ve been practicing for four days. It’s really hard to play like we did today. We tried our best on the court, but something happened. Everybody came and played the game and they try to win the game. So the way we play is the way things should be done, and I’m sure we did our best to win the game. Something happened, but the only thing I can say is I really enjoyed the game, I really enjoyed the team, and all of us enjoyed the game.”

USA head coach Kevin Sutton 2011 Hoop Summit Interview Quotes

Opening statement: “I thought tonight’s game was a well-played game. I have had the opportunity to coach under USA Basketball for the last two summers with seven of these young men. I thought tonight’s game was well-played, and having the opportunity to play against several of the players on the international team… I was just honored to be the coach, and was really pleased with how well we played today.”

On the performance of Michael Gilchrist: “Michael Gilchrist is a tremendous player. He always has stats in every category. I don’t think there’s one thing he does particularly well—I think he just plays the game of basketball so hard, and that’s the reason why you see that he has stats across the board. Just a tremendous player. I liken him to a basketball player without a position.”

On the competitiveness of the team: “They’re very competitive. I think if this was a tiddlywink contest they would want to win that, too. They were really successful for the past two years. We won the FIBA Americas down in Argentina at U16, and then we went to Germany and won the World Championship in U17. We’ve only lost one game, and that was to a U19 team in a friendly game over in Lithuania, and they were very upset with that because they felt that we should have won that game as well. Any time we have a shooting contest or a defensive contest, these guys want to win. Because they want to win in every competition, that’s what makes them the great players that they are, and collectively makes them the great team playing for USA Basketball every time that they have the opportunity.”

Key to tonight’s game: "We implemented our game plan all week long and I thought the kids really believed in it and they really believed in their own talents. So tonight we went out and showed how talented we are, we executed our game plan and I really like how we sustained it over the course of the game."

What was the game plan? "We wanted to hang our hats on our defense and I thought we did that especially at the beginning game. All the kids in this game are talented offensively, but for us it was important to play on the defensive end and we established it from the beginning and it helped us be successful tonight."

Were you happy with your team’s inside play? "I really was. I knew James McAdoo because I’ve been coaching him the last two summers so I knew he would be rock solid defensively. But I thought Rakeem Christmas and Anthony Davis did a tremendous job on the defensive end against their inside strength and I thought they exerted themselves on the offensive glass as well and that contributed to us being really successful early."

How important was having 10 talented players so you could work at wearing them down? "I’m a big believer in having depth and this particular team you have quality depth. Having a bench where you could rotate players in freely with very little to no drop off was part of our game plan. We wanted to use our length, we wanted to use our athleticism, and we wanted to make it a full court game versus a half court game. So having depth contributed to us being successful tonight.

2010 Nike Hoop Summit
April 10, 2010

Trailing by 15 points with just nine seconds left in the third period, the 2010 USA Junior National Select Team rallied to outscore its opponent 42-23 over the game's final 10:09 to capture an exciting, 101-97 comeback win over the World Select Team in the 13th Annual Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday, April 10 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.

The Nike Hoop Summit is one of the country's premier annual high school basketball-age boys and features America's elite, young athletes against a World Select Team comprised of top international players 19-years-old or younger. With the win, the USA improved its advantage to 10-3 in the series.

Harrison Barnes (Ames H.S. / Ames, Iowa) and Jared Sullinger (Northland H.S. / Columbus, Ohio), who finished as the USA's leading scorers with 27 and 22 points, respectively, combined in the fourth period for 22 points to help the USA erase the deficit, while local talent Terrence Jones (Jefferson H.S. / Portland, Ore.) sparked the USA's turnaround with a 3-pointer to close the third quarter and a coast-to-coast layup to start the final 10 minutes.

"I was looking for something to put my foot down where we could get a stop and maybe turn the tide," said USA head coach Bob Cimmino (Mount Vernon H.S., N.Y.). "I think Terrence's basket at the end of the third quarter was huge. It gave us a little lift and prevented us from being really deep in the hole."

The World Team was led by a record-setting performance from 6-10 Turkish center Enes Kanter (Stoneridge Prep, Calif. / Turkey), who finished with 34 points and 13 rebounds. Kanter's 13-of-21 shooting performance from the field set the World Team Nike Hoop Summit record for field goals made and attempted and his 34 points broke the individual World Team scoring record of 33 points set by Dirk Nowitzki in 1998.

Thirty-four points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes is very, very impressive," said World Team head coach Rob Beveridge. "It's probably one of the best I've seen in a long time, so well done."

Jones and Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick H.S. / Elizabeth, N.J.) were the only two players to also score points for the red, white and blue in the fourth quarter and both players finished with 15 points apiece.

"We had great support," Jones said. "I love my state, and I love living here. To see how the fans came out to support us, the United States and me personally, it was just a great victory, especially to win it at home."

"In the fourth quarter I just decided to work harder to get open and find the open spot so my teammates could find me," said Sullinger, who finished the night shooting 10-of-14 from the floor and collected a USA best eight rebounds "And just feeding off of them, they made it real easy for me."

Leading 25-20 after one quarter, the U.S. lead stretched to 15 points, 46-31, after an 8-0 run that included four points from Patric Young (Providence H.S. / Jacksonville, Fla.) with 2:19 left in the first half.

Kanter countered, however, with six points in the period's final 2:06 to help cut the lead to 50-41 at the halftime buzzer.

The World Team's Cory Joseph (Findlay Prep, Nev. / Canada) beat the 24-second shot clock with a floater as the World squad opened the third period with a 7-0 run that left the U.S. lead at two, 50-48, at 7:42.

Kanter, who accounted for 13 points in the third period alone, tallied seven during a 13-0 spurt that gave the World Team a 69-57 lead at 2:12. As the last few seconds of the third period ticked off, the World Team had established a 15-point lead. Jones took advantage of some breathing room on the perimeter and knocked down a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining before the final break to give the USA some hope and cut the lead to 74-62.

"I just knew how much time was left on the clock, and I knew I wanted to get up a three," Jones said. "I hadn't shot one all game. I had a little bit of room and I decided to shoot. It felt good all the way. That was a big one. We were down 15, and we needed that going into the fourth."

The USA continued to battle, and after Barnes knocked down a 3-pointer at 8:00 the gap was 76-67. Sullinger scored seven of the USA's next 11 points and with 5:58 left the USA was back within two, 80-78.

Barnes nailed another 3-pointer at 5:29 to put the USA back up by one point, and he converted his own steal into two points at the line after he was fouled to give the USA an 83-30 advantage at 5:00.

The two teams punched away over the final minutes and Kanter, who drew Sullinger's fifth personal foul with 1:59 remaining, put the World up 90-89 with two makes at the line.

Irving's 7' jumper at 1:42 repositioned the USA in the lead 91-90, but Nikola Mirotic (Faymasa Palencia, Spain / Montenegro) scored on the other end and pushed the World back ahead 92-91 with 1:26 left. Barnes drained his fourth and final 3-pointer of the night at 1:09 to give the USA a 94-92 advantage, but the World Team fought back, and Joseph scored a layup to tie the game at 94 with just 54.3 seconds to go.

I have to commend my teammates - Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight as well as some of the bigs like Jared and Patrick - for giving me good kick-outs and giving me good shots," Barnes said.

Irving recorded what may have been his most impressive play of the game with a basket and free throw at 44.7 to give the USA a 97-94 lead. Jones collected a World Team miss at 34.4 and sank one of two free throws to put the USA up four, 98-94, and the World Team's Dejan Musli (FMP Zeleznik / Serbia) converted one free at 27.6, as did the USA's Jones at 15.6 to make the score 99-95. The World Team turned the ball over in its next possession, and when Jones converted two more free throws the game's outcome was no longer in doubt.

"We determined as bigs not to get bullied and play hard every possession, because that's what we came here to do: better ourselves and represent USA," said Sullinger.

Tristan Thompson (Findlay Prep, Nev. / Canada) and Mirotic added 14 points for the World Team, and Musli finished with 11 points.

Cimmino was assisted on the USA sideline by Rich Gray (St. Louis Eagles AAU, Mo.).

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2010 NIKE HOOPS SUMMIT POST-GAME QUOTES
April 10, 2010

Harrison Barnes o his 3-pointers: “I have to commend my teammates – Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight as well as some of the bigs like Jared and Patrick – for giving me good kick-outs and giving me good shots.” “It’s a great opportunity for me to come here and not only represent our country, but represent the Midwest and the state of Iowa. I’m so humbled and honored by the experience.” “I had a good night shooting the three. Usually, I’m more in attack mode going to the hoop, but my teammates did a good job of finding me so it allowed me to get good shots.”

Jared Sullinger: “It gives me confidence because everybody says I can’t finish over bigger or more athletic people. It helped me to adjust my game to the next level.” ... “We determined as bigs not to get bullied and play hard every possession, because that ‘s what we came here to do: better ourselves and represent USA.”

Brandon Knight on his college selection: “(I look for a place) where I’m comfortable. A place I feel like I can get better and be comfortable...(I’ll make my decision) next week probably…I know (answering questions) is part of being recruited and part of the process, it’s no big deal.”

Brandon Knight on his academics: “(Academics) are a pretty big factor. Wherever I go to school I plan to take my education seriously and do the best I can and pursue whatever I want to pursue. I’m not just going to focus just on basketball; wherever I go I’m going to focus on both aspects.”

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2009 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT
April 11, 2009

The 2009 USA Junior National Select Team watched a nine-point lead slip away in the fourth quarter as the World Select Team rallied to outscore the USA by 17 points in the final stanza to capture a 97-89 win in the 12th annual Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday night in Portland, Ore.

Xavier Henry (Putnam City H.S. / Oklahoma City, Okla.) led all U.S. scorers with 22 points, including 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point, which tied the U.S. Hoop Summit individual game record for both 3-pointers made and attempted. Avery Bradley (Findlay Prep / Henderson, Nev.), who made 10-of-14 shots from the field, added 21 points, and John Wall (Word of God Academy / Raleigh, N.C.) finished with 13 points, a U.S. Hoop Summit game record 11 assists and tied the steals mark with five.

Played in front of a nationally televised audience and a Nike Hoop Summit record crowd of 11,246, the Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premiere annual basketball game featuring America's top male high-school-age players taking on a World Select Team comprised of the top international players, 19-years-old or younger.

Led by 23 points from Serbian big man Milan Macvan (Hemofarm-Stada / Serbia) the World Team win ended a seven-game winning streak for the USA, which now holds a 9-3 advantage over its foreign opponents in the 12-game history of the event. Macvan also collected 14 rebounds to tie a World Team Hoop Summit record, including nine rebounds on the offensive glass.

"Their big man got it going in the second half and their guards hit two threes back-to-back in crunch time," said Wall. "No game is going to be easy. Even though you're getting the highlights and getting the crowd into it, a team that is big caliber and can make shots like they can, I knew the game wasn't over. They started making the shots…the lead started getting lower and lower, and they came out with a good win."

Trailing 70-61, the World Team put the fourth quarter's first points on the board and then compiled a 13-5 run that cut the USA's advantage to 75-72 when Donatas Motiejunas (Aisciai Kaunas / Lithuania), who tallied 12 of his 21 points in the fourth period, capped the run with a three-point play.

Following a USA timeout, Henry knocked down one of his six 3-pointers at 6:05 and Bradley slammed home a fast-break dunk at 5:44 put the USA back up 80-74. From there, however, the USA struggled to score as the World Team closed the game with a 23-9 run to secure the win, which equaled its highest-ever margin of victory.

"Number 10 (Milan Macvan), he was the glue to that group," said USA head coach John Olive (Torrey Pines H.S. / San Diego, Calif.). "I don't know if there was a key turning point, but whenever they needed something, he seemed to get it done."

