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Courtside at the Hoop Summit

Courtside at the Hoop Summit
Apr 07, 2007, 04:00 pm
US Post-Game Wrap

JW:Not a whole lot of new things learned about the US team. It wasn't Michael Beasley's night, but several players certainly proved what they are capable of.

Derrick Rose was probably the most important US player, even if he didn't come up with the outstanding statline.

Mayo certainly didn't commit the decision making and shot selection errors he did at McDonald's, and dazzled at specific moments. He is showing quite a bit of effort on the defensive end.

Singler was quiet after the one outstanding stretch, even airballing a 3 late in the game. This could have been a breakout performance for him, but he just didn't get many opportunities in the second half.

Bayless looked a lot more athletic against the international guards than he did going up against his teammates in practice, and was outstanding in terms of his scoring. His point guard skills will need work, though adding even a little more upper body strength will certainly help him ward off defenders much better.

Donte Green ran hot and cold, sometimes playing the part of future NBA SF and other times reminding us that he's still got a ways to go. It will be interesting to see how Coach Boeheim chooses to utilize him next year, given Paul Harris' struggles in cracking the rotation.

That's it for now, we'll back after the post-game press conference with any news that presents itself, and later tonight with full scouting breakdowns on all the players. Thanks for checking out DraftExpress.com!

Team USA 100, World 80, End of Regulation

MS: 15 year old Ryan Richards has officially become the youngest player to even play in the Nike Hoop Summit. Right away, he was able to get a look at a 20 foot jump shoot from the top of the key, but it rattled out. He is guarding Kyle Singler on the defensive end, and looks comfortable working out on the perimeter. On the low block, he received a look and showed nice footwork on a spin move, but bricked a hook shot off the side of the backboard. Nicholas Batum wraps up his day by exploding for a nice dunk in traffic. Petteri Koponen has probably helped his stock more than anyone else from the world team, showing great command of the offense and the ability to produce against more athletic players. Batum took the ball end to end to finish the game, but the U.S. holds on the victory be an easy margin.

Team USA 98, World 75, 1:00 Fourth Quarter

JW: Johnny Flynn has been up and down, but has gotten into the lane for a couple of nice drive and dish plays. Derrick Rose finished both, which gives the Memphis commit eight points for the game.

Kevin Love has now displayed all of the things that make him such an elite talent at least once in the game. We saw the perimeter touch in the first half. In the second half, we saw him getting a more athletic defender to go all in on a pump fake, and then literally breaking the poor soul in half by then thrusting his body at the rim at full power (Solomon Alabi, we’re all sorry). Then it was the power and touch with his back to the basket, and finally one of his patented full court outlet passes that led to an uncontested Mayo dunk – this was off a made basket, folks. He’s for real, folks.

Mayo comes back with a dazzling move to the basket, splitting two defenders and then falling away at a crazy angle with a help defender in his face from about eight feet out. With 18 points, he looks like the MVP here.

Team USA 94, World 67, 4:09 Fourth Quarter

MS: Ugrinoski is showing good penetration to the hoop, but was unable to dump the ball off to the open man. Nicholas Batum has excelled since entering the game again in the fourth quarter, knocking down a smooth jumper off the dribble as well as making a few nice drives inside. His smooth ability with the ball has really stood out today. It has been very hard for the defenders of the USA team to stick with Batum off the dribble, because he can either overpower them or out-quick them. He just missed a 3 pointer, but was able to get the rebound and knock down the second attempt. For Team USA, Bayless has been showing off his ability to adjust his body in the air and finish in traffic. He has struggled to match up defensively, but his natural offensive talents continue to shine.


Team USA 84 World 63, 6:00, 4th Quarter

Beasley starting to turn things around, knocking down two missed free throws and reeling another phenomenal lead pass from Derrick Rose in the open court, adjusting his body, and deftly finishing all in one motion. Rose continues to drive the USA’s fast break attack. Greene with a pretty midrange floater. The US Starting to pull away, with the fast break starting to open up. Aleksandrov continues his superb second half with a swished 3-pointer from the baseline, but Jerryd Bayless is already back down the court for a wide open dunk before the defense can get back.

Team USA 72, World 55, End of Third Quarter

MS: Nemanja Aleksandrov made a nice spotup drive to the hoop, but his shot was sent harshly the other direction by Michael Beasley. The international team will need Nicholas Batum to play through his foul trouble in the fourth quarter if they want to really get back into this game. Chen Jianguha struggled during his stint in the first half by turning the ball over and forcing some shots, and he didn’t see any minutes during the second half. Petteri Koponen only has 5 points and 5 assists, but his impact goes far beyond those numbers.

