Polish Prospects at Nike Hoop Summit in Portland

PORTLAND --  All 10 USA team members put points on the board and four U.S. players scored in double-digits as the USA Basketball Junior Select Team withstood the World Select Team, 92-80.  It was the 14th Nike Hoop Summit in front of 9,000 at the Rose Garden, home of the Portland Trail Blazers.

“This was some great talent presented here.  I am a big believer in having depth, and with this particular team you have quality depth,” said USA head coach Kevin Sutton.
 
The World Team’s Mateusz Ponitka (Poland) put the first points on the board with a three pointer at 9:10, and for the first few minutes of the game the international squad led the Americans.  Trailing 7-4, Michael Gilchrist took over and scored the USA’s next seven points.  He had a three-point play and it was the only lead change of the game as the USA never again trailed.

Ponitka was the top scorer for the international squad with 17 points.  The 6’5” Ponitka plays for the AZS Politechnika team in Warsaw, Poland, in the top division of Polish basketball.  He was also named to the All-Tournament team at the FIBA U17 World Championship in Germany in 2010 after helping Poland to a silver medal.  He averaged 19.0 points a game.  He also stood out for his national team last summer at the U18 European Championship in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Przemyslaw Karnowski didn’t get many minutes but his presence was felt.

Karnowski, a Polish national teammate of Ponitka, plays for the SMS PZKosz team in the second division.  He came to international prominence at the U16 European Championship in 2009 when he was named to the Tournament first team and named best center of the competition.  It was last summer’s World FIBA U17 World Championship where Karnowski really made his mark, helping Poland win silver, averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds.  The 7’0” center was also named to the All-Tournament team last year.

The USA was led by 20 points from guard Austin Rivers (Winter Park, Florida) who will play at Duke next year for Coach ‘K’.

Said World Team Coach Roy Rana (Canada), “It’s always tough losing but like I said to the guys in the locker room, this experience is so much bigger than the actual game.  It’s been a phenomenal week; these are a phenomenal group of guys and an incredible amount of talent on the world team.  Unfortunately, we weren’t the better team today. You have to give full credit to the US team.  That’s a very, very special group of US players, and I think their success over the past couple years internationally speaks for itself, but I think we’re going to be hearing from this group on the world team, a lot of these guys are quality kids who are going to do special things in the future.”

Bismack Biyombo, (Spain and DR Congo) tallied 12 points, 11 rebounds and a Nike Hoop Summit record 10 blocked shots for the first triple-double in the game’s history.  However, Biyombo’s individual performance was no match for a stellar team effort by the USA squad.

The Nike Hoop Summit selects some of the top senior high school players that take on a World Select Team consisting of elite players 19-years-old or younger.  The event is a showcase and scouting opportunity as more than 100 Hoop Summit alumni have been drafted into the NBA.

With the win, the USA improves to 11-3 in the 14-game history of the event and has now won the last two Nike Hoop Summits.

Besides the game, the World Team players put on an instructional clinic at St. Mary’s Home for Boys in Beaverton, Ore.  Founded in 1889 as an orphanage for abandoned and wayward children, today the facility offers residential treatment for at-risk boys.  The players also had two-a-day practices for four days.

Led by USA Basketball’s Men’s Developmental National Team head coach Don Showalter, the World Team players helped teach fundamentals such as dribbling, passing and teamwork to approximately 60 young men.  Nike provided equipment and meals for the entire contingent at the clinic.