The USA was hurt by poor free throw shooting, making just 7-of-16 from the charity strip, and also badly lost the battle of the boards 48-29, giving up 25 offensive boards and 27 second-chance points.

A total of seven Hoop Summit records were tied or bettered. The international squad dished out a record 21 assists, while the U.S. team equaled its assists mark with 23.

"We had to play a very, very well structured game, and we had to take care of the ball," said World Team head coach Rob Beveridge, who is now 1-4 as the World squad head coach in the Hoop Summit. "The USA guards are some of the best guards that we've come up against. We had to put a system in place that was going to counter that. I thought our players really, really did a great job when we got down 8 to 10 points to stay focused and disciplined enough to follow the game plan. We played as a team and that's why we won the game."

The game's first three periods were fairly evenly matched, with the USA holding onto a 23-19 lead after the first period and a one-point, 42-41, advantage at halftime.

The USA reached a 10-point lead with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter when John Henson (Sickles H.S. / Tampa, Fla.), who tallied 10 points and nine rebounds -- six of those coming on the offensive end -- cleaned up a USA miss with a dunk that made the score 68-58. Tomislav Zubcic (Cibona / Croatia) responded with three points the old-fashioned way for the World Team, but after Wall countered with a slam with 11 seconds remaining the third stanza ended with the USA up 70-61.

Olive was assisted on the USA sideline by Antwan Harris (Washburn H.S. / Minneapolis, Minn. / Pulley Panthers AAU).


2009 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT QUOTES

USA HEAD COACH JOHN OLIVE

On the game: Number 10 (Macvan), he was the glue to that group, I don't know if there was a key turning point, but whenever they needed something, he seemed to get it done. Obviously that three with about two and half, three minutes to go, was the biggest shot in the game.

AVERY BRADLEY

On the game: Games like that, McDonald's All-American, those are all-star games. Us coming here, we're supposed to play as a team, it's kind of a team thing. We are representing the US, and we're not playing against each other, we are playing against the world.

XAVIER HENRY

On the crowd: That was the biggest crowd I have ever played in front of. Every time we scored or got a steal, it was the loudest crowd I had ever heard. It was a great atmosphere to play in.

On the game: It was a tough game, back and forth all game. The other team, they just played tougher than us the whole game. They got a ton of offensive rebounds. We had a lot of things we could of done better.

MIKE MOSER

On the game: It was a little different, more up tempo type game. I thought we played well, they played a lot better. A lot of these guys, the big thought is, the next step after the college, and that is what a lot of us are really working for right now, and to play out there in front of all those scouts is really just a blessing right now.

JOHN WALL

On the game: Their big man got it going in the second half, and their guards hit two threes back-to-back in crunch time. No game is going to be easy, even though you're getting the highlights and getting the crowd into it, a team that is big caliber and can make shots like they can, I knew the game wasn't over. They started making the shots and sooner or later, the lead started getting lower and lower and they came out with a good win.

WORLD TEAM HEAD COACH ROB BEVERIDGE

On the game: Obviously this was just a wonderful win for us. The last time was 1998 and this is my fifth year in the program. I really felt early in the week that this was a group that was together. They thoroughly enjoyed each others company, and we did a lot of team bonding. We spent time with each other. That really brought this group together about what a team is really about. We had to play a very, very well structured game and we had to take care of the ball. The USA guards are some of the best guards that we’ve come up against. We had to put a system in place that was going to counter that. I thought our players really, really did a great job when we got down eight to 10 points to stay focused and disciplined enough to follow the game plan. We played as a team and that’s why we won the game.

Individually, we are never going to beat the USA. The USA players one-on-one are way too talented, too athletic, they are far better athletes than what we have. We have some good athletes but they have superior athletes, so we had to get through to our players that the only way to beat USA is to play as a team. We had to get the players to play out of position as well. By putting people in different situations, it makes it real tough and unbelievable credit to these guys for the sacrifice they made for eachother and the common goal of trying to play our best.

Defensively, we played a lot of zone. The guys did a great job of playing that type of defense. We exposed them.

On challenge of coaching World Team: The biggest challenge is obviously the language barrier. We probably had three people with very good English. Edwin was an interpreter for the French-speaking players. It’s a real challenge to be able to communicate through different players to get different things. That was a huge challenge and from my perspective as coach. It’s probably the best thing that I can ever do to improve myself as a coach to learn different ways of communicating.


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2008 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT
April 12, 2008

Fueled by seven points from Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall H.S./ North Hollywood, Calif.), the USA posted an 11-0 run over the first four minutes of the third quarter to open a comfortable 54-42 lead and then rolled on to a comfortable 98-78 victory over the World Select Team in the 11th Nike Hoop Summit held Saturday at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. The USA's 20-point margin of victory tied the game's record for victory margin. The 20 point differential has also been equaled on two other occasions, 100-80 in 2007 and 99-79 in the 2004 game.

The win upped the USA's record to 9-2 in the Nike Hoop Summit and was the USA's seventh straight victory.

In a balanced scoring attack that saw six of the 10 U.S. players score in double digits, forward DeMar DeRozan (Compton H.S. / Compton, Calif.), who is headed to USC next fall, finished with a game high 17 points, while forward Drew Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S. / San Jose, Calif.), one of four USA players who will play at UCLA in 2008-09, accounted for 15 points and seven rebounds.

"In the second half, we really picked up the pressure out front," said USA head coach Douglas Mitchell (North Central H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.). "Malcolm (Lee), Tyreke (Evans), Jrue (Holiday) and Jerime (Anderson) all did a great job putting pressure out front and making it tough for them to set up their offense and I thought that was the difference in the game - forcing them into bad shots or turnovers that resulted in points for us."

Behind scoring from five different USA players, including five points from Gordon, the U.S. quickly and efficiently dashed out to a 12-6 lead. The World squad ripped off nine straight points to take the lead 15-12 with 2:48 left in the first quarter, but the USA got four points from future University of Tennessee Volunteer Scotty Hopson (University Heights / Hopkinsville, Ky.) and finished the stanza riding a 9-2 run to grab a 21-17 lead after one quarter of play.

The Americans opened a 10 point advantage (29-19) after going on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter. The World Team battled back once again and after outscoring the U.S. 19-12 over the last eight minutes, the gap stood at only three points, 41-38, at halftime.

Following the 11-0 third quarter run that pushed the USA advantage to 54-42, World guard Torgrim Sommerfeldt drained a three to leave the score 56-47 with 5:13 to play.

That was as close as the World Team could get as the USA added a 12-2 run to up its lead to 68-49, and from there the closest the World Team could pull was 15 points.

"I gotta thank the guards. Our big men weren't quite as big as the other team. We battled hard in the post but the guards definitely stepped it up on offense and on defense to stop their pressure and set up our offense," remarked Gordon.

Although the World Team featured a significant size advantage with five players measuring 6'10" or bigger, including 7'4" Boban Marjanovic (Serbia) and 7'1" Alexis Ajinca (France), the USA won the battle of the boards, collecting 44 rebounds to the World's 42. Twenty-three of the USA's rebounds came on the offensive end.

"The World Team was big so it was hard for us to go to the hole and we had to adjust. We had to adjust and get a couple of steals and just run them," DeRozan said.

The Americans also relied on their guards to disrupt the World Team, which helped lead to 25 World turnovers and 18 USA steals. The U.S. committed just 15 turnovers.

All 10 USA Team members scored, and in addition to DeRozan and Gordon, Hopson was credited with 15 points, Holiday added 13 points and five assists, Tyreke Evans (American Christian / Aston, Pa.) compiled 11 points and an American high eight rebounds and Wake Forest University bound Al-Farouq Aminu (Norcross H.S. / Norcross, Ga.) finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

"I thought the World team came out and tried to set the tempo early with their length. They did a nice job early on and we had trouble with taking it to the basket," USA mentor Mitchell offered. "We wanted to see how fast they could run. We wanted to get down there before they set up and we didn't do a very good job of it off of makes. I don't think we got it out and pushed it until we defended and we were able to get some points off turnovers. And, that was the difference."

France's Ajinca led the World club with 13 points and a game best nine rebounds. Samardo Samuels (St. Benedict's Prep, N.J. / Jamaica), who is slated to play at Louisville nest year, and Devoe Joseph (Pickering H.S., Ontario / Canada), who has signed to play at the University of Minnesota, tossed in 10 points each.

The Nike Hoop Summit is an annual game which sees America's top senior high school players take on a World Select Team comprised of the world's top players 19-years-old or younger. It has now been staged on 11 previous occasions and has given an extraordinary number of talented young players the chance to showcase their abilities.


2008 HOOP SUMMIT POST-GAME QUOTES

USA HEAD COACH DOUG MITCHELL: I thought the World team came out and tried to set the tempo early with their length. They did a nice job early on and we had trouble with taking it to the basket. In our half court offense they got quite a few blocks.

In the second half, we really picked up the pressure out front. Malcolm (Lee), Tyreke (Evans), Jrue (Holiday) and Jerime (Anderson) all did a great job putting pressure out front and making it tough for them to set up their offense and I thought that was the difference in the game. Forcing them into bad shots or turnovers that resulted in points for us.

We wanted to see how fast they could run. We wanted to get down there before they set up and we didn't do a very good job of it off of makes. I don't think we got it out and pushed it until we defended and we were able to get some points off turnovers. And, that was the difference.

JERIME ANDERSON: I just think it's a real blessing for me to play in this game. I thank God that I was able to come out here and represent the USA. I've never had a game like this, on such a large scale, playing inside the Portland Rose Garden and everything. The whole experience is a real blessing for me. The experience and the game are just a lot better than an all-star game because in an all-star game everybody is trying to get theirs. When we play for the USA, it's all about the team. It's all about playing and trying to get the win. Nobody is trying to get theirs; we're playing as a team. I felt that we did that really well today.

DEMAR DeROZAN: The World Team was big so it was hard for us to go to the hole and we had to adjust. In international rules we can knock the ball off the rim so we had to adjust and get a couple of steals and just run them. We did a good job and we got a win for USA.

TYREKE EVANS: Watching Kobe play last summer in the Olympic Qualifier and seeing how much he wanted to win and how he changed the game with defense, that was my goal. Everybody knows I can score, so I just wanted to set the tone on defense... It was a different style of play, but it was still like a regular game. They had the best of their players, and we had the best of our players. They were big, and we had to be really quick to get into the lane.

DREW GORDON: I gotta thank the guards. Our big men weren't quite as big as the other team. We battled hard in the post but the guards definitely stepped it up on offense and on defense to stop their pressure and set up our offense. Malcolm (Lee) was a big defender for us and he came up big to get us back on defense and gave us time to set up on defense and offense. Most of my credit goes to that.

JRUE HOLIDAY: We knew that the USA guards had an advantage, and we all saw how big the World Team's big men were. I think our big men played well, and didn't take anything. That made a huge difference... I think our defense was the key to pulling away in the second half, especially our guards. We picked up full-court, and applied a lot of pressure up top, trying to distract them and disrupt them. I think we did that really well.

2008 WORLD SELECT TEAM POST-GAME QUOTES

WORLD HEAD COACH ROB BEVERIDGE: I thought the USA team did a good job with their guards and they took away our strengths. In the past, we've always been beaten on the glass pretty bad. We went out this year to identify some really big players, this was the biggest team we've ever played with, and unfortunately the USA team had 23 offensive rebounds and I think that's just a terrific effort from their guys that were smaller.

ALEXIS AJINCA: I think the US team plays good defense because we had so many turnovers and after falling behind in the second half it's so difficult to come back and score. If we played good in practice we could win, it was not so much a problem for the US team. We didn't play very good in the first half and in the first quarter.

