Quinn Peterson – www.courtcred.com

Adidas Nations Day 4

The fourth and final day of the adidas Nations Global Experience featured the third place and championship games. The day wrapped a productive four days, as 100+ top high school and college players came together to work on their skills, learn the game from the pros and play against tough competition, and spectators and NBA scouts had the chance to see some of the nation’s best talent go at it in a controlled environment.

Earlier in the day, the college players departed on early flights and were on tot the next,while the high school players participated in led a clinic at the South Side YMCA. In addition to the adidas Nations high school stars were the same NBA players that mentored them that week: Corey Brewer, Jrue Holiday, Toney Douglas, Robin Lopez, Anthony Randolph and Serge Ibaka. Together the pros and preps guided over 200 local kids through drills. To make things better, two adidas Nations athletes, Wayne Blackshear and Ryan Boatright, are also two local standouts. Blackshear attends Morgan Park High School and Boatright attends East Aurora High School. After the event — which was free — the players went back and prepped for the night’s finale.

The games were held at the UIC Pavilion instead of Attack Athletics where the first three days of camp took place. In the third place game, Latin America took on Africa, followed by the championship game — USA 2011 vs. USA 2012.

A turnover on the first play of the game by Africa led to a fastbreak lay-up by slick point guard Cesar Guerreo, and African coach Detlef Schrempf immediately called timeout just 26 seconds into the game. Guerreo was just beginning the show he would put on for the rest of the night. With the help of Steven Adams who made his presence felt on the boards, including a thunderous tip-dunk on the game’s second play, Latin America was well on their way, jumping out to an 11-0 start.

Africa would struggle to score for much of the night, facing tough D by Latin America, in addition to poor shooting on their own behalf. They wouldn’t score their first basket until the 4:55 mark, but never got shy about letting it fly. Behind great play from Guerreo and Adams, Latin led 22-11 after one.

Latin America came out hot in the second quarter as well, getting a huge lift from guard Davi Rossetto de Oliveira, who came off the bench with buckets, defense, and energy, pushing the tempo and finishing. Africa would continue to struggle from the field, and Latin America would slowly pull away going up 14 at the half.

5-8 point guard Issa Soumare would lead Africa on a quick start, using a 14-4 to start the half and cut the deficit to seven. Guerreo would get it back going, however, showing his amazing ability to get to the rack and finish, pushing Latin America comfortably back into the driver’s seat for good. Down the stretch, Hanner Perea would finally start showcasing his length and boings, and Latin America would seal the deal. Despite poor shot selection and decisoin-making down the stretch, Latin America would cruise to a 73-59 win.

The championship would serve as a chance for revenge for USA 2011, or give USA 2012 another opportunity to impress and prove themselves even further after beating 2011 102-91 over the weekend. Deuce Bellow would get the USA 2011 rising seniors off on the right foot, with a block that led to a Wayne Blackshear fastbreak lay-up. Both teams struggled early on, but Bellow was active and off to his individual best start, using his athleticism to disrupt things on defense and finish at the other end. For 2012, Jarnelle Stokes played well, showing his incredible strength, and Cameron Ridley had some of his best minutes of the tournament for 2011. At the end of a slow first quarter, 2012 held a 15-13 lead.

2011 would begin the second quarter with a new unit, including guard Quinn Cook, forward LeBryan Nash, and big men Cody Zeller and Marshall Plumlee. Despite missing several open shots, they would ease their way into the lead. Zeller — who had a beautiful tip-dunk — and Plumlee in particular both made solid contributions on the inside. For 2012, forward Shabazz Muhammad started to do his thing, crashing the boards, finding ways to score and finishing around the basket. By the half, 2011 would push ahead, 35-31.

Muhammad began the second half on a mission opening with five straight points and plenty more thereafter. Off to to slow start, 2011 head coach Eric Musselman was upset with his team’s poor decision-making and lack of effort getting back on defense. On offense, they became stagnant, dribbling too much and failing to move without the ball. Forward Quincy Miller, who was the star all week, had his worst game of the tournament, failing to score at all in the first half.

