Team USA Places Fifth, Finishing at 3-2

Despite losing its first two games, Team USA rallied to win its final three contests. The Americans avenged their earlier loss to Panama, defeating Danilo Pinnock's squad 77-74. Pinnock lit up Team USA for 23 in their first meeting, which knocked the Americans out of contention for the medal round. For more info, check out CSTV.com
http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/072907aab.html

Team USA Loses Opener

In their opening round matchup yesterday, Team USA fell 81-72 to Uruguay.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2949534

Also check out this article from ESPN's Fran Fraschilla on the biggest names taking the floor for some other nations in Pan-Am Games XV.

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/insider/columns/story?columnist=fraschilla_fran&id=2947767&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dfraschilla_fran%26id%3d2947767

Team USA Heads to D.C.

Team USA capped a scintillating week at the Gooding Arena last night with the same robust display of hard-nosed American basketball that we’ve learned to expect from them. The local mercenaries came back for a third consecutive night, but left looking more like Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s sparring partner than Executive Outcomes. G/F Shan Foster delivered haymakers in groves, knocking down eight three’s in less than thirty minutes of action. He and PF D.J. White combined as a formidable 1-2 punch on offense. When the D stretched to account for Foster’s hot hand, White assaulted Jason Fraser with an array of hook shots and drop steps inside. D.J.’s hook is a throw-back to an earlier era with a contemporary influence. Both the traditional sky hook and White’s “power hook” are released with one hand with the off-arm pointed directly at the basket. The sky hook circa 1976 was a finesse shot, taken from a slight running start. But White doesn’t need the momentum or the leg kick often associated with the move to pour in his points. By dropping his beefy shoulder into his defender’s chest, he adds a powerful component to the high release point in order to hit this shot from the low post.

In addition to this offensive barrage, Coach Wright’s 1-2-2 full court press sapped the energy and the shot clock from the visitors. Unlike many other trapping presses, this one is not designed to steal passes. Instead, it forces teams to patiently bring the ball up the floor and thus milks the shot clock from a full 24 seconds to around 12-14 seconds for a half-court possession. During yesterday’s run, twelve seconds of boisterous defense routinely forced low-percentage shots. The zone press paid even greater dividends for the Team USA big men, as they reaped the benefits of the work sowed by the guards at the front end of the press. The big men largely sat back and waited for the ball to traverse half-court before “jumping up” into Jay Wright’s “ball-you-man” lockdown D. Hopefully this can buy minutes for bigs like C Roy Hibbert, who slows down considerably as the game wears on.

As last night’s run wore on and the final minutes of USA Basketball in the Gooding Arena came to a close, the Duke dagger gave the crowd one last thing to cheer about. In a tie game with under five seconds to play, PG Eric Maynor took two dribbles and elevated for a shot from nineteen feet. Forget the guy draped all over him, he kissed his J off the glass and in for the win. What is all that Cris Carter did? Catch touchdowns. What is all that Eric Maynor does? Beat buzzers.

To fully celebrate the week that was, we wanted to recap some of the week’s “best of…”

Best Crossover

Eric Maynor – Maynor’s steady, composed pace makes this move all the more dangerous. It should be classified in the same genus as Timmy Hardaway’s ‘killer cross,’ which has claimed many an NBA ankle brace with two weight-shifting dribbles. Maynor also pounds the rock twice, but prefers to cross twice in front of his body as opposed to Hardaway’s between-the-legs bounce before snapping the ball forward across his body. Last Thursday, G DeMarcus Nelson felt the pangs of Maynor’s deke firsthand. Maynor went right-left-right, but Nelson couldn’t stay with him for the second move to the right. He stumbled to the side, bracing his fall as Maynor sped up the floor.

Block of the Week

DeMarcus Nelson – Before Maynor’s crossover or Nelson’s injury, DeMarcus stamped his mark on the Trials with a ridiculous weak-side stuff of big man PF Richard Hendrix. Hendrix swatted a shot in the lane, and then was rewarded for running the floor with a bounce pass and a clean look at the rim. Poised to dunk mid-elevation, Nelson flew in to get his entire hand on the rock and toss it out of bounds.

