Aside from a Saer Sene-inspired explosion at the beginning of the game, this one was never close. The US Team showed a few nerves to start the game, and weren’t prepared for the shotblocking presence of Sene. However, it was only a matter of time before the more talented group of athletes took over. The US Team went to the bench, going with a 3-guard lineup of Paul Harris, Gerald Henderson, and Wayne Ellington. With Harris absolutely locking up the World team’s ballhandlers, Ellington went to work. The World team made a run at the end of the 3rd quarter, but never did cut the game to single digits. All in all, it was a great chance to watch some of this country’s finest young talent in a more competitive setting than your typical high school all-star game.
US Prospects
Kevin Durant – 6’10 SF, Texas; 20 points – Durant was probably the most talented player on the floor today, but the first half showed that he has a lot to learn in his one season under Rick Barnes if he does plan on entering the draft after his freshman season. Durant isn’t a complete player yet, and floats around on the perimeter way too much. Usually, a shot would go up moments after he caught the ball. He doesn’t value the ball enough right now, and rarely does things within the flow of the offense. Defensively, Durant has to move his feet a lot better if he ever has a chance of slowing down NBA SF’s. He is young for his grade, and that shows in his on-court mentality.
Of course, there are still moments when Durant does things so amazing for a player his size that all you can do is sit back and shake your head. His pull up 3-pointer from beyond the NBA arc was a thing of beauty, and his ability to handle the ball in the open court is nothing short of spectacular for a player so young and so tall. Beyond his unbelievable outside shooting touch, the real flashes of upside with Durant came when he started taking the ball to the basket midway through the second half. On one possession Durant got a step on his man going to the left baseline, but pulled up and effortlessly swished a 12 foot fadeaway. This was a move that very few NBA players his size can pull off.
This game further proved that Durant is a very high risk/high reward type of player right now. If he goes into Texas, hits the weights, focuses his game closer to the basket, and learns a more team-oriented approach, the sky is the limit. I could see a 6’10 version of Reggie Miller, or a KG-style midrange-oriented big man. If he doesn’t progress from here, he probably ends up somewhere between Darius Rice and Tim Thomas.
Thaddeus Young – 6’9 SF, Georgia Tech; 20 points??– When talking about immediate impact freshmen, Young has to be on the short list. There is very little he can’t do on the basketball court. With his length and fully extended left handed jumper, one can’t help but see a bit of Lamar Odom in his game. He’s not quite in Odom’s league as a passer or an athlete, but he is fairly incredible as a ballhandler and open court greyhound nonetheless. Young has a fantastic feel for the game, capable of scoring with his back to the basket, or dipping into the lane for a midrange jumper when he has the space. His range extends out past the 3-point line, and he really uses contact to his advantage in terms of creating scoring opportunities. Young is going to be an All-ACC caliber player as a freshman under Paul Hewitt, and should have the Yellow Jackets back in the NCAA next season. Georgia Tech fans should be thanking David Stern, because there is no way that Young would be playing college basketball next season if it weren’t for the age limit. As far as comparisons go, I’m thinking Lamar Odom with a bit more patience and finesse. To put it in perspective, Young is light years ahead of where Martell Webster was a season ago, and we all know where Webster ended up in the draft.
Gerald Henderson, 6’6 SG, Duke; 15 points?? – With rumors of Josh McRoberts making the jump to the NBA getting louder every day, it looks like Gerald Henderson will step onto the court at Duke as his team’s best player. I don’t say this lightly, either. Henderson might be the most complete player in next season’s freshman class at this juncture. Not only is he a phenomenal athlete, but he already has an understanding of how to put that explosiveness to good use. Henderson is a phenomenal slasher, and uses his impressive upper body strength to finish well at the rim. He needs to add range on his shot, but a textbook midrange jumper will do for now. Unlike many talented young swingmen, you rarely see Henderson take a bad shot or force his own offense. If the McDonald’s dunk contest didn’t convince you that Henderson is a top tier athlete, a couple of shocking blocks in this game would have. Expect him to enter the ACC and already be a star. I’m thinking he could be contributing on an NBA team right now.
Spencer Hawes, 6’11 C, Washington; 8 points? – Hawes didn’t get a chance to show much in this game, as the US team rarely slowed the game down enough to attempt a post entry pass. Hawes did convert on a pair of dazzling low post moves in the first half. One authoritative post catch and hook conversion looked every bit an NBA move. Of course, Hawes had the unenviable task of matching up with Saer Sene, and Sene clearly had the upper hand due to his massive size and athleticism advantage. Hawes needs to add strength before he is ready to defend the center position, and doesn’t always dominate the glass the way he should. His athleticism is nothing special, though I would stop short of calling him mechanical. His back to the basket game is scary good, and Spencer Hawes is going to dominate the Pac-10 this fall. I don’t want to say he’s going to be the next Kevin McHale, but with his back to the basket scoring ability...
Paul Harris, 6’4 SG, Syracuse; 6 points, 6 assists– This was a fairly competitive basketball game until Paul Harris entered the game. Harris changed this one in a hurry, with his physical on the ball defense that the World team had no answer for. He is built more like an NFL linebacker than an NBA basketball player, but that is what Paul Harris will be within the next several seasons. Harris is another player that probably belongs on the wing right now, but doesn’t really have a true position. He handles the ball well, and is a bull in the paint. He doesn’t have much of a perimeter shot at the moment and isn’t a particularly dominant slasher yet, but he will have some time at Syracuse to work on those things. The way he intimidates on the defensive end will remind somewhat of a smaller Ron Artest, but his ability to handle the ball is a key in projecting his future.