With 2011 struggling, 2012 was able to tie things up, and finally, half-way through the thrid quarter, the offense from both teams started to pick up. Point guard Ryan Boatright stayed on the attack to help get things going for 2011, while center DaJuan Coleman led the way for 2012. Coleman showed a variety of skills, blocking a shot, rebounding the ball, running the floor and showing his soft touch. Although he continued to struggle, Miller remained aggressive, and Cook picked up his game in the second half, making plays and knocking down shots. 2011 would give away several points at the charity stripe, but extend their lead to double digits, leading 58-48 at the end if the third.

2011′s momentum would carry over into the fourth quarter, and Miller, Cook and forward LeBryan Nash would help to seal the deal. Muhammad was doing work for 2012, but one man can’t beat five. 2011 would win going away, 82-68, avenging Saturday’s loss.

Overall, Miller and Guerreo were the most impressive players this week. Except for the championship, Miller dominated every game, averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 rebounds. Guerreo put in 18.3 points per game, to go along with 4 assists. Miller showed great scoring and rebounding skills, in addition to his motor, as he was one of the most vocal players of the camp. Guerreo showed tremendous his quickness and flair, using his tight handle to get into the lane at will and make plays.

Fiery European guard Pavlin Ivanvov would lead the tournament in scoring at 18.4 points per contest. Guards Jordan Adams, Ryan Boatright, Wayne Blackshear, Quinn Cook, Kevin Ferrell, Bryan Pamba and Davi Rossetto de Oliveira, forwards LeBryan Nash, Shabazz Muhammad, Amile Jefferson, Hanner Perea and Steven Adams, and centers DaJaun Coleman and Cristiano Silva Felicio all had strong weeks, as well.

Quinn Peterson – www.courtcred.com

The agenda for Day 3 was identical to Day 2. But as the players began drills they seemed a bit sluggish, obviously a product of another day of grueling competition. There was a line at the trainer’s table and a handful of guys even sitting out for stations and competition. Still, they pushed through the workouts, and by the end, were fully ready for their games. While the high schoolers played, the college athletes went through some fast-break drills and shot free throws before wrapping up their shortest workout of the week.

Today marked the beginning of tournament play in the camp, in which teams were seeded based on their records in pool play. In Pool A were USA 2011, USA 2012 and Europe. Pool B included Africa, Asia and Latin America. In one matchup, USA 2012, the Pool A one-seed fresh off a big win over 2011 took on Latin America, the one-seed from Pool B. Both teams were missing key players, as 2012 was without 6-8 point guard Kyle Anderson and small forward Alex Murphy, and Latin America was missing point guard Cesar Guerreo. Jordan Adams picked up where he left off last night scoring and pushing the ball, getting help from Jordan Price and Isaiah Austin. Latin America hung in tough, however, behind the scrappy play of guards Luis Carlos Trevino Siller and Davi Rosetto de Oliveira and big men Hanner Perea, Cristiano SIlvia Felica and Jose Luis Aguilera Alonso who were active on the boards all day.

The game slowed down in the third quarter, as each team struggled to get into a rhythm. They later began trading baskets until the end of the game when 2012 finally began to pull away. While the game was close all the way through, unlike their first meeting with Latin America (their first game overall this week), 2012 led the entire way through. And even when Latin America challenged, USA remained comfortably in the driver’s seat.

In another game, Pool A three-seed Europe took on Pool B two-seed Africa. Tight all the way through, Africa would pull it out in the end with defense, rebounding, and great play from point guard Bryan Pamba. European head coach Adriano Vertemati was incredibly intense as he tried to will his team to a win.

“I like intense coaches,” said Corey Brewer, the NBA mentor for Team Europe. “Coach [Billy] Donovan was pretty intense. It was pretty fun to watch him [Vertemati] get at the guys and see how they reacted. We was the hypest bench.”

The third game featured Pool A two-seed USA 2011 and Pool B three-seed Asia. After leding by eight at the end of the first, 2011 opened up the second quarter on a 16-7 run, getting sparks from Cody Zeller, Ryan Boatright, Quincy Miller and Deuce Bellow, who got lost for his first electrifying dunk of the week. 2011 would never look back, cruising to a 85-50 victory.