Dunk of the Week

Shan Foster – On Tuesday night, Foster started his burn with a facial on Jason Fraser. Foster filled the lane and caught a pass right before springing up and posterizing Fraser. Thankfully, Haverford’s Dorothy Labe provided proof of the flush. (Also make sure to click on the picture so you can see PF Joey Dorsey's smile. He appreciates a man’s dunk.)

(Foster, #33, hanging on over #20, Fraser, who still looks stunned)

Most Ridiculous Shot

Roy Hibbert – Hibbert edges Shan Foster’s fadeaway buzzer-beater with two guys in his face and Derrick Low’s step through three-pointer off a head fake with time expiring. Yesterday, Hibbert couldn’t get to an offensive rebound careening off the left side of the rim. The 7-footer swam over the top of his defender, giving him enough time to get a hand on the ball. He smacked it with his big left paw up into the air like an underhanded volleyball serve. It bounced off the glass and fell right in.

Team USA travels to the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. for a couple of days before heading to Rio. Game One versus Uruguay is on July 25th.

The Usual Suspects

The twelve survivors of the Pan-Am Trials played together last night for the first time without the Grim Reaper of roster cuts hanging over their heads. The operative word here is together. When the right amalgam of players were on the floor at the same time, Team USA torched the visiting Philly area pro’s and former college stars. The combination of PG Eric Maynor, PG Drew Neitzel, SG Wayne Ellington, PF D.J. White and PF Joey Dorsey obliterated the opposition 26-5 on one particular run. Though this lineup seems small with both Neitzel and Maynor in at the same time, size was not a question. Joey Dorsey’s Evander Holyfield-esque shoulders could compensate for a perceived lack of size anyway.

Neitzel is the key to this puzzle as the ultimate combo guard. He can bring the ball up the floor without getting his pocket picked. Some Team USA guards struggled to get the ball over half-court with the smothering defense of the LA Clipper guard Dawan Robinson and even worse, former Bonnie Marques Green. Green, a 5’5’’ pigeon-toed ball hawk, might have ten steals in two days – just from taking the cookies of ball handlers in the backcourt. However, Neitzel blew by him on a number of occasions. “The key is not to dance with the ball, just make a quick move and try to get by him – keep him on his heels.” Neitzel has the verve to handle both the physical pressure of someone like Green and the mental pressure of a big stage. “Going up in the Big Ten you see those kind of guys night in and night out,” said Neitzel. “There are some great defenders in that league. My own teammates, I go up against Travis Walton another point guard who is one of the best defenders if not the best in our conference.”

(Neitzel, #6, staying with the incredibly quick Marques Green)

While he and Maynor assisted each other in breaking the press, Neitzel moved to the two and Maynor to the point when Team USA ran their half-court set. “I think they’re gonna have me play both – you know, combo guard. When I’m out there with Eric [Maynor] or somebody, I play the two a bit – kinda look for my shot more,” said Neitzel. “But I’m still a combo guard even at the point. I’m gonna distribute but still do some scoring,” he added. It's no surprise that he looked incredibly comfortable pulling the trigger - coming into the Trials he was the second leading scorer only to Tennessee's Chris Lofton. Let’s not forget Neitzel's sophomore season though: when MSU had some legit scorers to bode, he averaged nearly six assists per outing. Within a four minute span he found Ellington for two of three triples, hit G/F Shan Foster for another three and put the exclamation point on with one of his own. “It’s fun when you play with such talented guys as these guys who can knock down the open shot and make plays,” said Neitzel.

(Neitzel, #6, drilling a leaner from the elbow)

The question we asked yesterday after G/F Bryce Taylor and SG Josh Carter were cut was whether Team USA could defend at a level suitable to Coach Wright's demands when giving up size to bigger guards. The answer is simply yes. Save for C Roy Hibbert, everyone on the floor takes Coach Wright’s “chesting the dribble” technique to heart. Both Ellington and SG Derrick Low forced bigger opponents into taking off-balanced leaners even when they had the edge in transition.

