Who's watching the Nike summit

[memcorsu]

I know that we were high on Wiggins awhile back. I hope that he is still on our list of players that we are going after.I haven't heard anything about him in a long time. Any ideas Francis/Jake? I would be fun to have him and Vonleh (sp). Sorry to tell y'all, but we won't be able to "hang out with the Wang out" because he plays professionally in China.

 

[arbitragegls]

Just a thought, based on articles posted by Orangeyes, NN didnt have such a good game...seemed to not dominate and certainly was not the best Center/PF on the court...interesting that he was not even mentioned in a couple of articles on who played best.

 

[memcorsu]

Just a thought, based on articles posted by Orangeyes, NN didnt have such a good game...seemed to not dominate and certainly was not the best Center/PF on the court...interesting that he was not even mentioned in a couple of articles on who played best.

It was the Shabazz tryout for the NBA. Also, NN ended up joining the team late and I believe did not practice with the team. He really played in spotty minutes. These games are guard/sf/point forward focused. The game really is telling that the fundamental level of the game of basketball is higher outside the US. The world players understand the "x's and o's" of the game the US just has better athletes. As they develop, the world players cannot stay with the US players because of size and quickness. Although that is quickly changing.

 

[edowd26]

Shabazz reminds me of OJ mayo. Really talented player who thinks everything should run through him. HIs arrogance even when surrounded by great players is what will make his team lose.

 

[cap2nine]

Just a thought, based on articles posted by Orangeyes, NN didnt have such a good game...seemed to not dominate and certainly was not the best Center/PF on the court...interesting that he was not even mentioned in a couple of articles on who played best.

Given the circumstances, I don't think Noel played all that bad. He made an immediate contribution when he got in the game with a steal that led to an easy basket. He had a few solid blocks and definitely altered some other shots. I like how active his hands were on D. But, since he arrived late and only got one practice with the team (anyone confirm, or did he get two in?) there was no continuity for him on offense. The others seemed reluctant or unable to feed him the ball in the high post or off the pick and roll. But he did what he could, going for tie-ups, chasing loose balls and grabbing a few rebounds. Despite his elite talent he still gives up a bit of weight and strength to the other bigs and that shows from time to time.

I thought that Shabazz was both the US's best and worst player. His offensive ability had no equal last night. But it wasn't until the 3rd quarter that he, at least sparingly, got his teammates involved and finally in the 4th quarter the team looked more comfortable and assertive. Shabazz will need to learn that he can't win alone, even Kemba Walker relied on and involved his teammates. And Shabazz's defense was simply awful! By far the worst defender on the court, for either team. The US was out coached too. Maybe they would have played better given a few more practices together because they did visibly improve throughout the game but World Team was more fluid, looked for and got the ball to the open man, communicated, made the extra pass and made adjustments to keep the US off balance.

There was some fantastic talent out there and the better team won last night. As for NN's stat line, it may not be flashy but he still had a big effect on the game, on the defensive end anyway.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Like most big men, his defense is ahead of his offense. As others have noted, the guards (mainly Shabazz) were looking to score- penetrate or shoot- not create or looking for others unless they got in trouble. He got snookered on defense including some foul calls going for blocks vs position but we all know as a young center, he's not alone in that tendency. Excellent player who I hope who wherever he goes, the high expectations is tempered with patience and teaching.