2012 Nike Hoop Summit Breakdown

        The lights will be shining when the US Men's Junior National Team takes on the World Select Team in Portland, OR in a few weeks at the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit. For Team USA, it's time to get serious in front of the fifty or so scouts in attendance as nearly every one of these players has dreams to play in the NBA in the coming years. For the World Select Team, there are a few players with 2012 first-round potential and a few more primed for the future.

As of last year's game, 125 players that have competed in this game have been drafted into the NBA.

Team USA

        The US team is led by the two top prospects in the incoming class and the potential first and second overall picks of the 2013 NBA Draft- 17-year old power forward Nerlens Noel and 18-year old wing Shabazz Muhammed; at this point, neither are committed to a school just yet, but have their choice of pretty much any college/university from across the country. Both show outstanding athleticism for their position- Noel uses this, along with his 6'11" lengthy frame to give him the potential to be the best defensive player in the country next season, while Muhammed is a scoring machine and could very well lead all first-year players in points per game next season. Kyle Anderson, a 6'7" forward committed to UCLA is a steady-playmaker on both ends of the floor and at 6'8", 225-pounds, he can play both inside and out. And rounding out the immediate NBA potential will be two frontcourt prospects- Kaleb Tarczewski, a 7-footer committed to Arizona, and 6'10" explosively athletic Mitch McGary, a Michigan-commit; however, both have great strides to be taken before the next step- Tarczewski needs to continue to work on his body and add a steady offensive game, and McGary needs to establish himself as a true-post player instead of just a perimeter threat.

Here's the entire Team USA roster:














World Team

It's a talented make-up for the World Select Team with players ranging from 18-years old all the way to a 16-year old. The team is led by two holdovers from the World Team that lost 90-78 a year ago: 6'10" forward Dario Saric who plays for KK Zagreb and 6'6" wing Evan Fournier of France. Saric is a 6'9" guard with very strong ball-handling skills and court-vision to create mismatches on the offensive end, but has struggled recently in defending smaller, quicker guards. In last year's game, Saric knocked down a 3 and a couple of jumpers to finish with 7 total points and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes of action. His teammate yet again with be a guard with first-round potential as our top rated international prospect, Fournier. He is a slender wing who is having a terrific year in France- averaging 13 points per game over there, but knocking down just 28 percent of his 3-balls.

Another prospect on the watch is Russian combo-guard Dmitry Kulagin. He's 6'5" with outstanding ball-handling skills who can create for himself or others, especially in pick-and-roll situations. He still needs work on his decision-making (1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio) and perimeter shooting (30.8 percent from 3).

Here's the entire World Select Team roster:

















By President Corey Ruff - 3-26-12
PLAYER
Position
Height
Weight
High School
College
Kyle Anderson
G/F
6-8
225
St. Anthony's
UCLA
Archie Goodwin
G/F
6-5
180
Sylvan Hills
Kentucky
Gary Harris
G/F
6-6
210
Southeastern
Michigan State
Mitch McGary
F
6-10
265
Brewster Academy
Michigan
Shabazz Muhammad
G/F
6-6
215
Bishop Gorman
N/A
Nerlens Noel
F
6-11
205
Tilton School
N/A
Marcus Paige
G
6-1
165
Linn-Mar
North Carolina
Tony Parker
F
6-8
270
Miller Grove
N/A
Rasheed Sulaimon
G
6-3
180
Strake Jesuit College Prep
Duke
Kaleb Tarczewski
C
7-0
220
St. Mary's School
Arizona
PLAYER
Position
Height
Weight
High School
Current Team
Anthony Bennett
F
6-8
245
Canada
Findlay College Prep
Aleksander Cvetkovic
G
6-3
175
Serbia
BC Crvena Zvezda DIVA
Marco Delia
F
6-9
190
Argentina
Boca Juniors
Evan Fournier
G
6-6
185
France
Union Poitiers Basket
Dmitry Kulagin
G
6-6
195
Russia
BC Triumph Lyubertsy
Michal Michalak
G/F
6-6
195
Poland
Lodz
Dario Saric
F
6-10
190
Croatia
KK Zagreb Croatia
Patson Siame
F/C
6-10
215
Zambia
N/A
Leo Westermann
G
6-5
200
France
ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne
Andrew Wiggins
G/F
6-6
190
Canada
Huntington Prep
Wang Zhelin
C
7-0
230
China
Fujian SB S Xunxin