DEVOE JOSEPH: It was disappointing to lose but you have to give it to the Americans, they got after us, forced turnovers and their athleticism on the boards hurt us. I thought I played alright but, as a team, we could have played much better. We did a lot better in practice but a lot of the shots we normally hit just weren't going down today.

EMMANUEL NEGEDU: I knew all their guys, I've played against them in school and at AAU, and even been on the same team as some of them in all star games and next year I will be playing against a lot of them in college. So I knew what to expect, I knew how good they would be and I wasn't surprised that they punished our mistakes so much. But it was a great experience to come together with different people from different parts of the world.

TIM OHLBRECHT: This was the first time I have ever played against an American team and the style of play was very different. European players like slow play, run their plays, make their points that way. The Americans were more athletic, they just ran and jumped, hit the offensive boards. That's how they made their points. It was very different for me.

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2008 NIKE HOOPS SUMMIT PERVIEW

The 2008 Nike Hoop Summit, the country’s premiere annual basketball game featuring America’s top senior boy high school players going against a World Select Team comprised of the world’s top players 19-years-old or younger, will be played in Portland, Ore., at the Rose Garden, home of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers.

the 2008 Nike Hoop Summit, the country’s premiere annual basketball game featuring America’s top senior boy high school players going against a World Select Team comprised of the world’s top players 19-years-old or younger, will be played in Portland, Ore., at the Rose Garden, home of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers.

"As the legacy and the prestige of the Nike Hoop Summit continues to grow, we're excited to take another step and hold the 2008 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland at the Rose Garden," said USA Basketball executive director Jim Tooley. "The Nike Hoop Summit is now well established as a quality and unique basketball competition for our high school players.

"This is a premiere basketball event which has spotlighted talents like Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Martell Webster, Monta Ellis and many others before they made big names for themselves. It is a very important event for USA Basketball as a large number of our Hoop Summit players have gone on to represent USA Basketball in other major international competitions.

"This is not your typical high school all-star game. This is a very special opportunity for elite USA players to represent their country in a meaningful competition that is played under international rules," added Tooley.

"We’re honored to host such world class basketball talent," said Portland Trail Blazers president Larry Miller. "The list of players who have participated in the Nike Hoop Summit is incredible. Combined with Portland’s reputation as one of the world’s most sophisticated basketball cities, it sets the stage for a very special event and a unique opportunity for our fans to watch the best young players in the world compete."

"We are very proud to be partnering with USA Basketball and the Blazers to bring the Nike Hoop Summit to the City of Portland," said George Raveling, Nike Director of Global Basketball Sports Marketing. "We feel this is a great platform to provide the best young basketball players in the world with a truly unique premium basketball experience."

The 2008 USA Basketball Junior National Select and the World Select teams that will compete in the Nike Hoop Summit will be announced at a later date.

The 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Select Team that will compete in the 2008 Hoop Summit will consist of 10 players, a head coach and one assistant coach, and will be selected by USA Basketball’s Cadet and Youth Committee.

The Junior Development Committee is chaired by Don Showalter (Mid-Prairie High School, Wellman, Iowa), and also includes AAU appointees William Anderson (AAU YMOCA, Memphis, Tenn.), William Brown (AAU Boo Williams, Norfolk, Va.) and Rod Seaford (AAU Charlotte Royal, N.C.); National Federation of State High School Associations appointees Todd Butler (Pacific Grove H.S., Calif.) and Eric Flannery (St. Edwards High School, Ohio); as well as athlete representatives Kermit Homes (1999 USA Pan American Games) and Jimmy Oliver (1998 USA World Championship Team).

The World Select Team, consisting of top players worldwide who are 19-years-old or younger with the approved sanctioning of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world governing body of international basketball. The World Select Team will consist of 11 players from FIBA’s five geographic zones: FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania.

The Nike Hoop Summit Players

Held annually from 1995-2000, the Nike Hoop Summit was resumed in 2004 after a three year hiatus. The Nike Hoop Summit was played in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2004 in the city hosting the men's NCAA Final Four. Between 2005-2007, the Nike Hoop Summit was held at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The premiere event for high school seniors, 74 former USA and World Select Hoop Summit team members have been drafted by NBA teams, including 14 players in the 2007 and 2006 drafts.

Hoop Summit alum Kevin Durant was selected No. 2 in the 2007 draft by Seattle, while World Team member Yi Jianlian was chosen sixth by Milwaukee. Also selected in 2007 were Brandan Wright (8th-Charlotte Bobcats); Spencer Hawes (10th-Sacramento Kings); Thaddeus Young (12th-Philadelphia 76ers); Julian Wright (13th-New Orleans Hornets); and Petteri Koponen (30th-Philadelphia 76ers).

As of January 2007, 40 former USA players and 12 former World team members play in the NBA.

Some of the American NBA standouts boasting of Hoop Summit experience include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Sacramento Kings); Ron Artest (Sacramento Kings); Shane Battier (Houston Rockets); Mike Bibby (Atlanta Hawks); Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers); Nick Collison (Seattle SuperSonics); Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors); Chris Duhon (Chicago Bulls); Mike Dunleavy (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Durant (Seattle SuperSonics); Monta Ellis (Golden State Warriors); Jordan Farmar (Los Angeles Lakers); Kevin Garnett (Boston Celtics); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Daniel Gibson (Cleveland Cavaliers); Al Harrington (Golden State Warriors); Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls); Larry Hughes (Cleveland Cavaliers); Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves); Jared Jeffries (New York Knicks); Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks); Rashard Lewis (Orlando Magic); Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks); Darius Miles (Portland Trail Blazers); Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers); Zach Randolph (New York Knicks); Quentin Richardson (New York Knicks); J.R. Smith (Denver Nuggets); Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks); Stromile Swift (New Jersey Nets); Sebastian Telfair (Minnesota Timberwolves); Martell Webster (Portland Trail Blazers); Louis Williams (Philadelphia 76ers); Brandan Wright (Golden State Warriors); Julian Wright (New Orleans Hornets); and Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers).

World Hoop Summit alums now playing for NBA teams include Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks); Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs); Louis Scola (Houston Rockets); Yi Jianlian, (Milwaukee Bucks); Andrea Bargnani, (Toronto Raptors); Vladimir Radmanovic (Los Angeles Lakers); Dan Gadzuric (Milwaukee Bucks); Darius Songaila (Washington Wizards); Bostjan Nachbar (New Jersey Nets); Sergio Rodriguez (Portland Trail Blazers); Mouhamed Saer Sene (Seattle SuperSonics); and Marcus Vinicius Viera (New Orleans Hornets).

Twenty-six other former Hoop Summit players are currently competing on the collegiate level including five members of the Duke Blue Devils - Gerald Henderson, Greg Paulus, Jon Scheyer; Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. Three former Hoop Summit players play at North Carolina, Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough and Tywon Lawson, while three alums are members of the Syracuse Orange, Paul Harris, Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene.

Also playing collegiately are Richard Hendrix at Alabama; Jerryd Bayless at Arizona; Vernon Macklin at Georgetown; D.J. White at Indiana; Brandon Rush at Kansas; Michael Beasley at Kansas State; Patrick Paterson at Kentucky; Derrick Rose at Memphis; Malik Hairston at Oregon; J.P. Prince at Tennessee; Kevin Love at UCLA; O.J. Mayo at USC; and Jon Brockman at Washington.

The Nike Hoop Summit Games

USA teams have won six consecutive and eight of the previous 10 Hoop Summit match-ups and the Americans have done so on the shoulders of some outstanding individual showings.

In the three Nike Hoop Summit games held 2005-2007 in Memphis, the USA claimed wins in each contest. Bettering the World squad 100-80 in 2007, 109-91 in 2006 and 106-98 in 2005, the USA's good fortunes were fueled by impressive efforts by emerging stars like Mayo, Beasley, Love, Ellington, Durant, Hansbrough, Ellis and others.

In 2007, Mayo scored 20 points, Bayless and Love tallied 15 and 13, respectively, while Beasley grabbed nine boards and Flynn dished out 10 assists in the USA's 20-point win.

In 2006, it was Ellington who poured in 31 points on 11-of-16 shooting overall and 5-of-6 accuracy from 3-point range. Ellington's 31 points tied the USA game scoring mark. Durant was also impressive, accounting for 20 points and seven rebounds, while Lawson added 17 points and six assists.

The 2005 affair was a 106-98 contest with the U.S. finishing on top thanks to a marvelous 31 point, 10 rebound performance by the 6-10 Hansbrough. Tying the USA game scoring record, Hansbrough did so with 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 15-of-18 marksmanship from the foul line. Also aiding the USA cause were Webster, 21 points, and Louis Williams, 20 points, while Paulus ran the USA offense and was credited with 10 assists.

The USA upended the World Select Team 99-79 in 2004 in San Antonio, Texas. In that contest, Josh Smith led the offense with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and his 12 made field goals set a new single game USA Hoop Summit record. J.R. Smith added 17 points in the win, while Gay and Jefferson were credited with 14 and 13 points respectively. Telfair recorded a game high seven assists, tying the then USA Hoop Summit single game record in the process.

In the 2000 Hoop Summit the USA edged the World Select Team 98-97 in Indianapolis, Ind. In the narrowest game in Hoop Summit history, Randolph accounted for 24 points and eight rebounds, Miles contributed 15 points and eight boards, while France's Parker paced the World squad in the loss, scoring 20 points and dishing off seven assists.

In 1999 in Tampa, Fla., USA guard Jacobsen scored a U.S. team record 31 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point as the Americans rolled to a 107-95 victory.

The World Select Team earned a hard-fought 104-99 victory in 1988 thanks to a Hoop Summit record 33 points and 14 rebounds from future NBA All-Star Nowitzki. Harrington posted 26 points and nine rebounds for the U.S. in the loss.

In the 1997 Hoop Summit, contested at Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., future NBA standouts Hughes and Artest posted 20 and 19 points, respectively, as the USA squad battled to a 97-90 triumph.

Despite the efforts of the USA's O'Neal, who finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, the World Team claimed a 104-96 win in the 1996 Hoop Summit in Charlotte, N.C. Vladimir Bogojevic led the World club with 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.

In the inaugural Hoop Summit contest held in Springfield, Mass., the USA won 86-77 as Garnett accumulated 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots, Marbury added 10 points and five assists, while Albert White tossed in 13 points and Jelani McCoy added 11.

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2007 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT: APRIL 7, 2007

USA Team Effort Leads To 100-80 Victory In 10th Annual Nike Hoop Summit. O.J. Mayo's 20 Points Leads USA's Offensive Charge.

The USA Basketball Junior National Select Team went on a 16-0 run in the opening five minutes of the second quarter, relying on opportunistic scoring and strong interior defense, to build a comfortable 40-13 lead, and from that point cruised to an easy 100-80 victory over the World Select Team in the 10th Nike Hoop Summit held Saturday at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

The 20-point margin of victory, which equals the previous record (99-79) set in the 2004 game that was played in San Antonio, Texas, enabled the USA to win its sixth straight Nike Hoop Summit and build an 8-2 lead in the series.

In victory, USA Basketball reached the 100 point mark for the third consecutive game and its fifth in the last seven. Even though the Junior National Select Team placed five players in double figures, led by guard O.J. Mayo's (Huntington H.S./Huntington, WV) team-high 20 points, the storyline of the game wasn't necessarily offense, but defense.

"In any game you have to play defense. Coach Fitterer really put that upon us. You know if you want to win this game, you have to play defense," USA guard Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls H.S./Niagara Falls, N.Y.) said. "This is so much fun. This is gonna be the last high school moment we have. Reminiscing over the past years, who got dunked on, who lost to who in certain tournaments, things like that. (This has been a) Real fun experience."