Team USA 70, World 55, 1:00, Third Quarter

JW: Mayo and Rose showing some excellent teamwork, with Rose pulling a silky smooth baseline crossover to get to the baseline and then kicking out to a wide open Mayo at the 3-point line. Mayo couldn’t connect, but got his own rebound and delivered a beautiful no-look pass in the lane to Love for the easy finish. Next time down, Mayo hit that 3-pointer from the opposite corner. Love gets on track with a nice spin move finish in the lane, Beasley still ice cold. The international team doing a much better job of dealing with the perimeter pressure. On the latest possession, Casspi was able to spot up on the wing in an isolation situation and get his man to bite on a pump fake, finishing softly with a contested runner.

Team USA 68, World 51, 2:24, Third Quarter

MS:Batum made a nice driving move to get to the free throw line, but picked up his 4th foul after knocking down the free throws. It could be a struggle for the world team here without the young Frenchman on the floor. Aleksandrov has continued to put the ball in the hoop and also has 11 rebounds in the game. He has made a few nice finishes inside, and has made a lot of the little plays on the floor. Solomon Alabi continues to struggle in creating his offense, but he has made a few nice athletic plays on both ends of the floor. He is only 1/6 from the field, but has knocked down 3 of his 4 attempts from the free throw line. Alabi just tried to block a shot by Kevin Love, but fouled him when his crotch ran into Love’s shoulder after one of Kevin‘s patented pump fakes.

Team USA 59, World 46, 5:00, Third Quarter

JW:Nolan Smith makes his mark early in the half with a thunderous put back dunk. Donte Green not showing much polish, but did get to the free throw line, came up with a nice block to save a lay-in, and then followed his own miss in transition for a scare. The press starting bother Bayless and the other US ballhandlers. Koponen just shredding the US defense with his passing. A Flynn bricked jumper leads to another fastbreak, with Casspi taking it the full length of the floor before getting fouled on an impressive hesitation up and under move right on the square. The international team making it interesting, but Mayo comes back and knocks down a 3 from the corner to extend the lead back out to 15.

Team USA 52, World 38, 6:30, Third Quarter

MS: Nemanja Aleksandrov started the second half with a nice spin move to the baseline for an easy layup. He struggled in the first half offensively, missing most of his looks from the perimeter. Aleksandrov followed up his nice move with a missed fadaway jumper from 18 feet, but came back with a fadaway layup on a nice alleyoop pass from Petteri Koponen. Koponen has continued where he left off in the first half, adding a nice steal in the backcourt, and swishing an NBA range three pointer. Aleksandrov continues his little run with a putback layup.

Team USA 46, World 29, Halftime

JW: A nice run here at the end of the 2nd quarter made things a bit more respectable for the International team headed into the locker room. Omri Casspi has the scouts buzzing and has certainly helped himself if he doesn’t fall apart in the second half. One has to think that Kopenen is about to become a household name on the international scene.

Out of the US guards, Derrick Rose put in the most impressive first half. The official box score credits him with 4 steals and just 1 assist, but his open passing impact has been much greater than the second number would indicate and I would have thought he had at least 5 steals. He’s hardly looked for his shot the entire way, though. Mayo had a quiet first half, other than a handful of dazzling passes. Like usual, there were a couple of rushed shots and missed finishes that he could have turned into points if he was willing to go up strong and take the easy basket.

Johnny Flynn hasn’t really blown up the stat sheet, but Team USA is very tough on the perimeter when he is on the court. He is lightning quick in transition – if he touches the ball with a lane to the basket, chalk up two points for the Americans in some way or another. The Syracuse commit is a Tyus Edney clone in terms of looks and game. Dee Brown comes to mind as well.

Michael Beasley hasn’t been able to get on track so far. He didn’t get a lot of touches after the opening moments, but has rushed his shots and is 0-2 from the free throw line. He didn’t completely tank in the effort category, so odds are he will come out charged up for the second half.

MS:Omri Casspi’s points have sparked the world team, and Nicholas Batum has exploded for a nice stretch in the closing moments of the first half. Batum had 2 explosive dunks on cuts to the hoop that caused quite an uproar from the crowd in Memphis. The world team has become a little more accustomed to the up-tempo style of play, Batum and Casspi have excelled because they possess above average athleticism. Nicholas Batum also has knocked down 2 of his 3 free throw attempts, and has been much more aggressive than usual in looking for his own offense.

Petteri Koponen has been the steadiest player on the floor for either team, running the offense with great command and getting down and dirty on the defensive end. It would be nice to see him look for his own offense a little bit here, but all of the scouts behind us have to be impressed. At the end of the first half, Koponen is tied with Johnny Flynn as the game leader with 4 assists.