Another tenet of Team USA defense is switching on screens. As one would imagine, it’s not advantageous for D.J. White to try to stop Dawan Robinson on the perimeter. It’s even worse when Neitzel is caught in the paint on Jason Fraser. Neitzel threw his body in front of the 6’9’’ big-man and drove his legs back to box out even though no shot had been taken. We love this about Neitzel – he embodies Wright’s “don’t give them a darn thing” mentality. “Just fight – fight for your life,” said the MSU guard about his approach to stopping players who are almost a foot taller. “You gotta do whatever it takes – bite, scratch, claw, do whatever it takes to get him outta there. If you gotta push him, whatever it takes, worst case you get a foul – it’s not the end of the world. You just don’t wanna give up an offensive rebound or let him catch the ball in there – just make him work for it.” He is a winner.

-----

Some notes: NBA 50 Great Billy Cunningham sat courtside last night, watching Wayne Ellington dismantle the opposition as the Kangaroo Kid’s former 76ers standout Andrew Toney routinely did against the Celtics. Cunningham shook hands with Memphis head coach John Calipari before exiting. Calipari presumably attended to support his starting center and our pick as the next human-highlight reel, Joey Dorsey. Also in attendance was ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla.

SG Derrick Low’s pump fake is so good he could deke you out of your chair right now. He sent Jason Fraser flying from the corner of the court to the laps of NBA scouts on the sideline. He finished that possession by taking two dribbles and kissing a leaner in off the glass. His Washington State teammate G/F Kyle Weaver excels on the other side of the floor. He is the consensus best perimeter defender on the team. However, his game falters with the ball. He stuffed a much bigger opponent within feet of the basket, only to rush the ball up the floor and throw an errant pass to D.J. White in the lane – it was a microcosm for his game. Check out this article the real Andy Katz wrote about these two Cougars.

ESPN Deportes will carry 160 hours of coverage of the Pan-Am Games. Some websites note that ESPN or ESPN2 will air the semi-finals and finals of the basketball event even though ESPN’s TV listings do not indicate that they will televise the Games anywhere but Deportes.

Final Roster Announced

Surprisingly, the last two cuts from the Pan-American Games XV roster were two of their better shooting wings. G/F Bryce Taylor and SG Josh Carter were the last two to be sent home from the six day Trial. Along with the announcement, Coach Wright justified the coaches' decision to dismiss Taylor and Carter, who showcased some impressive skills in the Gooding Arena. "This was difficult of a decision as any I've been involved with in USA Basketball. Every kid here could play on this team and we would be happy to take them to Brazil. We just had to decide do we want to play with some extra guards and some extra bigs and maybe not as many wings, and that's really what it came to," stated Wright.

Carter never really got into a groove from downtown despite his reputation as a long-distance shooter. Without his shot falling, Carter slipped into invisibility. Though the other facets of his game were strong, he doesn’t stack up against other lanky guard/forwards on D. G/F Kyle Weaver’s lock-down defense solidified his position on the roster over Carter. The rising junior will have plenty of opportunities to build on this Trial and the success he’s already had with international basketball. Carter hit a three-pointer with 6 seconds left to defeat the Chinese Taipei 86-83 at the William Jones Cup representing the US on an “Athletes in Action” delegation.

However, the real surprise is the cut of Bryce Taylor. He’s scary athletic, which translates into terrific on-ball defense and game-breaking potential in transition. If his Oregon teammate F Maarty Leunen hadn’t burned through the nets during last night’s scrimmage, Taylor might still have a spot on the roster.

The cuts of two rangy and athletic guards beg one major concern: can Team USA’s host of small guards lock down their international opponents on defense? PG Drew Neitzel, PG Scottie Reynolds, PG Eric Maynor and SG Derrick Low are all 6’2’’ and under. Our guess is that the outstanding play of SG Wayne Ellington (6’4’’, 195 lbs.) has made the presence of too many other wings moot. He and Derrick Low will combine as a vicious 1-2 punch of accurate shooting and disciplined "chesting the ball" defense.

