04-10-2011, 11:57 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Austin Rivers, son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, had 20 points to lead the U.S. Junior National Select Team to a 92-80 victory over their international counterparts in the Nike Hoop Summit on Saturday night.
Kentucky-bound Anthony Davis and future Wildcats teammate Michael Gilchrist each added 16 points in the annual showcase of young talent put together by USA Basketball. The U.S. team led by as many as 20 points.
Guard Mateusz Ponitka of Poland led the World Select Team with 17 points. Bismack Biyombo of Congo had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Davis averaged 32 points and 22 rebounds as a senior at Perspectives Charter in Chicago, after a growth spurt saw him spring up from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-10 between his junior and senior years.
Rivers, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 30 points per game last season as a senior at Winter Park (Fla.) High School, is headed to Duke.
The hometown favorite was 6-foot-10 forward Kyle Wiltjer, who played for state champion Jesuit High School. Wiltjer, also headed to Kentucky in the fall, holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada and was playing for the international team. He finished with 12 points.
Four players at the Hoop Summit were going to play for John Calipari next fall.
The international squad featured Lucas Riva Nogueira of Brazil, who was listed at 7-feet. Known as Bebe, Nogueira is considered a top NBA draft prospect among international players.
Biyombo, who is 6-foot-9 and weighs 243 pounds, probably made the biggest impression of any player on the floor with his astonishing 7-foot-7 wingspan. His 10 blocked shots were a Hoop Summit record.
World coach Roy Rana called Biyombo a "phenomenal talent.''
"You become a fan watching him,'' Rana said. "It's kind of hard to be his coach.''
After the game, when a reporter asked whether he'd see Biyombo in the NBA next season, he replied with a smile "We'll see.''
Gilchrist, a 6-foot-7 forward from New Jersey who was among those headed to Kentucky, scored six straight points, including two dunks, two dunks, to put the U.S. team up 11-9 in the first quarter.
Biyombo, easily the most athletic player on the world side, dunked in the second quarter to narrow it to 22-18.
Rivers hit a 3-pointer that put the U.S. team up 35-25. He hit another three that made it 42-28 but Davis Bertrans of Slovenia answered with his own for the world team to make it 42-31 at the half.
"We were quicker and longer, so we were able to get up and down the floor, and that's how we got most of our points,'' Davis said.
The game was played under international rules, with four 10-minute quarters.
The Hoop Summit, which has been played 14 times since 1995, has been in Portland for the last four years. Some of the players who have participated in the event include Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay and Ron Artest. In all, 58 American players and 17 international players who have played in the event are now in the NBA.
Last year's U.S. team included Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall, and Kentucky's Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight. The squad won 101-97.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/ba...z1J8FM4RV7
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/ba...z1J8F695OQ
Kentucky-bound Anthony Davis and future Wildcats teammate Michael Gilchrist each added 16 points in the annual showcase of young talent put together by USA Basketball. The U.S. team led by as many as 20 points.
Guard Mateusz Ponitka of Poland led the World Select Team with 17 points. Bismack Biyombo of Congo had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Davis averaged 32 points and 22 rebounds as a senior at Perspectives Charter in Chicago, after a growth spurt saw him spring up from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-10 between his junior and senior years.
Rivers, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 30 points per game last season as a senior at Winter Park (Fla.) High School, is headed to Duke.
The hometown favorite was 6-foot-10 forward Kyle Wiltjer, who played for state champion Jesuit High School. Wiltjer, also headed to Kentucky in the fall, holds dual citizenship in the United States and Canada and was playing for the international team. He finished with 12 points.
Four players at the Hoop Summit were going to play for John Calipari next fall.
The international squad featured Lucas Riva Nogueira of Brazil, who was listed at 7-feet. Known as Bebe, Nogueira is considered a top NBA draft prospect among international players.
Biyombo, who is 6-foot-9 and weighs 243 pounds, probably made the biggest impression of any player on the floor with his astonishing 7-foot-7 wingspan. His 10 blocked shots were a Hoop Summit record.
World coach Roy Rana called Biyombo a "phenomenal talent.''
"You become a fan watching him,'' Rana said. "It's kind of hard to be his coach.''
After the game, when a reporter asked whether he'd see Biyombo in the NBA next season, he replied with a smile "We'll see.''
Gilchrist, a 6-foot-7 forward from New Jersey who was among those headed to Kentucky, scored six straight points, including two dunks, two dunks, to put the U.S. team up 11-9 in the first quarter.
Biyombo, easily the most athletic player on the world side, dunked in the second quarter to narrow it to 22-18.
Rivers hit a 3-pointer that put the U.S. team up 35-25. He hit another three that made it 42-28 but Davis Bertrans of Slovenia answered with his own for the world team to make it 42-31 at the half.
"We were quicker and longer, so we were able to get up and down the floor, and that's how we got most of our points,'' Davis said.
The game was played under international rules, with four 10-minute quarters.
The Hoop Summit, which has been played 14 times since 1995, has been in Portland for the last four years. Some of the players who have participated in the event include Tony Parker, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay and Ron Artest. In all, 58 American players and 17 international players who have played in the event are now in the NBA.
Last year's U.S. team included Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall, and Kentucky's Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight. The squad won 101-97.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/ba...z1J8FM4RV7
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/ba...z1J8F695OQ