When the Junior National Select Team opened its commanding 27-point lead in the second quarter, the World Team was held without a point for five minutes during a 16-0 USA Basketball run. The World Team, unable to use its considerable size to score down low or penetrate along the baseline, was limited to outside shots that became a series of one-and-done opportunities. Until the final four minutes of the second quarter, when the World Team converted on six of its final eight shots, it shot 16 percent from the field and managed only 29 first half points. That offensive output was the lowest since the inaugural Hoop Summit game in 1995 when the World Team tallied 37 first half points. With its tight defense, USA Basketball forced the World Team into 20 turnovers and scored 31 points off those miscues.

"That first group who played the first five minutes of the second quarter were flat awesome," said USA mentor Pat Fitterer (Eisenhower H.S., Yakima, Wash.). "That was great basketball and it was really fluid. And the second five minutes we were playing really good, and Jonny Flynn was playing such good defense. that all the sudden the other guys got antsy and we tried to double-team and we left guys open. and they wind up hitting six of seven shots to end the second half."

Unlike the 2006 game when USA Basketball fell behind early and had to mount a comeback, the 2007 team led from start-to-finish, racing to a quick 7-0 lead following a 3-pointer by forward Kevin Love (Lake Oswego, Ore/Lake Oswego). The UCLA-bound Love finished with 13 points and eight rebounds before fouling out.

A 3-pointer by guard Jerryd Bayless (St. Mary's H.S./Phoeniz, AZ) with 3:44 to play in the first quarter gave USA Basketball its first double figures lead of the game, 16-5. The World Select Team got within six points, 17-11, following a dunk by Nigerian center Solomon Alabi. However, the USA would build a 24-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.

That double digit margin would withstand an improved third quarter by the World Select Team, but it never fell below double figures. At halftime, behind nine points from Bayless and seven from Love, USA Basketball held a commanding 46-29 lead. Bayless, who is headed to Arizona, finished 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The World Select Team did come close to providing some drama in the third quarter. Fighting off nerves that perhaps plagued their efforts in the first half, the World Team whittled away at a USA lead that fluctuated between 14 and 19 points. With 3:47 to play, Alabi (five points, five rebounds) converted on the second of two free throws to bring his team within 10 points, 61-51. Alabi's free throw ignited the USA Team, especially Mayo, who scored five straight points to increase the USA Basketball lead to 68-51 with 2:24 to play.

Forwards Michael Beasley (Notre Dame Prep/Frederick, Md.) who is headed to Kansas State, Patrick Patterson (Huntington H.S./Huntington, W.Va.) who has yet to commit on a college next season, and forward Donte' Greene (North Catholic H.S./Baltimore, MD), who is headed to Syracuse, showcased their considerable skills in the fourth quarter when the USA built a 27 point lead, 94-67, with 4:15 to play. Beasley keyed the opening minutes and finished with eight points. During this run, Patterson had a nifty bucket underneath en route to a 12 point game and Greene became the fifth double figures scorer with 10 points, earned on a spinning move down low.

"The coaches stressed all week that they can knock down open jump shots so we just wanted to make sure that the point guards didn't get a lot of penetration and have their guys hit open shots. I think it started with me and D Rose making sure we played honest defense and cut down on their guard penetration," remarked Mayo.

The World Select Team, which shot 39 percent for the game (45 percent in the second half) had three players score in double figures, led by an impressive 23-point performance by forward Nicolas Batum from France who connected on 9-13 shots from the field. Two World Select players, forwards Omri Casspi from Israel and Nemanja Aleksandrov from Serbia & Montenegro, each tallied 14 points. Aleksandrov led all players with 14 rebounds, but he alone couldn't nullify a 55-40 USA Basketball margin off the backboard.

The deep and talented USA team, which featured seven players with previous international competition experience, controlled bench play, outscoring the World Select Team 43-13. Thanks to high percentage shots, USA Basketball shot 52 percent in the second half and 44 percent for the game.

The USA Team connected on 38 field goals, 23 coming off assists, which set a new Hoop Summit team record. Ten of those assists, which tied Greg Paulus' mark of 10 set in the 2005 game, came from Flynn, who will be joining Greene at Syracuse. The USA also set Nike Hoop Summit Team marks for most field goals attempted with 86 (betting the previous mark of 83 set in 2004), and most rebounds with 55 (breaking the record of 45 set in 1997 and 2005).

2007 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT INTERVIEWS AND QUOTES

O.J. Mayo: The coaches stressed all week that they can knock down open jump shots so we just wanted to make sure that the point guards didn't get a lot of penetration and have their guys hit open shots. I think it started with me and D Rose making sure we played honest defense and cut down on penetration.

O.J. Mayo: I told everybody I wish we would have had the opportunity to all sign at the same school, but I know we all got our own things that we've got to handle and I wish the best of luck to everybody. It was definitely one of the best weeks I've ever had.

Jonny Flynn: I think I was successful (today). You know coach was bringing up to me how I played the most minutes, and I think that was due to me just getting my teammates involved, making people run, getting them the ball in spots where they could score. To be an effective point guard at the next level, that's what you have to do.

Jonny Flynn: (The win) feels good. You don't want to be that one team from the USA that says, yeah we lost the game, or anything like that. So it feels real good to come out of a game like this, you know great players on their team. You're gonna see them in the NBA one day. So it's good. When we get to the NBA, we can joke around with them and say you know we beat you and stuff like that.

Kevin Love: One of the things we were working on all week was defense and getting into it, being really aggressive, because it's not an all-star game; it's not a McDonald's game, it's not a Roundball game, it's not Jordan game, it's a game where we're coming out being competitive and playing for USA Basketball and Player for our country.

Michael Beasley: This year playing against an international team was totally different experience than in the summer. Last summer, I was on a team that played against (a team from) one country and one style of basketball. This year, there were 11 players from 10 different countries playing 11 different styles, so you don’t know what to expect. Last year’s experience did help me, but today’s game was totally different.

2007 NIKE HOOPS SUMMIT BOX SCORE

VISITORS: World Select Team
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
08 BATUM, Nicolas...... f  9-13   3-5    2-2    2  2  4   4  23  1  4  0  4  28
10 CASSPI, Omri........ f  4-9    0-2    6-9    0  3  3   3  14  0  2  1  2  29
12 ALEKSANDROV, Nemanja f  6-14   0-2    2-2    3 11 14   3  14  1  2  0  2  28
15 AJINCA, Alexis...... f  3-5    0-1    3-3    1  3  4   1   9  0  4  1  1  21
07 KOPONEN, Petteri.... g  2-4    1-3    2-2    0  1  1   4   7  6  1  0  2  31
05 JIANGHUA, Chen......    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  2  0  0   9
06 UGRINOSKI, Aleksanda    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  2  0  0  10
09 DEDOVIC, Nihad......    0-6    0-2    1-2    2  1  3   2   1  0  1  0  0  11
11 ALABI, Solomon......    1-8    0-0    3-4    4  1  5   3   5  0  0  3  0  14
13 PRELDZIC, Emir......    2-6    1-4    2-2    1  1  2   1   7  3  2  0  0  16
14 RICHARDS, Ryan......    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   27-69   5-20  21-26  14 26 40  22  80 13 20  5 11 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-34 32.4%   2nd Half: 16-35 45.7%   Game: 39.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-12 16.7%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 25.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half: 16-20 80.0%   Game: 80.8%    3


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HOME TEAM: USA Junior National Team
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
08 SINGLER, Kyle....... f  3-5    1-3    1-2    3  2  5   4   8  0  1  0  0  16
10 LOVE, Kevin......... f  5-9    1-1    2-2    4  4  8   5  13  3  0  2  1  18
12 BEASLEY, Michael.... f  3-15   0-2    2-6    6  3  9   3   8  0  0  2  0  23
07 ROSE, Derrick....... g  4-5    0-1    0-0    1  4  5   2   8  3  1  0  4  21
09 MAYO, O.J........... g  6-12   2-5    6-6    2  1  3   2  20  4  5  0  2  21
04 FLYNN, Jonny........    0-3    0-1    2-2    0  0  0   1   2 10  2  0  3  23
05 BAYLESS, Jerryd.....    5-10   1-3    4-7    0  2  2   3  15  1  1  0  0  20
06 SMITH, Nolan........    2-8    0-2    0-0    4  0  4   4   4  0  1  0  2  19
11 GREENE, Donte'......    4-10   0-2    2-2    3  5  8   0  10  1  0  1  0  18
13 PATTERSON, Patrick..    6-9    0-0    0-0    2  6  8   2  12  1  2  1  1  21
   TEAM................                         1  2  3             1
   Totals..............   38-86   5-20  19-27  26 29 55  26 100 23 14  6 13 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-46 37.0%   2nd Half: 21-40 52.5%   Game: 44.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-11 27.3%   2nd Half:  2-9  22.2%   Game: 25.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-14 64.3%   2nd Half: 10-13 76.9%   Game: 70.4%   4,1

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Officials:Jorge Vazquez, Ron Tyburski, Winston Stith

Technical fouls: World Select Team-None. USA Junior National Team-None.

Attendance: 5870

Score by Periods                1st  2nd  3rd  4th   Total
World Select Team.............   13   16   26   25  -   80
USA Junior National Team......   24   22   26   28  -  100

Nike Hoop Summit History

DATE SITE RESULT
April 7, 2007 Memphis, Tennessee USA 100, World Select Team 80
April 8, 2006 Memphis, Tennessee USA 109, World Select Team 91
April 9, 2005 Memphis, Tennessee USA 106, World Select Team 98
April 4, 2004 San Antonio, Texas USA 99, World Select Team 79
April 2, 2000 Indianapolis, Ind. USA 98, World Select Team 97
March 28, 1999 Tampa, Fla. USA 107, World Select Team 95
March 29, 1998 San Antonio, Texas World Select Team 104, USA 99
April 19, 1997 Lake Buena Vista, Fla. USA 97, World Select Team 90
April 20, 1996 Charlotte, N.C. World Select Team 104, USA 96
May 13, 1995 Springfield, Mass. USA 86, World Select Team 77

Memphis All-Star Classic Red Team Earns 78-73 Win

In the third annual Memphis All-Star Classic, which preceeded the Nike Hoop Summit, the Red Team placed four players in double figures and despite a game-high 29 point performance from Overton H.S. guard Sergio Kerusch of the White Team, led from start-to-finish in registering a 78-73 victory at the FedEx Forum. The Red Team was able to off-set the spectacular outing by Kerusch (14-23 FGs), who also pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, by getting 17 points from Myron Strong (Hamilton H.S.), 16 from Randy Culpepper (Sheffield H.S.), 15 from Gabriel McCulley (Craigmont H.S.) and 10 from Hauns Brereton (Bartlett H.S.). McCulley led all rebounders with 13, seven on the offensive end.

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2007 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT PREVIEW
February 20, 2007

Selecting a talented roster that features both coaches and seven players possessing prior USA Basketball experience, USA Basketball today announced the coaching staff and 10 players selected for the 2007 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team that will compete in the 10th annual Nike Hoop Summit on April 7 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

Named head coach of the 2007 USA Team was state of Washington’s renowned prep mentor and Eisenhower High School’s (Yakima, Wash.) successful head coach Pat Fitterer. Fitterer served as the assistant coach for last year’s victorious USA Hoop Summit Team and was head coach of the USA White Team that captured gold at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival. Douglas Mitchell (North Central High School, Indianapolis, Ind.), who served as Fitterer’s assistant coach on the ‘05 USA White Team, and as an assistant for the USA North Team at the 2003 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival, has been tagged Fitterer’s assistant coach.