“I think it has been difficult for everybody on the team and even the coaching staff to really, really think like a team because we were all so concerned with the cuts,” said Wright. We became close, but everybody kind of felt like they had one foot out the door. Now I think everybody will feel ‘alright we’re in this’ and now we’re going to go down there as a team, as a family, and were going to start building that now. We’ve got to learn who is going to play what spots, who’s going to have what roles, and I think it will move quickly now that we know who the squad is.”

The final roster is thus:

- Roy Hibbert

- Drew Neitzel

- Scottie Reynolds

- Wayne Ellington

- Kyle Weaver

- Maarty Leunen

- James Gist

- Joey Dorsey

- D.J. White

- Shan Foster

- Eric Maynor

- Derrick Low

Pan-Am'sters versus Philly's Best

We were just a bit off with the expected competition. Roy Williams and Gerald Henderson were MIA. Instead, the gym was packed with Philly-area hoopsters who have serious basketball pedigrees. DaJuan Wagner, the Camden native best known for his 100 point performance in a high school game, pulled his trigger whenever and wherever possible. Wagner has only recently recovered from surgery in 2005, in which his entire colon was removed as a result of “ulcerative colitis”. Villanova’s Chris Charles, former Chicago Bulls forward Malik Allen, former ‘Nova star Jason Fraser and former Friends Central standout, then Syracuse Orangeman and current Memphis Grizzly Hakim Warrick played along the front lines for the visiting squad. Rick Brunson donned some Temple gear to give the appearance that he could still run with the young’uns despite being the elder statesman at 35 years of age. In addition to Wagner, the backcourt was comprised of former URI Ram and current LA Clipper Dawan Robinson and Norristown native, former St. Bonaventure Bonnie Marques Green. Green is listed at 5’7’’, 170 lbs. on the Bonnies webpage, but he’s closer to 5’5’’ 150 lbs.

But the man with the biggest impact on the game of basketball wasn’t on the floor. Pan-Am Games IX alum and 1985 Villanova National Champion Ed Pinckney hobbled around Gooding Arena, hoping to transfer his gold medal vibes from his run with MJ and the ’83 championship team to this squad.

With Pinckney courtside, Team USA got off to a fiery start. They went up 18-6 on the shoulders of their shooters. PG Drew Neitzel got the ball rolling in response to tremendous defense by Dawan Robinson. Neitzel ran Robinson into a solid screen from C Roy Hibbert and then banged a three from about 23 feet. G/F Bryce Taylor stuck another 3 in from the corner off a two-pass swing. PG Scottie Reynolds followed that up by raising the bar from this morning’s POM honor to attain POD status (Player of the Day). The defense sagged at the top of the key and Reynolds knocked a triple down off the back of the rim. When the visitors defense went from aggressive to red-alert, Reynolds didn’t look fazed for a second. Some other Team USA players appeared flustered for a couple possessions, but Reynolds' instinctive moxie enabled him to shoot right through a defender's harassment. He capped a great day with a bomb three-pointer later on, ranging back around 25 feet.

----

Despite some defensive growing pains, Team USA managed to break through some of the old heavy-handed habits. G/F Kyle Weaver’s hands were active – not zealous when in the paint with other bodies. He picked some passes and stripped guys going up for shots before getting what appeared to be a knee to his quad, which required some icing after practice.

While the visitors seemed heavy-footed at times, the Pan-Am’sters took advantage of their youth and athleticism to spring ahead. On successive possessions, PF Joey Dorsey went aerial for a right-handed version of Desmond Mason’s 2001 left-handed pull-back slam (about 2 minutes in to this video), which was one-upped by F James Gist’s two-handed rock-the-body dunk. Gist should patent this dunk, which is a carbon-copy of his slam from today. “Whenever me and Dorsey’s on the court it’s gonna’ be a highlight. When you get big men running the floor with the guards, a lot of production is gonna’ come outta that,” said the Maryland high-flyer.

(Gist, #20, hanging around the rim)

The anti-Dorsey – only in his shot selection – F Maarty Leunen had a breakout performance. He’s flown under the radar until today. He banged long-range jumpers in groves, feasting on swing passes that caused the defense to be late getting over. “I know I’m not one of the most athletic guys so I gotta stick to my strengths – shooting the ball,” said Leunen. Referencing a smart decision to stick a jumpshot on a 3-on-2 fast break, he said: “I’ll take the uncontested shot rather than go up against the big guys and try to be more athletic than them.”

