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 Last Episode

When the Trials convened, Coach Jay Wright established that he did not want battles for spots on the roster to overshadow battles for playing time. “It’s better for us to see some practice now thinking about what type of team we’re going to be and how we’re going to play rather than practice and after it think about who’s going to make the team,” noted Wright after tonight’s session. Frankly, it appeared that Wright’s message was very clear to both the media and the players. Tonight’s concluding episode of the Pan-Am tryouts looked a whole lot like a start to the next chapter. A group of players have established themselves as a cut above the rest in their individual play and most importantly, their cooperation with the other players who are headed to Rio. Thus when the Tommy T look-alike, Jim Boeheim, pensively sat and watched for the last time, his decisions were basically already made for him – between those who synched with their teammates and those who were still trying to locate their own game.

(Doesn't Boeheim, center in reddish shirt, have that Quaker look?)

SG Derrick Low jived with everyone on the floor. Whether it was PG Sherron Collins finding him spotting up on the break or getting the ball on a kick-out from any number of big men, Low was the reliable shooter this team has been looking for. With time expiring, PG Eric Maynor took one dribble off of a screen to the top of the key, and looking like he was about to rain in the same shot that he beat Duke on, he ‘ooped it to PF Richard Hendrix for the flush. But Maynor left too much time on the clock. In less than the five seconds on the clock, the blue squad inbounded to Low who pumped SF Tasmin Mitchell into the seats before stepping through and draining the game-winning 3 à la G Gerry McNamara.

The other standout two-guard, Wayne Ellington, consistently brings the best out in his teammates by freeing himself from defenders on quick cuts. G/F Bryce Taylor fed him on a backdoor cut for an And 1 reverse lay-in. He manages to get almost two full steps of separation from defenders when coming off of baseline V-cuts.

(Ellington splitting two defenders for an aerial lay-in)

After Taylor found Ellington on a number of occasions, he came back in his next shift as the beneficiary of PG Scottie Reynolds’s dishes. They started their run with a give-and-go BT 3-ball. Reynolds has been the most vocal man on the floor since the moment everyone walked in the doors of the Gardner Center. He let out a solid “uuhhh” when Bryce drilled that three. Reynolds also has some great nicknames for his teammates. He abbreviates PG Mario Chalmers’ name to “Rio,” which I initially thought he called him because he was destined to make the team. He calls Wayne Ellington “Weave”. Not sure what that one’s all about.

The bell tolls for fourteen to live until tomorrow’s announcement.

Big Names, Bigger Bodies: Day One

Day One of the Pan-Am XV Trials was all about the big men. The biggest names in sports journalism – ESPN’s senior college basketball writer Andy Katz, SI’s Seth Davis, and the Philadelphia Daily News’ Dick Jerardi mixed and mingled among the NBA scouts and college coaches, taking time to exchange pleasantries in between some serious dunks that could flush the color right off the official FIBA ball, which is so ugly it wouldn’t even be used as a “money ball” for a 3-point competition. The big men of the coaching universe worked the room, all wearing a different color-of-the-flag polo coded to match their role as a member of the selection committee or the coaching staff. Jay Wright and his coaching crew adorned white and briefly guided the players through a four-out, one-in zone offense before dividing the group up for shooting drills and then about an hour’s worth of scrimmages. Jim Boeheim, Ernie Kent (Oregon) and the blue shirts remained on the sidelines as spectators for most of the two hours. However, the biggest men in the arena drew the most attention, regardless of celebrity. With the international paint area lines taped on the floor of the Gooding Arena courts, there was extra space to see these huge bodies take to the sky.

Indiana PF D.J. White showed a number of weapons in his offensive arsenal, ranging from a powerful drop step to a classic sky hook. I don’t believe that he’s 6’9’’ 251 lbs. either. He looked just as beefy as PF Richard Hendrix, who is probably just under his listed weight of 265 lbs. During shooting drills, White consistently knocked down shots from fifteen feet. During a fast-break drill he gave his best Daryl Dawkins impression with a two-handed tomahawk monster jam. But White wasn’t even the consensus pick to click. Memphis PF Joey Dorsey was nearly unstoppable within ten feet of the basket. It would have been impossible to miss this guy. While nobody saw him attempt a shot from anywhere outside the paint, everyone did see him make C Roy Hibbert a total non-factor on the boards on a number of trips with tenacious box-outs. Dorsey also took advantage of the FIBA international rule that allows players to touch the basketball while it is on or above the cylinder. He almost leapfrogged an unsuspecting guard when he tip-dunked a SG Derrick Low missed leaner. Even the most composed journalists gave their neighbor a wide-eyed silent stare before continuing to check out the action.

(Dorsey stuffing an anonymous blue team player like an envelope)

PF Ahmad Nivins of St. Joe’s got some attention on a couple of freakish athletic plays. There was a visible rustle of papers along the sideline, in which everyone took another glance at their roster sheet. Who is number 38 again?

