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.

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.