Even after the game, Asia head coach Frank Johnson continued to teach, pulling Jarnell Stokes of USA 2012 off to the side to work on his shooting form.

In the second half of the day, the high school players got right into their stretches and began warm-ups soon after. USA 2011 in the “lay-up” line, as several players tried to show their bunnies. A group of college players gathered to watch as well. 5-10 (what he’s listed as. More like 5-8) point guard Ryan Boatright stole the show with a high-flying windmill.

The windmill certainly gotten Boatright going early, because from the start of the second game he was everywhere on the floor. In the second round of tournament play, USA 2011 played Latin America. His amazing speed was on display yet again as he flew all over the court. Wayne Blackshear showcased his smooth jumper, as well, in addition to solid play from Quincy Miller. A Boatright steal would lead to a Deuce Bellow poster, and at the end of one, 2011 led, 24-19. Again, Latin American bigs, namely Hanner Perrea and Cristiano Silva Felicio — who showed signs of a young Al Horford — kept their team in the game by hitting the boards hards. Also important was the return of point guard Cesar Guerreo who’s penetration and ability to handle the ball were missed.

2011 broke things open in the second quarter, however, employing an extremely effective half-court trap that led to numerous steals and fast-breaks. A second unit led by Quinn Cook and LeBryan Nash pushed 2011 to a 13-point lead at the half. They continued to pull away in the second half, getting more great play from Blackshear and Cook, as well as center Michael Chandler and guard Damien Leonard, who each had their best games of the week, helping 2011 coast to a 103-84 win.

While the USA 2012-Africa matchup got off to a slow start, it would go down to the wire. Jordan Adams set the tone for 2012 with his sharp-shooting, and Kyle Anderson returned from his injury after missing round 1 operating as smooth as ever. Bryan Pamba showed out, though, including nailing a three as the half-time buzzer sounded to and propel Africa to a 38-30 lead at the half. DaJuan Coleman came out strong for 2012, scoring their first four points and continued to play like a beast, but Pamba answered strongly for Africa, as well. Eventually, a combination of good D by 2012 and poor shooting and shot selection by Africa allowed 2012 to close it out, winning 64-61.

Africa will now face Latin America in the 3^rd place game while USA 2011 will look for revenge on USA 2012.

On the college side, they again played a set of shortened scrimmages. The Morris twins from Kansas, Marcus and Markieff continued to impress, scoring from all over the floor and rebounding well. Also for Kansas, was Thomas Robinson, who showed his freak athleticism yet again, crashing the glass, running the floor and converting in the form highlight-reel dunks. Perry Jones and the Plumlee twins looked good, too, as they did yesterday. One of the surprises has been Tyler Honeycutt who has played extremely well, getting to the basket and knocking down shots. Terrell Holloway, Tyshawn Taylor, Josh Selby, Xavier Silas had strong showings, and JaJuan Johnson and Justin Holiday each turned in their best performance of the week.

USA 2011 played some determined basketball in their semi-final matchup against a very tough Latin American team. Ryan Boatright and Quincy Miller got the US off to an early lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter it was Quinn Cook and LeBryan Nash’s turn to help the cause as they lengthened the lead to 49-36 at halftime. Latin American forward Hanner Perea would not allow his team to go down quietly having his best performance of the tournament with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. In the end if was the the US point guard duo of Ryan Boatright and Quinn Cook’s sharing of the basketball that made the difference, dishing out 8 and 9 assists respectively. Quincy Miller led all scorers with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Latin

USA 2011 will now face USA 2012 in the 2010 adidas Nations Championships tomorrow (August 9th) live on CBS College Sports at 7:45pm CST.

This is a rematch of the USA 2012 – USA 2011 pool-game earlier in the tournament in which the 2012 won.

Latin America will now face Africa in the 3rd place game love on CBS College Sports tomorrow (August 9th) at 6:00pm CST.