Another surprise was the play of C Roy Hibbert. Hibb was not the dominant auto-basket that most people expected on day one. At times, his feet looked like they were nailed into the floor. He finished a couple of baskets on nice interior passes from penetrating guards, but could not seem to get comfortable with his back to the basket. But the first day is not of great concern to anyone, including the head coach. Jay Wright commented after the scrimmages concluded that no impressions are set in stone after the first day. “You learn not to get too excited the first night,” said Wright. “Some guys don’t come in in great shape. Some guys flew across the country. There’s a lot of things. That’s why it’s good that we have five sessions – you really need that time,” he added.

Whether it’s from the big men or the guards, Team USA will need more than the big-bodied athleticism on display today. When asked about the key to competing on the international level, Wright noted one thing: skill. “Skill – you gotta have guys with skill all over the floor. They’re so good offensively it’s tough to just say we’re gonna go shut them down. You gotta be able to score with them.”

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Aside from Dorsey’s jam, the other highlight of the afternoon was a move PG Eric Maynor made on SG DeMarcus Nelson. Nelson shot off the ground on a number of occasions, nabbing offensive boards when he outleaped much bigger opponents. And he also needed to hop off the floor when Maynor hit him with a quick double cross-over in the backcourt. Nelson lost his balance when Maynor shifted back to his left and could only put his arm down to try to keep his balance.

Despite adding two invitees to the Trials, USA Basketball was not allowed to bring Dominic James and Sean Singletary into the fold. These late additions were not on the original submission to the overarching Pan-American body. Thus, we’re back at thirty players.

More to come tomorrow, the first practice of a double-session starts at 10 AM.

Great Expectations

If the now thirty-two hoopsters who will be at tonight’s Pan-Am Trials (5 PM – 7 PM) were all in action on a given night during the ’06-’07 season, you could expect them to combine for over 438 points, 168 rebounds, over 77 assists and a collective shooting percentage of just over 48%. (Two additional point guards, PG Sean Singletary of UVA and PG Dominic James of Marquette are joining the party.) Tennessee Vol’ SG Chris Lofton is the only attendee to contribute more than 20 points per game over the course of the season. Washington PF Jon Brockman is the top rebounder, cleaning the glass at 9.6 boards per game. KU PG Mario Chalmers and Marquette SG Jerel McNeal share the honor as the top thieves, nabbing the rock from the opposition 2.6 times a game. As impressive as these numbers are, none of these four make the cut as being the most statistically significant player at their position among the Pan-Am’sters. Here are five can't-miss prospects based on their performance last year.

Starting from the point, it’s hard to bypass Michigan State’s PG Drew Neitzel’s numbers, and maybe even tougher to overlook his intangibles. Despite losing three key contributors from the ’05-’06 campaign to ’06-’07, Neitzel’s numbers barely wavered. The graduation or departure of C Paul Davis’s 17.5 points per game on 57% shooting, SG Maurice Ager’s 19.3 ppg at 46% and G/F Shannon Brown’s 17.2 ppg at 46% from the field left Neitzel with few options when looking to dish. While his assists dropped from 5.7 per game to 4.3, he shouldered the offensive burden as a scorer. From his 8.5 points per game in ’05-’06 on 41% shooting, Neitzel managed to tack 10 more points onto that average (18.1) while also improving his accuracy to 43%. The southpaw even led his team further into the ‘tourney during his junior season than they had gone the year before with a substantially more talented team. The Spartans fell victim to George Mason’s Cinderella story in the first round of the ’06 tournament. In ’07, they beat Marquette before C Tyler Hansbrough (33 points, 9 rebs) and UNC ran roughshod through them 81-67. Neitzel still put together a gritty performance, dropping 26 points and dishing out 5 assists despite being defended by the ultra-tough PG Ty Lawson.

The shooting guard is by far the most stacked position at the Trials. Ten guys are competing to play the two in Rio. Aggie SG Josh Carter might not be one of the biggest names, but he is a lethal, opportunistic shooter. At 6’7’’ 195 lbs., Carter never struggles to get his jumper off. Playing alongside PG Acie Law IV, Carter’s role as a spot-up shooter led him to 11.8 points per game on a ridiculous 49.2% from the field, and a flat 50% from three. As an oversized guard, he creates mismatches defensively, and takes advantage of his height, grabbing four boards a game. On a squad where shots will be tough to come by, Carter’s accuracy is invaluable.

While it is tempting to select a small forward who stands out defensively, such as SF James Gist, (.9 steals per game, 2.1 blocks per game) NC State’s SF Brandon Costner is too versatile to pass up. At 16.3 points per game and 7.3 rebounds, this 6’8’’ 230 lbs. lefty is quick enough to rove the baseline and strong enough to bang bodies in the paint. He’s no defensive slouch, averaging almost a steal and a block per game. Most importantly, BC loves the limelight. He scored 20 on 3-of-6 shooting from downtown against Maryland, lit the Dukies up at Cameron Indoor for 30 and 7 boards, and went toe-to-toe with Tar Heel PF Brandan Wright, going off for 28 and 3 rebounds.

