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.

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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.

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.

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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.

Do the 'Do (HairDo)

In late January, Kansas Jayhawk teammates and Chicago-natives PG Sherron Collins and SF Julian Wright took a trip to the barbershop, where they shaved matching patterns in the front-right portion of their heads. The “Chicago shave” as duped by KU bloggers, doesn’t have any real significance for Collins and Wright, except to show their allegiance to the Chi. “It doesn’t signify anything. I do it all the time back home. It’s my graphic design,”[1] KU’s then-freshman guard said to Gary Bedore of the Lawrence Journal-World. If Collins is in search of a buddy to inscribe the Windy City style in their ’do after arriving on the Main Line for the Pan-Am Trials this July, he need not look to his fellow Jayhawk backcourt mate. That other KU rep, PG Mario Chalmers, is a native of Anchorage, Alaska. Along with G Russell Robinson, these two formed the formidable Jayhawk backcourt, leading the break all the way to the 2007 Elite Eight. With Julian Wright as the only loss from last year’s team, it’s hard to imagine anyone who will stand in Kansas’ way in the Big 12 or even in the country. However, one problem remains. As Wright is predicted to go to the Hawks with the eleventh pick or the Clippers with the 14^th pick in tomorrow’s NBA Draft, who will Collins get his hair cut with? If they both make the 12-man roster, maybe he can convince Chalmers to head over to the Hair Cuttery to get American Flags in the back of their heads before heading south.

(Julian Wright on left, Sherron Collins, right)

Chalmers, whose hair we assume is still trimmed tight to his head, completes a triumvirate of Alaskan born basketball stars to do serious damage in college ball – but he happens to be the first one not to do so at Cameron Indoor. The “Alaskan Assassin,” SG Trajan Langdon led his East Anchorage HS team to the ’94 State Championship, setting the Alaska AAAA Men’s record with 2,200 career points en route. Langdon and Chalmers are the only two players to ever earn Alaska 4A Player of the Year honors three times over. That 1994 ’chip capped off Langdon’s third in four years, defeating Juneau by over thirty points. Langdon was named to the All-Tournament team for the third straight year. Juneau-Douglas HS, however, would gain redemption when PF Carlos Boozer came up through their ranks. Boozer, also a three-time All-Tournament team selection, led JD to two championships in his four years before following in Langdon’s footsteps to play under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke. Chalmers succeeded Boozer as the heir to Alaskan basketball, leading his Bartlett HS squad to two championships as well, and finishing as a runner-up in two more.

Despite their unique and totally different styles of play, Chalmers and Langdon are tied together by more than their allegiance to Seward’s Folly. Passing over the Russian Jack Springs Park on Debarr Road, their alma maters are separated by less than four miles. Their birthdays are even closer, as they were born almost ten years apart to the day (close enough – it’s 10 years and 6 days). And both guards were named after someone of great importance: Langdon got his name from a Roman Emperor. The second of the “Five Good Emperors,” Trajan’s reign from 98 C.E. to 117 C.E. marks the period in which the Empire reached its greatest territorial extent. Chalmers was named after someone whose impact was slightly more immediate, his mother Almarie. Mario’s full name, Almario Vernard Chalmers bears the resemblance. And Mario chooses to pay homage to his mom’s basketball career too; he wears her number 15 from her days at Winston-Salem State and Methodist College.

(Trajan, the emperor)

(Trajan, the basketball player... is there a resemblance here?!)

The only real similarity between Langdon’s and Chalmers’ games is their stroke from beyond the arc. Before SG J.J. Redick hit an incredible (and Duke record-breaking) 457 3-pointers, the “Alaskan Assassin” drilled a then-record setting 342 on 802 attempts. Chalmers did some damage from downtown in high school, leading the state in 3-point shooting. But his game is not limited to dialing long distance. Better than his 3-ball, Chalmers’ best asset is his quickness. Along with Marquette’s G Jerel McNeal, the Big East defensive player of the year, Chalmers is arguably the best defender at the Trials. He earned the co-Big 12 defensive POY with Oklahoma State’s F Marcus Dove, an all-around long defender, for his ability to put tremendous pressure on ball handlers and sharp anticipation in intercepting passes. He led the Big 12 in steals for the second straight year, this time breaking G Darnell Valentine’s KU record of 92 steals in 1981 with 97 in the ’06-’07 campaign.

Chalmers’ defensive prowess will give the U.S. exactly what they’re looking for in the Pan-Am games: easy baskets. When asked what the key was in overcoming the alarmingly low numbers of assists produced by Team USA during the ’03 games, in which PG Andre Barrett (Seton Hall) led the squad with 2.4 assists per game, Coach Jay Wright noted that defense would be the key to improvement. “Hopefully, we can get some easy baskets and our defense can create scoring opportunities,” said Wright.