Named to the 2007 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Select Team were high school standouts: Jerryd Bayless (St. Mary's H.S./Phoenix, Az.); Michael Beasley (Notre Dame Prep/Frederick, Md.); Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls H.S./Niagara Falls, N.Y.); Donte’ Greene (Towson Catholic H.S./Baltimore, Md.); Kevin Love (Lake Oswego H.S./Lake Oswego, Ore.); O.J. Mayo (Huntington H.S./ Huntington, W.Va.); Patrick Patterson (Huntington H.S./ Huntington, W.Va.); Derrick Rose (Simeon Vocational/ Chicago, Ill.); Kyle Singler (South Medford H.S./Medford, Ore.); Nolan Smith (Oak Hill Academy, Va./Upper Marlboro, Md.). The coach and player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Development Committee.

The Nike Hoop Summit is the country’s premiere annual basketball game and the only game featuring America’s top male high school senior players taking on a World Select Team comprised of the world’s top players who are 19-years-old or younger. The 2007 Nike Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 7, 3 p.m. (CT), and for the third straight year will be contested at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. Again in 2007, the Hoop Summit will be preceded by the Memphis All-Star Classic, a game that will showcase the top prep senior players from the Memphis area. The Memphis All-Star Classic game will tip off at 12:30 p.m. (CT). The 2007 Nike Hoop Summit game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports.

The World Select Team as well as the players and coaches involved in the Memphis All-Star Classic will be announced at a later date.

"One of the things about bringing Pat Fitterer on board as the USA head coach is our committee felt it was really important to have a coach who has been through the Hoop Summit before because this isn’t your typical all-star game, rather it’s more about developing a team over a three or four day period to compete at a very high level. We felt it was really important to bring a coach who has been through that. Pat has done a great job coaching in our Youth Development Festival, as a former member of the committee and as an assistant coach last year at the Nike Hoop Summit, so we feel real comfortable with him taking over the reigns," said Don Showalter (Mid-Prairie High School, Wellman, Iowa), who served as head coach of the USA squad in the 1998 Hoop Summit and is the current chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Development Committee.

"Doug (Mitchell) also knows what USA Basketball is all about and he’s very familiar with the Hoop Summit and coached with Pat in the 2005 Youth Development Festival. He’s going to compliment Pat really well, and we thought it was really a good fit for those two to coach our Hoop Summit team.

"Last year we thought we had a very talented team, and we did. But this year, I think it is probably another level of talent. What sets this team apart from the other teams is many of the players played for USA Basketball in the U18 Championship last year, so they know a little bit about the function of USA Basketball and they understand what we’re looking for from a team standpoint.

"Over the last few years I think we’ve probably done a better job of picking players from a standpoint of having the ability to play more than one position. When you play on a national team, I think it’s important you have kids that are versatile and who can go out and shoot, and who can really guard people out on the court. I think this group can do that. This group gives us some really nice flexibility to put a team together, and when you only have three or four days, I think that’s huge as far as getting the team ready."

The USA Basketball Men’s Junior Development Committee is chaired by Showalter, and also includes AAU appointees William Anderson (head coach, AAU YMOCA Team Memphis, Tenn.), and Rod Seaford (head coach, AAU Charlotte Royal, N.C.); National Federation of State High School Associations appointees Todd Buller (head coach, Pacific Grove High School, Calif.) and Eric Flannery (head coach, St. Edwards High School, Ohio); as well as athlete representatives Kermit Holmes (1999 USA Pan American Games Team and 1997 USA Tournament of the Americas Team) and Jimmy Oliver (1998 USA World Championship Team).

2007 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team - The Players

Selecting 10 players who list among the nation's top ranked senior prospects, seven of the USA's 10 players boast of previous USA Basketball experience.

Six members of last summer's undefeated and gold medal winning USA U18 National Team will suit up once again for USA Basketball. Bayless, Beasley, Flynn, Greene, Singler and Smith were all key contributors to the ‘06 USA U18 team. Beasley led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.8 ppg. and 8.3 rpg., while Bayless and Singler each contributed 11.0 ppg. Smith added 9.0 ppg. and 4.0 rpg., Flynn contributed 8.5 ppg. and a team best 5.3 apg., and Greene averaged 3.0 ppg.

Mayo also brings prior USA experience, having played in the 2005 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival. Carrying the USA Blue team to a 3-1 record and silver medal finish, Mayo, despite being one of four high school sophomores selected for the event, claimed the Festival's top scoring honors, averaging 27.5 ppg., and ranked tied for third in assists (3.75), tops in steals at 6.0 spg. and secured 6.5 rpg. Singler too participated in the ‘05 Festival, and while playing for Fitterer's gold medal USA White Team, averaged 14.0 ppg., 3.4 rpg., and shot 47.1 percent from 3-point (8-of-17 3pt FGs).

Nine of the 10 U.S. players have signed national letters of intent with prominent NCAA Division I basketball programs. Flynn and Greene are headed to Syracuse University (N.Y.), while Singler and Smith have signed to attend Duke University (N.C.). Bayless will take his skills to the University of Arizona, Beasley will be off to Kansas State, Love will don the UCLA uniform, Mayo will play at USC, and Rose has been inked by the University of Memphis (Tenn.). Only Patterson remains undecided about his future college home.

Among the players' many accolades, Rivals.com ranked the 10 player among its top 51, including nine in the top 21. Rivals.com ranked the USA team members as follows: Beasley No. 1; Rose No. 3, Singler No. 4, Mayo No. 5, Love No. 7, Bayless No. 10, Greene No. 13, Patterson No. 14, Flynn No. 21, and Smith No. 51.

2007 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT PLAYERS ROSTER

2007 USA Junior National Select Team Roster
NO	NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	YOG	SCHOOL/HOMETOWN
	Jerryd Bayless	G	6-3	193	8/20/88	2007	St. Mary's H.S./ Phoenix, AZ/ *Arizona
	Michael Beasley	F	6-9	235	1/09/89	2007	Notre Dame Prep / Frederick, MD/ *Kansas State
	Jonny Flynn	G	5-11	170	2/06/89	2007	Niagara Falls H.S./ Niagara Falls, NY/ *Syracuse
	Donte Greene	F	6-9	217	2/21/88	2007	Towson Catholic H.S./ Baltimore, MD/ *Syracuse
	Kevin Love	F	6-9	240	9/07/88	2007	Lake Oswego H.S./ Lake Oswego, OR/ *UCLA
	O.J. Mayo	G	6-5	215	11/05/87	2007	Huntington H.S./ Huntington, WV/ *USC
	Patrick Patterson	F	6-8	228	3/14/89	2007	Huntington H.S./ Huntington, WV/ Undecided
	Derrick Rose	G	6-4	194	10/01/88	2007	Simeon Vocational/ Chicago, IL/ *Memphis
	Kyle Singler	F	6-8	210	5/04/88	2007	South Medford H.S./ Medford, OR/ *Duke
	Nolan Smith	G	6-4	175	7/25/88	2007	Oak Hill Academy (VA)/ Upper Marlboro, MD/ *Duke
Head Coach: Pat Fitterer, Eisenhower High School (Yakima, WA)
Assistant Coach: Douglas Mitchell, North Central High School (Indianapolis, IN)
*Indicates college where the player has signed a national letter-of-intent to play in 2007-08.

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2006 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team - The Coaches

Pat Fitterer, USA Head Coach

"Anytime you are selected to work with USA Basketball, it's a great compliment, and I'm very excited," USA head mentor Fitterer stated. "As soon as I heard I had been selected, Doug (Mitchell) was the first person I thought of to help me out. We have worked together before, and it was like we were long lost friends.

"The Hoop Summit is a unique event because you have to opportunity to see so many outstanding players from the USA and throughout the world. It's a place where unknown factors are sometimes discovered, and the people surrounding the event represent the best basketball coaches and basketball minds in the world.

"The 10 players selected are outstanding athletes. Being from the Northwest and having prior USA Basketball experience, I've been fortunate to see several of them play and to coach against them. Let's just say it's more fun to know they are on my team than having to figure out a way to try and stop them."

Fitterer previously served as an assistant on the victorious 2006 USA Hoop Summit Team, and he was head coach for the USA White Team at the 2005 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival that was held in San Diego, Calif., in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Committee multi-sport International Sports Invitational. The 2005 White squad, which included 2007 USA Hoop Summit team member Singler, claimed the gold medal. In 2005, facing a field that included two other star-studded USA teams, as well as young national teams from Canada, China, New Zealand and Russia, Fitterer's team finishing 5-0 and won its games by an average of 30.0 ppg.

Fitterer also boasts of USA Basketball experience as a member of the 2001-2004 USA Basketball Men's Cadet and Youth Committee. The committee was responsible for the selection of coaches and players for USA Basketball's Youth Development Festivals between 2001-2004 and for the victorious team that played in the 2004 Nike Hoop Summit.

Fitterer has been coaching high school boys basketball in Washington for 30 years dating back to the 1977-78 season. During that time his squads have compiled an overall 581-174 (through 2005-06) record for a .770 winning percentage. He also has collected 17 league championships, nine district titles and in 19 state tournament appearances, finished among the top 10 a total of 14 times, including the 1988 and 1996 Washington state crowns. A 12-time league Coach of the Year, Fitterer has been honored three times as the Washington Coach of the Year. In 2005 he received the National High School Coaches Contributor award from the National High School Foundation, and in August of 2007, he will be inducted into the Washington State Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.

Fitterer's Eisenhower club is off to a 7-3 record (as of Jan. 11) in the 2006-07 season. His best season came in 1995-96 while the head coach at Sehome High School (Bellingham, Wash.). His squad went undefeated for a 30-0 finish, while sweeping the league, district and state tournament titles. Additionally, Sehome capped the 1996 season ranked No. 5 in the nation by USA Today.

In his fourth season as head mentor at Eisenhower, Fitterer has compiled a 58-18 record and .763 winning percentage (through 2005-06), including a 26-4 final mark in 2004-05 when his team finished fourth in the state tournament after capturing both the 2005 league and district titles.

A multi-sport athlete in high school, Fitterer was a 1970 All-America honorable mention in football and earned 1971 all-league honorable mention in basketball. He competed in football at both Yakima Valley Junior College (Wash.) and Central Washington State College, four times earning his school's athlete of the week honors. Additionally, Fitterer, who was inducted into the Central Washington Hall of Fame in 1998, was the district sprint champ in 1973-74 at Central Washington where he recorded a time of 9.5 seconds in the 100 yard dash.

Douglas Mitchell, USA Assistant Coach

Assisting Fitterer is Mitchell, who was an assistant coach for the 2005 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival White Team that earned the gold medal and the 2003 USA North Team that captured the silver medal.

"It's a real honor to work with USA Basketball," said Mitchell. "To have the chance to represent my country while working with the best high school seniors from the USA and getting the opportunity to see foreign players as well is very exciting. This is the ultimate for a high school coach."

An assistant coach for the 2002 and 2003 McDonald's High School All-American games, Mitchell has served Indianapolis' North Central High School for over a decade (1993-94 through present), compiling a 201-106 record (.655 winning percentage) through the 2005-06 season.

After a 20-4 overall finish in 2005-06, Mitchell's squad is off to a 9-1 start (as of Jan. 11) in 2006-07, led by Indiana-bound shooting guard Eric Gordon, rivals.com and scout.com's No. 1 shooting guard in the country.

Mitchell has collected a pair of Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) titles (1997, 1999) and five times his teams have advanced to the state sectional (1995, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005). In 1999 his team, led by 1998 USA Junior World Championship Qualifying Team gold medalist Jason Gardner, won the state regional crown, earned the Indiana Class 4A state championship and followed that up with the 1999 Indiana Tournament of Champions title (the Tournament of Champions pits all the state class winners against each other).

For his accomplishments while at North Central, Mitchell has been named the 1999 Indiana Class 4A Coach of the Year by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and was the MIC Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999.