(Leunen, #37, hitting a jumpshot during Sunday's practice)

With something on the line, even if it was just pride, he was a reliable option for Team USA. “It definitely helps just playing against higher competition because we don’t always get this back in Oregon. So for everybody to come out and try to play their best always raises the level of competition and how everybody plays,” said Leunen. His style of play fits pretty well in the international game given his proclivity for fundamental basketball. He also has a knack for being in the right place at the right time, collecting more offensive rebounds than one would imagine.

We saw more of the same from SG Wayne Ellington, who was nothing short of spectacular today. SG Derrick Low threaded the needle through the paint to find Ellington cutting to the rim. The UNC standout went off for nine straight points including that lay-up. Two 15-18 footers fell, which he then followed with a three. It seems as though nothing stops him from getting off that smooth, perfectly-rotating shot.

We appreciated a comment we received from Bryce Taylor’s father, Brian Taylor this weekend. The elder Taylor has a very impressive basketball resume, including a team-high 13.3 points per game during the 1971 Pan-American Games alongside Bob McAdoo and Paul Westphal. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention his two ABA Championships with the Nets. Despite such hardware, the younger Taylor is still convinced that he could take his dad in one-on-one today, noting that his old man has taken a reprieve from the game for about five years.

Big Things Poppin' (Later Tonight)

There wasn’t too much burn this morning, as Coach Wright and his staff dissected the team’s defensive approach for the majority of the two hours. But there’s always a method to the madness with Wright. Rumors are that during the second chapter of today’s double session, Team USA will run against some local players including Duke’s Gerald Henderson and Villanova alum Jason Fraser. We also expect to see UNC Coach Roy Williams in attendance to support his stud shooting guard, Wayne Ellington.

Even with the limited action, Ellington gave the crowd something to ogle. During warm-ups, he and SG Derrick Low traded shots at the same basket. Wayne was ridiculous, stroking twenty-one consecutive jumpers from elbow to elbow. Low held up his end too, knocking down nine in a row. Plain and simple, these guys are good.

(Ellington is poised to start at the 2 in Rio)

------

However, POM honors (Player of the Morning) go to PG Scottie Reynolds. As the only player familiar with the Jay Wright experience, Reynolds didn’t seem disturbed by his interjections. While most everyone else struggled to get into some sort of flow, Scottie’s game (and his mouth) were off and running. After yesterday’s half-court hedge from C Roy Hibbert on Reynolds, the little-man knifed in between the 7-footer and another defender to break into the lane for a pretty leaner when the same situation arose.

(Scottie Reynolds, left, a guy who rarely looks flustered)

PG Drew Neitzel gave the usual gritty performance in the AM. He hit a long three from the wing with a man in his face to put his team up. On the other side of the ball, he got caught on a screen and switched over to guard PF Joey Dorsey on the block. As any guard should have in that situation, Neitzel put his body in front of Dorsey’s and wrapped both of his arms behind to hold the big fella and prevent him from getting position. Two possessions later, he went back on the offensive, zipping a pass to G/F Kyle Weaver at the rim, who then dropped it back to PF D.J. White for a monstrous slam. G/F Bryce Taylor made the whole thing possible by diving on the floor for a loose ball.

Dorsey is making a push to surpass PG Eric Maynor as our favorite player at the Trials. While everyone on the floor keeps a straight face when Coach Wright speaks, Dorsey is all smiles. Going through the motions on an out-of-bounds play, Wright told Dorsey that if he catches the ball at the elbow, he sure as heck doesn’t want Dorsey taking that shot. The big man laughed and made the crowd into his audience, joking that “He’s killin’ my confidence man!” Minutes later Dorsey caught a pass at the elbow with 2.4 seconds to play in a tie game. He took the shot. Wright was mad – but only for a minute, as he couldn’t stay angry with the forward.

Practice is closed tonight - which means that we can expect some serious scrimmaging. Remember, the roster still needs to be trimmed from 14 to 12. We'll be back later with updates on the possible cuts and more.