As much as the international competition tries to slow down Team USA with zone defenses, Chalmers is a fast-break starter, complemented well by Sherron Collins, a fast-break finisher. Tom Keegen of the Lawrence Journal-World gave that label to Collins: “Sherron Collins is a finisher. He finishes drives to the hoop. He finishes games.”[2]

Even though he finds F Brandon Rush instead of Collins on this ’break, check out what Chalmers can do once he has the ball in his hands: Chalmers dish. I implore you to watch this video twice – it’s only visible from the first view, which is a shame, but watch Chalmers’ wrist action. PG Darren Collison’s body is in the way on the second angle, blocking the camera from capturing the execution of the Pistol Pete Maravich “wrist pass.” This Pistol video is absolutely classic, and also worth a watch – it also might teach you something the next time you’re looking to make your opponent “eat air.”

Hopefully Chalmers and Collins, despite being little guys at 6’1’’ and 5’11’’ respectively, can be on the floor at the same time to give us a glimpse of what will be on tap all next year at the Phog Allen Fieldhouse, and maybe even in Rio this summer.

[1] Bedore, Gary. "Collins Goes 'Ballin': Freshman 'Fabulous' for KU." KU Sports.Com: Lawrence Journal-World. 16 Jan. 2007. 26 June 2007 .

[2] Keegan, Tom. "Keegan: Collins One Fine Finisher." KU Sports.Com: Lawrence Journal-World. 20 Feb. 2007. 26 June 2007 .

Engine, Engine (and Gold Medal) Number 9

As we prepare to welcome the largest influx of hoops talent ever to set foot on Haverford’s campus for July's Pan-American Games Trials, (apologies to Dick Voith ’77) it’s important to get a sense of what these hoopsters are aiming to accomplish within the walls of the Gooding Arena. Aside from testing the strength of the rims and backboards, thirty top Division-I all-stars will play for twelve spots on the roster, and twelve seats on a plane headed for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Pan-American Games XV.

Since the advent of this intra-America's competition in 1951, the U.S. men have captured eight gold medals, three silvers and one bronze over the course of fourteen Games. As impressive as these numbers are, the U.S. has not demonstrated their expected dominance in recent years. The last time they stood atop the victors’ podium was in 1983, when a twenty-year old guard from UNC, by the name of Michael Jordan pumped in an impressive 17.3 points per game alongside his Tar Heel teammate Sam Perkins’ 13.1 ppg.

(Jordan’s holding the ball in the center of the picture. I can’t make out who’s who, but somewhere in this shot of the entire 1983 gold-medal winning USA squad, you can find St. John’s shooter Chris Mullin, Georgia Tech guard Mark Price, ’Nova forward Ed Pinckney, UNC's Sam Perkins and OU Sooner Wayman Tisdale.)

The Haverford-hosted Trials are central to reversing the twenty-four year gold medal drought and the embarrassing fourth place finish in 2003. Making the trek all the way from Lancaster Ave. to call the shots is Villanova head coach Jay Wright. He has the responsibility of taking full advantage of Big East rival C Roy Hibbert, (Georgetown) possibly the U.S.’s most potent weapon. It was Hibbert who led the Hoyas to the Final Four before falling to C Greg Oden, PG Mike Conley, Jr. and Ohio State. Oden and Conley, both freshman during their run through March Madness, would be eligible to play in Brazil if they weren’t headed off to be lottery picks in this month’s NBA draft.

These ten days of basketball, which include a three-day tryout from July 12-14, to be followed by five days of practice, are central to bringing USA Basketball back to its spot atop the field. The drills, scrimmages and strategy for which the Gooding Arena will bear witness will likely determine the fate of winning that elusive ninth gold medal.

Before leaving for the 1979 Pan-Am games, in which the U.S. pounded the competition with a 9-0 record and an average margin of victory of more than 21 points per game, future three-time NBA Champion Kevin McHale called the Trials, not the Games, “my awakening as a basketball player.”[1] His epiphany is not meant to be a prophetic prediction that some other lanky middle-American forward will blossom into an elite low-post presence – well…maybe if someone taught Brian Butch (6’11’’ 245 lbs., Wisconsin) McHale’s signature “up-and-over” we might have something here. Instead, McHale’s admission highlights the life-altering nature of this event. These college-aged kids must elevate their level of play for something greater than a national audience. This time around, it’s for national pride and maybe even international glory.

(Kevin McHale, a legend of the low-post, above)
(Brian Butch, Wisconsin, below)

Nine of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players have competed at this event, only one of whom (David Robinson - 1987) fell short of coming home with gold. One month from today we will know whose flight is booked for Brazil and who is headed home.

[1] May, Peter. The Big Three: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish: The Best Frontcourt in the History of Basketball. Simon & Schuster: New York, 1994. 137.