Kevin Love has been dominant inside when he sees the ball, but he has missed some inside shots which are usually automatic for him.

At halftime, 15 year old Ryan Richards has yet to enter the game and become the youngest player ever to participate in the Hoop Summit.


Team USA 46, World 29, 1:00, 2nd Quarter

JW:Bayless wows the crowd with a breakaway windmill dunk. Patrick Patterson has been nearly as dominant as Love in the paint, but hasn’t been able to get on track at all. He’s gotten the short end of the stick on a couple of calls that could have gone either way, and has missed a couple of bunnies. Still, one powerful block and a very nice midrange fadeaway in the first quarter. Koponen still handling the Team USA pressure, finds Alexis Ajinca near the basket for a basket + the foul. Ajinca knocks it down at the line.

Team USA 42, World 19, 3:43, 2nd Quarter

MS:Omri Casspi tried to find his offense for the first time, and drew a foul driving to the basket against Kevin Love. He came back on the next possession for the international squad and created a great buzz in the arena with an athletic slam dunk. He completed a string of 6 straight points for the international team by getting a steal from Jared Bayless and driving the length of the court for an easy dunk.


Team USA 36, World 13, 6:00, 2nd Quarter

JW:Love and Beasley getting great position and all sorts of good looks deep in the post, but both have seen shots bounce off the rim that normally wouldn’t. Beasley was able to tap in a short-range Love miss. Singler with yet another play around the basket, putting back a Mayo transition miss. International team finally called a timeout after another Rose steal and full court dribble drive dish to Love for a powerful slam.

MS:Petteri Koponen has been the best player for the international team thus far. He has done a fantastic job of running the team, and created many nice looks by drawing extra defenders and dishing the ball off to the open man. The surprising thing here is that Koponen has been able to dribble the ball end to end in transition against the more athletic players from the United States. He has also played very tough defense, but hasn’t looked for his own offense very much yet.


Team USA 28, World 13, 8:00, 2nd Quarter

JW:Singler had been quiet, but comes up with a nice offensive rebound at the top of the key and then spots up for a swished 3-pointer in the corner. He then creates an International team turnover with some physical perimeter D, and gets to the line on a backdoor cut after receiving a nice pass from Mayo. Also a nice post entry pass to Love. The international team is playing much better with Koponen on the floor - he is able to run the offensive effectively in the face of all sort of ball pressure from the US guards. US team still starting to pull away.

Team USA 24, World 13, end of, 1st Quarter

MS:Jared Bayless could become the Wayne Ellington of this year if he keeps getting open looks. He already has 7 points at the conclusion of the first quarter. Even in the half court offense, Team USA is taking quick shots. The international team has really struggled with turnovers so far, and their half court offense lacks ball movement.

Team USA 21, World 13, 1:00, 1st Quarter

JW:The US second team of Flynn, Bayless, Smith, Greene and Patterson checks in at the 5:00 minute mark, but the strategy hasn’t changed. The US actually three ballhandlers on the court now, and all three can push the tempo. Bayless impresses with by drawing a charge on Batum after getting stuck in a mismatch near the basket, and then hits a beautiful fall-away 3-pointer. Greene looks good handling in the open court, flying to the basket and keeping under control before drawing a foul at the basket. For some reason, the international team has decided to throw on a press as well. Alabi with a powerful open court dunk.

Team USA 16, World 8, 5:00, 1st Quarter

MSSolomon Alabi makes his first play of the game with a block on Kevin Love. The up-tempo game clearly plays to the advantage of the high school team. Kevin Love has already displayed his great strength inside as a rebounder and finisher. The perimeter shots are off early for team USA.

Team USA 7, World 0, 8:00, 1st Quarter

JWTeam USA is using its advantage in perimeter athleticism as expected. Rose already come up with three deflections/steals, the US pressing with some effectiveness. Kevin Love all over the glass, drained a beautiful 3-point look.

Gametime

Omri Casspi and Petteri Koponen have been named the captains of the international squad. NBA scouts have packed the seats behind press row. 3 minutes stand between now and game time, and Derrick Rose was given a standing ovation during team introductions.

Ten Minutes to Gametime:

Local Game: Red Team 78, White Team 73
Unsigned senior wing Sergio Kerusch leads all scorers with 29 points on 14-23 from the field, but his White team falls to the Red 78-73. Explosive combo guard and UTEP signee Randy Culpepper scored 16 for the victors. Highly regarded future Georgia Tech point guard Maurice Mimller struggles, scoring just 2 points on 1-6 from the floor and committing 5 turnovers against just 4 assists.

Starting Lineups

Team USA: Rose, Singler, Mayo, Love, Beasley

International: Koponen, Batum, Casspi, Aleksan, Ajinca

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