Mitchell has seen no less than 40 of his athletes compete in the NCAA and saw four protégés compete in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, including Jason Gardner (Arizona), Nick Gardner (Butler), Marcus May (IUPUI) and Josh Murray (IUPUI). He also lists the 2004 Indiana Mr. Basketball A.J. Ratliff, who competes for Indiana University, among his former players.

A three-year letterwinner (1976-77 through 1978-79) at Butler University (Ind.), Mitchell was a team captain as a junior and senior and earned 1978 All-Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) first team honors. He helped the Bulldogs to a pair of ICC titles in 1977 and 1978 and paced his 1977-78 squad in free throw percentage (.875) and assists (78 / 3.0 apg.). His free throw accuracy still ranks fifth among Butler's all-time single-season records in that category. Additionally, Mitchell was the recipient of Butler's 1979 Hilton U. Brown Mental Attitude award.

After acting as a high school assistant coach for two years, Mitchell returned to his alma mater, Butler, where he was a six-year assistant (1987-88 through 1992-93). Involved in recruiting and scouting, Mitchell helped the Bulldogs to a pair of NIT appearances (1991, 1992) before accepting the varsity position at North Central.

Nike Hoop Summit History

USA teams have won seven of the previous nine Nike Hoop Summit match-ups, including five consecutive, and the Americans have done so on the shoulders of some outstanding showings by an impressive list of alumni.

The premiere event for high school seniors, 63 former USA and World Select Hoop Summit team members have been drafted by NBA teams, including three members of the 2005 USA team – Martell Webster (6th pick by Portland in the 2005 NBA Draft), Monta Ellis (40th pick by Golden State in the 2005 NBA Draft), and Louis Williams (45th pick by Philadelphia in the 2005 NBA Draft), and seven members of the 2004 USA Team – Rudy Gay (8th pick by Houston in the 2006 NBA Draft); Sebastian Telfair (13th pick by Portland in the 2005 NBA Draft); Al Jefferson (15th pick by Boston in the 2005 NBA Draft); Josh Smith (17th pick by Atlanta in the 2005 NBA Draft); J.R. Smith (18th pick by New Orleans in the 2005 NBA Draft); Jordan Farmer (26th pick by Los Angeles Lakers in the 2006 NBA Draft); and Daniel Gibson (42nd pick by Cleveland in the 2006 NBA Draft).

As of Jan. 12, 2007, 33 former USA players and nine former World team members play in the NBA.

Some of the American NBA standouts boasting of Hoop Summit experience include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Sacramento Kings); Ron Artest (Sacramento Kings); Shane Battier (Houston Rockets); Mike Bibby (Sacramento Kings); Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers); Nick Collison (Seattle SuperSonics); Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors); Chris Duhon (Chicago Bulls); Mike Dunleavy (Golden State Warriors); Ellis (Golden State Warriors); Farmer (Los Angeles Lakers); Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves); Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Gibson (Cleveland Cavaliers); Al Harrington (Indiana Pacers); Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls); Larry Hughes (Cleveland Cavaliers); Jefferson (Boston Celtics); Jared Jeffries (New York Knicks); Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks); Rashard Lewis (Seattle SuperSonics); Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks); Darius Miles (Portland Trail Blazers); Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers), Zach Randolph (Portland Trail Blazers); Quentin Richardson (New York Knicks); J.R. Smith (Denver Nuggets); Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks); Stromile Swift (Memphis Grizzlies); Telfair (Portland Trail Blazers); Webster (Portland Trail Blazers); Williams (Philadelphia 76ers).

World Hoop Summit alums now playing for NBA teams include Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks); Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs); Vladimir Radmanovic (Los Angeles Lakers); Dan Gadzuric (Milwaukee Bucks); Darius Songaila (Chicago Bulls); Bostjan Nachbar (New Jersey Nets); Sergio Rodriguez (Portland Trail Blazers); Mouhamed Saer Sene (Seattle SuperSonics); and Marcus Vinicius Viera (New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets).

Other former Hoop Summit players currently competing on the collegiate level include four members of No. 1 ranked North Carolina - Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough, Tywon Lawson and Brandan Wright; Duke's Gerald Henderson, Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer; Kansas' sophomore star tandem Brandon Rush and Julian Wright; Washington teammates Spencer Hawes and Jon Brockman; Texas' star frosh Kevin Durant; freshmen Paul Harris at Syracuse, Thaddeus Young at Georgia Tech, Vernon Macklin at Georgetown; Alabama sophomore forward Richard Hendrix; Arizona guard J.P. Prince; Oregon's Malik Hairston, Texas A&M's Joseph Jones, and Indiana's D.J. White.

The USA owns a 7-2 series lead in the Nike Hoop Summit after handing the World squad a 109-91 setback in Memphis last April 8 as Ellington put on a show in the first half and scored 21 of his game high and USA record-tying 31 points in the USA's 109-91 victory. In 2005, the USA rolled to a 106-98 win as Hansbrough scored a record-tying 31 points and added 10 rebounds, while Paulus led the American offense with a USA Hoop Summit record 10 assists. In 2004, the USA upended the World Select Team 99-79 in a game played in San Antonio, Texas. In that contest, Josh Smith led the U.S. offense with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and his 12 made field goals set a new single game USA Hoop Summit record. Telfair recorded a game high seven assists, tying what was at the time the USA Hoop Summit record.

In the 2000 Hoop Summit the USA edged the World Select Team 98-97 in Indianapolis, Ind. In that contest, Randolph accounted for 24 points and eight rebounds, Miles contributed 15 points and eight boards, and it was France's Parker pacing the World squad with 20 points and seven assists. In 1999 in Tampa, Fla., USA guard Casey Jacobsen set a then U.S. team record with 31 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point as the Americans rolled to a 107-95 victory. In 1998, the World Select Team earned a hard-fought 104-99 victory thanks to a Hoop Summit record 33 points and 14 rebounds from future NBA All-Star Nowitzki. Current Indiana Pacers forward Harrington posted 26 points and nine rebounds for the U.S. in the loss.

In the 1997 Hoop Summit, contested in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., future NBA standouts Hughes and Artest posted 20 and 19 points, respectively, as the USA squad battled to a 97-90 triumph. Despite O'Neal finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, the World Team claimed a 104-96 win in the 1996 Hoop Summit in Charlotte, N.C. In the inaugural Hoop Summit contest held in Springfield, Mass., the USA won 86-77 as Garnett accumulated 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots, and Marbury added 10 points and five assists.

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2006 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT | MAR. 14, 2006

The Nike Hoop Summit is an annual basketball game played under international rules. The Nike Hoop Summit features the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Select Team, comprised of the top high school boy senior players, playing against an World Select Team, comprised of top players 19-years-old or younger from around the world.

In the history of the Nike Hoop Summit, the USA holds a 6-2 series lead. Held annually from 1995-2000, the Nike Hoop Summit was resumed in 2004. The Nike Hoop Summit was played in 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2004 in the city hosting the men’s NCAA Final Four, and in 2005 was played in Memphis.

The 2006 Nike Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 8, 2006 in the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee at 3:00 p.m. (CT). Before that game, at 12:30 p.m. CT, the Memphis All-Star Classic tips off.

2006 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT INFO

Named head coach of the 2006 USA Team was Herman Harried (Lake Clifton High School, Baltimore, Md.), who served as the assistant coach for last year's victorious USA Hoop Summit team. Pat Fitterer (Eisenhower High School, Yakima, Wash.), who served as the head coach of the USA White Team that captured gold at the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival, was chosen to assist on the U.S. bench.

Seven players who have participated in recent USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festivals were among the 10 prep standouts named to the 2006 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team roster that will compete in the 2006 Nike Hoop Summit.

Named to the 2006 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team were high school standouts: Kevin Durant (Montrose Christian School / Forrestville, Md.); Wayne Ellington (Episcopal Academy / Wynnewood, Pa.); Paul Harris (Notre Dame Prep / Niagara Falls, N.Y.); Spencer Hawes (Seattle Prep / Seattle, Wash.); Gerald Henderson (Episcopal Academy / Blue Bell, Pa.); Tywon Lawson (Oak Hill Academy, Va. / Clinton, Md.); Vernon Macklin (Hargrave Military Academy / Chatham, Va.); Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North H.S. / Northbrook, Ill.); Brandan Wright (Brentwood Academy / Nashville, Tenn.); and Thaddeus Young (Mitchell H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.). The coach and player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men's Junior Development Committee.

"I think through the past four-five or six Hoop Summits we've done a much better job of identifying players that are going to develop into a team. The Nike Hoop Summit is an entity of its own now, people and players now look at it not so much as an all-star game anymore," commented Don Showalter (Mid-Prairie High School, Wellman, Iowa), who served as head coach of the USA squad in the 1998 Hoop Summit and is the current chair of the USA Basketball Men's Junior Development Committee.

"This team is a little bit different than teams we have selected in the past in that we have a lot of players who are pretty versatile, who can play a lot of different positions. I think it's going to be a team Coach Harried can really develop into a pretty good team in a couple of days.

"Both Herman (Harried) and Pat (Fitterer) are very well versed in what USA Basketball is and what the Hoop Summit is and I think that's huge just from the standpoint that they know how to get the team ready for this kind of competition. Both are excellent selections, they're thrilled about being a part of the Nike Hoop Summit and I know they'll do a great job for us.

"The World team is always made up of very good players from all over the world and the games have been extremely competitive," continued Showalter. "I think we've maybe had the better shooters the last couple years and we've done a great job of playing defense on the international team in the last three-or four games and that's been because our coaches know what it takes to win the game and our players buy into that."

The World Team will be led by forward Dusan Sakota (6’10”, Panathinaikos / Greece), a veteran of last season’s Nike Hoop Summit in which the World Select lost 106-98 at the FedExForum, giving the USA a 6-2 lead in the series.. Sakota recorded 15 points and five rebounds in the 2005 Nike Hoop Summit. The remaining nine players on a roster that will be coached by respected Australian Rob Beveridge are all first-time players at the Nike Hoop Summit.

Coach Beveridge, whose career highlights include leading Australia to the gold medal at the 2003 World Junior Championships, returns to coach the World Select Team for the second consecutive year.

“I am really looking forward to being part of such a great event again," coach Beveridge said. "We are hoping that the team that has been assembled will give the USA team a real run for their money. The USA has proven to be dominant to date and I know the international players will definitely want to go out to showcase their skills against some of the best players in the USA."

The World Select Team has been assembled by Nike’s Consultant of Global Basketball Rich Sheubrooks after consulting with general managers, clubs, federations, scouts and coaches from around the world.