Wayne Ellington, 6’4 SG, North Carolina; 29 points – After catching a handful of Ellington’s games this spring, I came away wondering how anybody could rank Ellington ahead of his teammate Henderson. This afternoon’s performance went along way towards an explanation. Ellington absolutely exploded, showing perfect form on 3-pointer after 3-pointer. He had 21 points at halftime - for a moment it looked like he would go for 50, but he shared the spotlight in the second half, finishing with 29. He is obviously a streak scorer, and has that rare ability to hit that fadeaway jumper from the outside. Ellington is a solid ballhandler, leading me to think that he might be able to get away with playing a bit of combo guard someday. He is a solid athlete and can slash to the basket, though he could probably utilize this part of his game a bit more. He isn’t going to have the same type of immediate impact on the ACC that the phenoms listed above him here will, but that has more to do with how much UNC has coming back than it does with ability. Think of a more talented Ben Gordon here.
Tywon Lawson, 5’11, North Carolina 10 points?? – Another future ACC star, Tywon Lawson didn’t play his best basketball at the Hoop Summit. He pushed the ball relentlessly, but got a bit out of control at times, forcing full-court passes that led to turnovers. On the other hand, Lawson was capable of beating his man off the dribble at any moment. He played more of a distributor’s role tonight, as Saer Sene was tending the rim most of the game. Lawson hit one 3-pointer and was fouled going strong to the basket on several occasions. He needs to work on playing under control and running things in the halfcourt offense, but it is pretty clear that Lawson will be one of the top point guards in America the moment he puts on that North Carolina jersey. The comparison to Raymond Felton is an obvious one, but I’m going to say that he’s not quite that good. Felton is taller, and a bit better as a creator. Right now, with that pure explosiveness and strength, I’m thinking Kyle Lowry.
Brandan Wright – 6’9 PF, North Carolina – Wright was quiet in this game, throwing down one powerful dunk in the first half but generally not having much of an impact here. He is a tremendous prospect for down the road, but doesn’t look like the kind of player that will be capable of a leap to the NBA after one season. Wright is definitely a power forward, and right now is just too skinny for a 6’9 post man. He doesn’t have a broad frame, so one has to wonder how much bulk he will be able to add. We’ve seen his midrange jumper in the past, however, so we know he will be an offensive weapon for the Tar Heels down the road.
John Scheyer – 6’4 SG, Duke – Scheyer clearly was a step behind the rest of the US Team athletically, and didn’t get a chance to show much in this game. To his credit, he handled the ball well and created a few opportunities for his teammates. The one time he attempted to drive the ball to the basket, Sene met the ball with authority. Scheyer needs to add quite a bit of strength, but should fit in nicely at Duke next season.
Vernon Macklin, 6’10 PF, Georgetown – Macklin didn’t show much in the McDonald’s All-American game, and didn’t do anything extraordinary at the Hoop Summit either. He is more of a raw physical specimen than anything else at this point, but probably does have the nicest frame of any 2006 big man outside of Greg Oden. Macklin is long, athletic, and already has a solid build. It will be interesting to see if John Thompson III can develop him into a star at Georgetown. This will have to take place down the road, however, as Macklin will be playing behind Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green this coming season.
International Prospects
Saer Sene, 7’0 C, Senegal 10 points??, 9 blocks – I’m not sure what the US team prepared for headed into this game, but I highly doubt anybody expected to find a shotblocking phenom like Sene waiting for them in the lane. Sene is definitely raw on the offensive end, but the US team never did figure out how to get the ball past him at the rim. He started the game off with an emphatic block on a lackadaisical Kevin Durant layup attempt, and then a powerful dunk on the other end. The World coach decided to sit him down early in the first quarter, and the US team quickly took control of the game once Sene left. He played much more in the second half, and continued to alter or block shot after shot. Paul Harris, Spencer Hawes, Thaddeus Young, Tywon Lawson, John Scheyer…nearly everybody on the US roster was embarrassed by Sene at least once. Offensively, Sene showed nothing more than a rudimentary post game, but was able to score on the offensive end by simply overpowering the smaller US front line. He even hit a free throw line jumper.
It must be stated that Sene is a long, long ways away from being ready to contribute on the offensive end. However, there are very few prospects that can him physically. It would have been very interesting to see Sene go up against Greg Oden, as he might be the one prospect in this age group that would have a chance of matching him size and strength wise. Sene isn’t a big factor for his team in Europe and doesn’t play in a good league, so it will be interesting to see if this game will bump his draft stock to the point where he could sneak into the first round in 2006. A team picking at the end of the first round looking to stash a player over in Europe for a couple of seasons could do a lot worse than Saer Sene.
Luigi Datome, 6'8 SF; 15 points?? - Datome is a sweet-shooting small forward whose game will look quite familiar to any NBA fan. He has that incredibly sweet shooting stroke, and while he isn't a tremendous athlete, he can get around people on the perimeter once defenses start overplaying his jumper. Datome has a very nice frame, and should be able to add quite a bit of strength. While he was clearly the most talented offensive player on the world roster, he didn't take this game over or even take his fair share of shots. His lack of footspeed clearly showed in this game, though most players are going to look a step slow going up against the US team's stable of perimeter athletes. The floppy hair and sweet outside stroke make Vladimir Radmanovic the obvious comparison.