’Bama’s PF Richard Hendrix could earn the label as “statistically significant” simply from his stature. He rings in at 6’8’’ 265 lbs., second in size only to C Roy Hibbert’s 7’2’’ 278 lbs. Hendrix uses his size on the offensive end, but seems to have incredibly quick feet when playing D. In only 27.6 minutes of action per game, Hendrix was a virtual 15-10 guy at 14.6 ppg, 8.7 rpg. Against the Gators C Joakim Noah and PF Al Horford, he shot 7-for-13 for 16 points along with eight boards – four of which were offensive. On the season, Hendrix made the most of his opportunities, converting baskets at a 60.2% rate.

Finally, C Roy Hibbert, the biggest man in the group, is also the choice-cut of the centers. Even though Memphis’s PF/C Joey Dorsey is arguably the most talented defender at the Trials, (1.4 steals per game, 2.2 blocks per game) Hibbert’s 67.1% field goal percentage is unmatched. He has great hands, which are more like paws when opponents attempt shots in the paint. Hibbert’s 2.4 blocks per game is also the top mark at the Trials. He is not as ferocious a rebounder as some of the other big men, largely because he lacks the foot speed to get into great position. However, his size and strength make him a virtually automatic basket when opponents allow him to set up shop deep on the block.

Regardless of position, two other names need mentioning. SG Bryce Taylor, Oregon’s shooting guard, continues to satisfy my desire for efficiency. He leads all guards with an average of 51.7% shooting from the field. Additionally, the VCU PG Eric Maynor is the Trials' top assist-man, coming off of a 6.4 assists per game season. Maynor, you may remember, is the singular reason that the Rams made the NCAA Tournament. In the CAA Championship game against George Mason, Maynor could have made John Elways jealous with his two-minute drill. Down five with exactly two minutes to play (57-52), Maynor stole a pass, hit a lay-up and converted the free throw for a three point-play (57-55). He then picked the pocket of the GMU point guard and scored again (57-57). Maynor then grabbed a rebound off of a missed three-pointer. With under a minute to play, he drove the lane and hit a crazy leaner to put VCU up two (59-57). To seal the victory, the little-man grabbed another board, was intentionally fouled, and then knocked down both free throws. Check it out. But that wasn’t it. In the next game, the 6-11 matchup between VCU and the vaunted Blue Devils, Maynor did it again, hitting a “dagger” with under two-seconds left for the 79-77 win.

T-minus five hours for the Pan-Am Trials to begin. We can forget the stats from here on out save for one important number. Less than 40% of this incredibly talented group will continue to play past Saturday’s final cut.

For another look at who will be in attendance, here’s the list of all 32 names:

Jon Brockman (Washington / Snohomish, Wash.); Brian Butch (Wisconsin / Appleton, Wis.); Josh Carter (Texas A&M / Dallas, Texas); Mario Chalmers (Kansas / Anchorage, Alaska); Sherron Collins (Kansas / Chicago, Ill.); Brandan Costner (North Carolina State / West Orange, N.J.); Eric Devendorf (Syracuse / Bay City, Mich.); Joey Dorsey (Memphis / Baltimore, Md.); Wayne Ellington (North Carolina / Wynnewood, Pa.); Randal Falker (Southern Illinois / St. Louis, Mo.); Shan Foster (Vanderbilt / Kenner, La.); Alonzo Gee (Alabama / Palm Beach, Fla.); James Gist (Maryland / Silver Spring, Md.); Richard Hendrix (Alabama / Athens, Ala.); Roy Hibbert (Georgetown / Adelphi, Md.); Dominic James (Marquette / Richmond, Ind.); Maarty Leunen (Oregon / Redmond, Ore.); Chris Lofton (Tennessee / Maysville, Ky.); Derrick Low (Washington State / Honolulu, Hawaii); Wesley Matthews (Marquette / Madison, Wis.); Eric Maynor (Virginia Commonwealth / Fayetteville, N.C.); Jerel McNeal (Marquette / Chicago, Ill.); Tasmin Mitchell (LSU / Denham Springs, La.); Drew Neitzel (Michigan State / Grand Rapids, Mich.); DeMarcus Nelson (Duke / Elk Grove, Calif.); Ahmad Nivins (Saint Joseph’s / Jersey City, N.J.); Scottie Reynolds (Villanova / Herndon, Va.); Jon Scheyer (Duke / Northbrook, Ill.); Sean Singletary (Virginia / Philadelphia, Pa.); Bryce Taylor (Oregon / Encino, Calif.); Kyle Weaver (Washington State / Beloit, Wis.); D.J. White (Indiana / Tuscaloosa, Ala.)