2006 WORLD TEAM ROSTER

NO	NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	AGE	CLUB TEAM / COUNTRY
	Dan Clark	F	6-10		17	Estudiantes (Spain)/ Great Britain
	Rafael Hettsheimeir	F	6-10	250	19	Akasvayu (Spain) / Brazil
	Dragan Labovic	F	6-9		18	KK Borac Cacak (Serbia & Montenegro) / Serbia & Montenegro
	Patrick Mills	G	6-0		17	Australian Institute of Sport / Australia
	Igor Milosevic	G	6-4		19	KK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia & Montenegro) / Greece
	Charles Okwando	C	7-1			Dodan Warriors (Nigeria) / Nigeria
	Dusan Sakota	F	6-10		19	Panathinaikos (Greece) / Greece
	Saer Sene	C	7-0		19	Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium) / Senegal
	Artur Urazmanov	G	5-5		18	CSK VVS Samara (Russia) / Russia
	Ji Zhe	F	6-8			Liaoning (China) / China
Head Coach: Rob Beverage

2006 USA JUNIOR NATIONAL SELECT TEAM

NO	NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	AGE	HIGH SCHOOL/ HOMETOWN/ COLLEGE CHOICE
	Kevin Durant	F	6-9	190	17	Montrose Christian School / Forrestville, MD / *Texas
	Wayne Ellington	G	6-4	180	18	Episcopal Academy / Wynnewood, PA / *North Carolina
	Paul Harris	G	6-5	225	19	Notre Dame Prep (MA) / Niagara Falls, NY / *Syracuse
	Spencer Hawes	C	6-11	225	17	Seattle Prep / Seattle, WA / *Washington
	Gerald Henderson	G	6-5	205	18	Episcopal Academy / Blue Bell, PA / *Duke
	Tywon Lawson	G	6-0	188	18	Oak Hill Academy (VA) / Clinton, MD / *North Carolina
	Vernon Macklin	F	6-9	215	19	Hargrave Military Academy / Chatham, VA / *Georgetown
	Jon Scheyer	G	6-5	170	18	Glenbrook North H.S. / Northbrook, IL / *Duke
	Brandan Wright	F	6-10	201	18	Brentwood Academy / Nashville, TN / *North Carolina
	Thaddeus Young	F	6-8	200	17	Mitchell H.S. / Memphis, TN / *Georgia Tech
*Indicates college where the player has signed a National Letter of Intent
Head Coach: Herman Harried, Lake Clifton High School (Baltimore, MD)
Assistant Coach: Pat Fitterer, Eisenhower High School (Tacoma, WA)

2006 MEMPHIS ALL-STAR CLASSIC INFO

Serving as co- head coaches for a second consecutive year of the Memphis All-Star Classic Red Team are Jimmy Adams of Raleigh-Egypt High School and Sylvester Ford of Fairley High School.

Sharing coaching responsibilities for the Memphis All-Star Classic Black Team will be Fred Horton, head coach at Booker T. Washington High School, who also returns for a second go along the sidelines, and he is joined in 2006 by Wes Hennings, head basketball coach at Ridgeway High School.

Selected for the 10-member 2005 Memphis All-Star Classic Red Team were Wes Channel (Ridgeway High School); Fred Cotton (Carver High School); Darren Currie (Middle College High School); Steven Dowdie (Houston High School); Ernest Fields (Ridgeway High School); Willie Kemp (Bolivar Central High School); Darryl Phillips (Carver High School; Brandon Powell (Mitchell High School); Chris Williams (White Station High School); Jeremy Williams (Hamilton High School).

Selected for the Memphis All-Star Classic Black Team were Nathaniel Calhoun (Raleigh-Egypt High School); Wayne Chism (Bolivar Central High School); Marcus Hunter (Raleigh-Egypt High School); Andre Jones (Fairley High School); Tedrick Payne (Westwood High School); Terry Simmons (Oakhaven High School); Marico Stinson (Kingsbury High School); Andre Thornton (Mitchell High School); Jay Watkins (Hamilton High School); Jonnie West (Lausanne Collegiate School).

The player selections were made by the high school basketball coaches in the Memphis Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Each coach was sent a ballot to nominate one senior player for the Memphis All-Star Classic teams. Each team was then selected by the four coaches who are leading the teams.

Red Team co-mentor Adams has directed Raleigh-Egypt in 2005-06 to a stellar 34-1 overall mark and to the TSSAA Class AAA state quarterfinal (vs. Knoxville Bearden on March 16) and led the Pharaohs to a 33-3 record and Tennessee State Class AA runner-up finish in 2004-05. Two of Adams' Raleigh-Egypt players - Calhoun and Hunter - will be playing for the Red squad in the 2006 Memphis Classic. Ford, who led Fairley High to a 30-5 record and to the 2005 state AAA sectionals, joins Adams on the Red bench and is also joined by one member from his Fairley club, Jones.

Black squad co-head coach Hennings directed Ridgeway in 2005-06 to a 22-10 overall record and the Region 8-AAA semifinals after seeing his Roadrunners win the 2005 Class AAA state championship. Two members of Hennings' Ridgeway team are listed on the Black roster - Channel and Fields. Joining Hennings along the Black Team sidelines and coaching in the Memphis Classic for a second year is Horton, who led Booker T. Washington to a 16-7 overall mark in 2005-06, and a 2001 AA state championship.

Numerous members of both Memphis Classic All-Star teams plan to take their abilities to prominent NCAA Division I programs next year. Kemp and Chism will remain in state, with Kemp headed to the University of Memphis and Chism bound for the University of Tennessee. West, son of Memphis Grizzlies president and Hall of Fame member Jerry West, will attend West Virginia University; Powell will go South to play with the Gators at the University of Florida; Jeremy Williams is headed West to play at the University of Colorado; Watkins will play at the University of San Francisco; Fields and Channel have signed to play at Austin Peay; while Calhoun has signed to play football at Memphis.

Red team member Chism, Black squad player Kemp, and 2006 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team member Thaddeus Young, are the three finalists for Tennessee's 2006 Class AA Mr. Basketball award, while Black Team member Jeremy Williams is also a finalist for Tennessee's Class AAA Mr. Basketball award.

Bolivar Central, which features Chism and Kemp, has won Tennessee Class AA State championships the past three seasons (2003, 2004, and 2005), White Station won Tennessee Class AAA titles in 2003 and 2004, while Ridgeway claimed the Class AAA title in 2005.

The 2005 Memphis All-Star Classic saw the Blue defeat the White 87-86 in overtime. Hillcrest High School forward Calvin Williams led the way to the win with 18 points and eight rebounds, and Desmond Yates of Fayette-Ware High School added 17 points. Fairley High School forward Jeremy Jones and Wooddale High School guard Tayloe Taylor each tossed in 15 points for the White squad.

2006 MEMPHIS ALL-STAR CLASSIC ROSTERS

2006 Memphis All-Star Classic White Team

NO	NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	HIGH SCHOOL/HOMETOWN/COLLEGE
	Nathaniel Calhoun	F	6-5	198	Raleigh-Egypt High School / *Memphis
	Wayne Chism	C	6-9	235	Bolivar Central High School / *Tennessee
	Marcus Hunter	G	6-0	165	Raleigh-Egypt High School
	Andre Jones	G	5-10	160	Fairley High School
	Tedrick Payne	F	6-6	210	Westwood High School
	Terry Simmons	G	6-3	180	Oakhaven High School
	Marico Stinson	G	6-3	185	Kingsbury High School
	Andre Thornton	F	6-8	240	Mitchell High School
	Jay Watkins	F	6-8	215	Hamilton High School / *San Francisco
	Jonnie West	G	6-4	170	Lausanne Collegiate School / *West Virginia
*Indicates college where the player has signed a National Letter of Intent or made a verbal commmittment to attend
Coach: Sylvester Ford, Fairley High School
Coach: Jimmy Adams, Raleigh-Egypt High School

2006 Memphis All-Star Classic Blue Team

NO	NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	HIGH SCHOOL/HOMETOWN/COLLEGE
	Wes Channel	G	6-2	190	Ridgeway High School / *Austin Peay
	Fred Cotton	G	6-2	177	Carver High School
	Darren Currie	F	6-7	187	Middle College High School
	Steven Dowdie	C	6-9	255	Houston High School
	Ernest Fields	F	6-6	205	Ridgeway High School / *Austin Peay
	Willie Kemp	G	6-2	165	Bolivar Central High School / *Memphis
	Darryl Phillips	G	6-2	190	Carver High School
	Brandon Powell	F	6-5	195	Mitchell High School / *Florida
	Chris Williams	F	6-7	230	White Station High School
	Jeremy Williams	F	6-8	210	Hamilton High School / *Colorado
*Indicates college where the player has signed a National Letter of Intent or made a verbal commmittment to attend
Coach: Wes Hennings, Ridgeway High School
Coach: Fred Horton, Booker T. Washington High School

 

2005 Nike Hoop Summit

Poplar Bluff High School (Mo.) prep All-American Tyler Hansbrough finished with USA record tying 31 points and 10 rebounds as the USA captured a 106-98 win over a World Select Team in the 8th Annual Nike Hoop Summit Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee.

Behind USA Basketball Junior National Select Team forward Tyler Hansbrough's (Poplar Bluff High School / Poplar Bluff, Mo.) USA record-tying 31 points on 9-of-14 shooting, the United States posted a 106-98 victory over a World Select Team in the 8th Annual Nike Hoop Summit played Saturday night in the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

The Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premiere annual basketball game featuring America's top senior boy high school players taking on a World Select Team comprised of the world's top players who are 19-years-old or younger. Also, for the first time, the 2005 Hoop Summit was preceded by a preliminary game, the Memphis All-Star Classic, a game that showcased the top prep senior players from the Memphis area. The Memphis All-Star Classic saw the Blue defeat the White 87-86 in overtime.

The USA has now won four consecutive Hoop Summit games (2005, 2004, 2000 and 1999) and owns a 6-2 overall series lead in the Nike Hoop Summit.

"There were two challenges for us coming into tonight," said United States head coach Tom Diener (Harold S. Vincent High School, Milwaukee, Wis.). "First of all, we've got a number of high profile players that attract a lot of attention, and that are used to scoring 30-40 points per game. We had to take all of these great players and build them into a team in the matter of four days, and I thought we accomplished that tonight.

"The other challenge was that the Europeans are great shooters. They set great screens and back screens and really get guys open. We didn't want to give them those open looks, which is tough because they really force you to make a decision on defense and a lot of times that leaves somebody open. Once a shot went up, we were focused on boxing out and rebounding. We didn't have any selfish players tonight, and I'm proud of our guys for the way they played basketball, and proud of the way they represented their country."

With the opening tip 10 minutes off, Diener implored his team to go inside. The USA players must have listened as they went inside often, scoring 64 of their 106 points in the paint.

The USA led 14-12 with 3:48 to go in the opening quarter, then went on a 12-2 run to open some breathing space. The run started with a Martell Webster (Seattle Prep / Seattle, Wash.) 3-pointer, Louis Williams (South Gwinnett High School / Snellville, Ga.) scored off a fast break, Hansbrough scored inside, and Julian Wright (Homewood-Flossmoor High School / Chicago Heights, Ill.) tallied five of the run's final six points as the USA dashed ahead 26-14.

Leading 27-19 at the end of the opening quarter, the USA lead expanded to as many as 16, 42-26. But the World squad behind a 13-4 run, that was capped by a dunk from 6-4 Lithuanian Martynas Pocius, battled back to within five, 44-39, with 3:39 to go before halftime. Hansbrough converted two free throws to end the rally and at halftime the U.S. led 54-45.

With its lead hoovering between 11 and five points for the majority of the third quarter, the World team reduced the gap to five, 68-63, following Australia's Adam Gibson's 3-pointer with 2:23 to play in the third quarter.

The USA finished the quarter off with a 12-4 run that featured five different American team members contributing, as the USA regained control and took an 80-67 lead into the final stanza.

The fourth quarter was all USA. Holding an 87-76 advantage with 7:20 to go, the USA sealed the victory with a 13-4 offensive run that pushed them out ahead 100-80, and the USA rolled home for the 106-98 win.

The star of the night was the 6-9 Hansbrough, who has signed to play next season at the University of North Carolina. Playing 25 minutes, Hansbrough added a game best 10 rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals to his 31 points. His 15-of-18 performance at the charity line established new USA Hoop Summit records for free throws made and attempted, and his 10 boards also equaled the USA rebounding mark.

"I've been involved with basketball as a coach for 25 years, and I assure you he's one of the hardest-working, most focused and most competitive players I've coached - aside from even the physical talents that he obviously has," said USA mentor Diener. "His stat line was tremendous and he played great defense, he's one of those players you just can't say enough about."

"We had just one thing in mind tonight and that was to pick up the 'W' (win)," remarked Hansbrough. "We played really well together as a team, and I really enjoyed meeting and spending time with my teammates. It was great playing for the USA and for my country. It was an honor."

Hansbrough's showing was not the only impressive effort for the USA squad as five player finished in double figures. The USA's victorious effort was also aided by Webster's 21 points, while Williams finished with 20 points, Monta Ellis (Lanier High School / Jackson, Miss.) tossed in 13 points and added five assists and four steals, while Wright recorded 11 points and eight rebounds. USA guard Greg Paulus (Christian Brothers Academy / Manlus, N.Y.) handed out a Hoop Summit record 10 assists.

The World team was paced by Pocius, who has signed to play at Duke University, 20 points, while Dusan Sakota of Greece contributed 15 points and five rebounds.

The USA shot 51.4 percent (38-74 FGs) overall, despite hitting just 3-of-15 3-point shots. The World team shot 47.4 percent from the field. The USA owned a 45-36 advantage on the glass.

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2005 NIKE HOOP SUMMIT PREVIEW / March 30, 2005

Boasting of a 10-player team that features six players measuring 6-10 or bigger, Nike Basketball announced today the players and coaches who will comprise the 2005 World Select Team that will compete in the 8th Annual Nike Hoop Summit.

This year's World Select Team participants include 6’10” Nemanja Aleksandrov (Serbia and Montenegro), 6’7” Marco Belinelli (Italy), 6’11” Eric Boateng (England), 6’11” Vilmantas Dilys (Lithuania), 7’0” Semih Erden (Turkey), 6’1” Adam Gibson (Australia), 6’10” Ian Mahinmi (France), 5’11” Michael Mokongo (France), 6’4” Martynas Pocius (Lithuania) and 6’11” Dusan Sakota (Greece).

Head mentor of the 2005 World Select Team is Rob Beveridge, head coach in Australia at the NSW (New South Wales) Institute of Sport. Serving as Beveridge’s assistant coach is Marin Sedlacek of Serbia Montenegro. Beveridge is making his first coaching appearance at the Nike Hoop Summit, while Sedlacek is making his fifth Hoop Summit appearance.

Beveridge, who boasts of considerable international experience, led the Australian Men’s Junior World Team (players aged 19-years-old and younger) to the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championship gold medal. Beveridge’s Aussie squad, led by current University of Utah sensation Andrew Bogut, finished the FIBA Junior World Championship with a 7-1 record, including a 106-85 thumping of the USA Junior Team.

Two World Select Team players played for U.S. high school teams this past season. Boateng, a power forward who played at St. Andrew’s School in Delaware, and shooting guard Pocius, who played at Holderness School in Plymouth, New Hampshire, have both signed National Letters of Intent to play with perennial NCAA power Duke University.

Additionally, world team members Aleksandrov and Sakota have reportedly already declared for the 2005 NBA Draft.

The Nike Hoop Summit is the country’s premiere annual basketball game featuring America’s top senior boy high school players taking on a World Select Team comprised of the world’s top players who are 19-years-old or younger. The 2005 Nike Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 9, 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.

Also, for the first time, the 2005 Hoop Summit will be preceded by a preliminary game, the Memphis All-Star Classic, a game that will showcase the top prep senior players from the Memphis area. The Memphis All-Star Classic game will tip off at 4 p.m. (CT). The 2005 Nike Hoop Summit game will be televised nationally by Fox Sports.

The players and coaches involved in the Memphis All-Star Classic, will be announced at a later date.

Named on March 9 to the 2005 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Select Team that will compete in the Nike Hoop Summit were high school standouts: Jon Brockman (Snohomish/ Snohomish, Wash.); Monta Ellis (Lanier/Jackson, Miss.); Gerald Green (Gulf Shores Academy/Houston, Texas); Tyler Hansbrough (Popular Bluff/Popular Bluff, Mo.); Richard Hendrix (Athens/Athens, Ala.); Greg Paulus (Christian Brother’s Academy/Manlius, N.Y.); J.P. Prince (White Station/ Memphis, Tenn.); Martell Webster (Seattle Prep/Seattle, Wash.); Louis Williams (South Gwinnett/Snellville, Ga.); and Julian Wright (Homewood Flossmoor/Chicago Heights, Ill.).

Selected to serve as head coach of USA Basketball’s Junior National Select Team was Tom Diener (Harold S. Vincent High School, Milwaukee, Wis.), and his assistant is Herman Harried (Lake Clifton High School, Baltimore, Md.).

2005 USA Men's Junior National Select Team

NO NAME POS HGT WGT AGE HIGH SCHOOL/ HOMETOWN/ COLLEGE CHOICE

12 Jon Brockman F 6-8 245 17
Snohomish / Snohomish, WA / *Washington

6 Monta Ellis G 6-4 185 19
Lanier / Jackson, MS / *Mississippi State

9 Gerald Green G 6-8 200 19
Gulf Shores Academy / Houston, TX / *Oklahoma state

14 Tyler Hansbrough F 6-9 240 19
Popular Bluff / Popular Bluff, IA / *North Carolina

15 Richard Hendrix F/C 6-9 255 18
Athens / Athens, AL / *Alabama

4 Greg Paulus G 6-2 183 18
Christian Brothers Academy / Manlius, NY / *Duke

8 J.P. Prince F 6-7 195 17
White Station / Memphis, TN / *Arizona

11 Martell Webster G 6-8 230 18
Seattle Prep / Seattle, WA / *Washington

5 Louis Williams G 6-3 186 18
South Gwinnett / Snellville, GA / *Georgia

13 Julian Wright F 6-9 215 17
Homewood-Flossmoor / Chicago Heights, IL / *Kansas

*Indicates college where the player has signed a National Letter of Intent

Head Coach: Tom Diener, Harold S. Vincent High School (Milwaukee, WI)
Assistant Coach: Herman Harried, Lake Clifton High School (Baltimore, MD)
Team Physician: Dr. Fred Azar, Memphis Grizzlies
Athletic Trainer: Drew Gibson, Memphis Grizzlie

2005 WORLD SELECT TEAM ROSTER

NAME POS HGT WGT HOME COUNTRY CCURRENT TEAM
Nemanja Aleksandrov F 6-10 210 Serbia/M KK Reflex
Marco Belinelli G 6-7 190 Italy Fortitudo Skipper Bologna (Italy)
Eric Boateng C 6-11 225 England St. Andrew’s School (DE)/*Duke
Vilmantas Dilys F/C 6-11 Lithuania Zalgris Kaunas (Lithuania)
Semih Erden C 7-0 240 Turkey Partisan Belgrade (Serbia&Montenegro)
Adam Gibson G 6-1 Australia Tasmanian Inst. of Sport (Australia)
Ian Mahinmi F 6-10 230 France STB Le Havre (France)
Michael Mokongo G 5-11 France ES Chalon-Sur-Saone (France)
Martynas Pocius G 6-4 185 Lithuania Holderness (Plymouth, NH)/*Duke
Dusan Sakota F 6-11 Greece Panathinaikos Athens (Greece)

Head Coach: Rob Beveridge, NSW Institute of Sport, Australia
Assistant Coach: Marin Sedlacek, Serbia & Montenegro

*Indicates college where the player has signed a national letter-of-intent to play in 2005-06

The USA owns a 5-2 series lead in the Hoop Summit after upending the World Select Team 99-79 in 2004 in San Antonio, Texas.

NIKE HOOP SUMMIT HISTORY

USA teams have won five of the previous seven Hoop Summit match-ups and the Americans have done so on the shoulders of some outstanding showings by an impressive list of alumni.

The premiere event for high school seniors, 55 former USA and World Select Hoop Summit team members have been drafted by NBA teams, including four members of the 2004 USA Team - Al Jefferson (15th NBA pick by Boston), Josh Smith (17th pick by Atlanta), J.R. Smith (18th pick by New Orleans), and Sebastian Telfair (13th pick by Portland).

Currently 32 former USA players and eight former World team members play in the NBA (as of 3/2/05).

Some of the American NBA standouts boasting of Hoop Summit experience include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Portland Trail Blazers); Ron Artest (Indiana Pacers); Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies); Mike Bibby (Sacramento Kings); Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers); Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors); Chris Duhon (Chicago Bulls); Mike Dunleavy (Golden State Warriors); Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves); Al Harrington (Atlanta Hawks); Larry Hughes (Washington Wizards); Ryan Humphrey (Memphis Grizzlies); Casey Jacobsen (New Orleans Hornets); Jefferson; Joe Johnson (Phoenix Suns); Rashard Lewis (Seattle SuperSonics); Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks); Darius Miles (Portland Trail Blazers); Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers), Zach Randolph (Portland Trail Blazers); Quentin Richardson (Phoenix Suns); J.R. Smith; Josh Smith; Stromile Swift (Memphis Grizzlies), and Telfair.

World Hoop Summit alums now playing for NBA teams include Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks), Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Vladimir Radmanovic (Seattle SuperSonics), Dan Gadzuric (Milwaukee Bucks), Darius Songaila (Sacramento Kings), Wang Zhizhi (Miami Heat), Bruno Sundov (New York Knicks) and Bostjan Nachbar (New Orleans Hornets). Additionally, Yuta Talbuse (Phoenix Suns) and Jerome Moiso (Toronto Raptors) started the year with NBA clubs.

Other former Hoop Summit players competing on the collegiate level include Texas' freshmen Daniel Gibson and Mike Williams, UConn's Rudy Gay, Oregon's Malik Hairston, Texas A&M's Joe Jones, Indiana's D.J. White, and UCLA guard Jordan Farmar.

The USA owns a 5-2 series lead in the Hoop Summit after upending the World Select Team 99-79 in 2004 in San Antonio, Texas. In that contest, Josh Smith led the offense with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and his 12 made field goals set a new single game USA Hoop Summit record. J.R. Smith added 17 points in the win, while Gay and Jefferson were credited with 14 and 13 points respectively. Telfair recorded a game high seven assists, tying the USA Hoop Summit single game record in the process.

In the 2000 Hoop Summit the USA edged the World Select Team 98-97 in Indianapolis, Ind. In that contest, Randolph accounted for 24 points and eight rebounds, Miles contributed 15 points and eight boards, while France's Parker paced the World squad in the loss, scoring 20 points and dishing off seven assists. In 1999 in Tampa, Fla., USA guard Jacobsen scored a U.S. team record 31 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point as the Americans rolled to a 107-95 victory. In 1998, the World Select Team earned a hard-fought 104-99 victory thanks to a Hoop Summit record 33 points and 14 rebounds from future NBA All-Star Nowitzki. Current Atlanta Hawks forward Harrington posted 26 points and nine rebounds for the U.S. in the loss.

In the 1997 Hoop Summit, contested in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., future NBA standouts Hughes and Artest posted 20 and 19 points, respectively, as the USA squad battled to a 97-90 triumph. Despite O'Neal finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, the World Team claimed a 104-96 win in the 1996 Hoop Summit in Charlotte, N.C. In the inaugural Hoop Summit contest held in Springfield, Mass., the USA won 86-77 as Garnett accumulated 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocked shots, Marbury added 10 points and five assists, while Albert White tossed in 13 points and Jelani McCoy added 11.

PAST NIKE HOOP SUMMIT BASKETBALL GAMES

DATE SITE RESULT
April 4, 2004 San Antonio, Texas USA 99, World Select Team 79
April 2, 2000 Indianapolis, Indiana USA 98, World Select Team 97
March 28, 1999 Tampa, Florida USA 107, World Select Team 95
March 29, 1998 San Antonio, Texas World Select Team 104, USA 99
April 19, 1997 Lake Buena Vista, Florida USA 97, World Select Team 90
April 20, 1996 Charlotte, North Carolina World Select Team 104, USA 96
May 13, 1995 Springfield, Massachusetts USA 86, World Select Team 77