USA 2011: (4-1)
LATIN AMERICA: (2-3)

USA 2012 VS. AFRICA

USA 2012: 64
AFRICA: 61

This semi final match was an exciting one that went down to the wire. It was close for the entire game but USA 2012 pulled it out 64-61.

USA 2012 had major contributions from Jordan Adams who scored 16 points. Kevin Ferrell played very well and led his team to victory with 2 points, 5 points and 5 assists. Big man DaJuan Coleman also chipped in with 6 points and 13 rebounds.

Africa battled until the very end and kept themselves competitive with Dame Ndiaye hitting some big 3 pointers when Africa needed it most. He finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds. Peter Jurkin also contributed for Africa with 8 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Peter overcame a first quarter shot to the nose but USA 2012 was just too good down the stretch to allow Africa to win.

Africa goes on to play in the 3rd place game against Latin America and

USA 2012 plays USA 2011 in the Championship Game on CBS College Sports on Monday, August 9th at 745 pm.

USA 2012: (5-0)
AFRICA: (2-3)

EUROPE VS. ASIA

EUROPE: 70
ASIA: 42

In an exhibition game that featured two teams that had been eliminated from the adidas Global Experience tournament, Europe got off to a strong start early and never looked back as the Europeans defeated Asia 70-42. 7’4 C Samuel Deguara (20 points, 11 rebounds) of team Europe had a big game in the low post and got a lot of help from Pavlin Ivanov (15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists). Team Asia got a solid contribution from Ge Zhaobao (11 points, 4 rebounds), Si Yuheng (8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) and Yang Jinmeng (7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists). In the end, the Asian team was simply over-matched by a bigger, faster and stronger European team.

EUROPE: (2-3)
ASIA: (0-4)

AFRICA: 60
EUROPE: 57

The game started off close with both teams scoring 17 points in the first quarter. Africa relied on their inside presence with Dame Ndiaye making some terrific baskets. Europe ran into trouble because 7’5” big man Samuel Deguara picked up his 4th foul early on in the 2nd quarter. Europe tried to take the lead with their outside shooting, however, they went cold to end the first half. Africa led at halftime 35-30.

The second half started with solid play from Europe’s Armin Mazic and Alessandro Zanrlli who pulled their team ahead by 5 points but Africa continued to battle back with the help of Peter Jurkin and Bryan Pamba. Jurkin and Africa ended up winning 60-57 in a game that went down to the wire.

Jurkin finished with 10 points and 7 rebounds and Pamba finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

With this victory, Africa is guaranteed a spot in the Final 4, which will air on CBS College Sports Network on Monday, August 8th.

EUROPE: (1-3)
AFRICA: (2-2)

USA 2011 VS. ASIA

USA 2011: 85
ASIA: 50

USA 2011 was quick to put their loss to the USA 2012 team behind them by defeating Asia in their first elimination game 85-50. Cody Zeller set the tone early and often as he dropped 12 points in the opening quarter and the American’s never looked back. Zeller finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds in only two quarters of play, knocking down a variety of shots including a nice put-back dunk. US guards Ryan Boatright (13 points) and Quinn Cook (6 assists) were solid in the backcourt. Asian big man Ge Zhaobao seemed to progress as the game went along finishing with 8 points and 4 rebounds to compliment Heng Yifeng’s 13 points.

USA 2011: (3-1)
ASIA: (0-4)

USA 2012 VS. LATIN AMERICA

USA 2012: 76
LATIN AMERICA: 66

The last remaining undefeated team at the adidas Nations Global Experience looked to build upon their recent win against USA 2011 and did just that against Latin America. In what was a back and forth hard-fought game, Jordan Adams (15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) and Isaiah Austin (12 points, 2 rebounds) put forth a great effort to lead USA 2012 to victory against Latin America 76-66.  Despite keeping the game within just a few points the whole game  Steven Adams (14 points, 6 rebounds) and Jordan Burger (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Cristiano Silva Felicio (10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) of Team Latin America just could not keep up with a physical team USA.

Team USA 2012 now advances to the semi-finals of the adidas Nations Global Experience and will  face team Africa.

USA 2012:  (4-0)
LATIN AMERICA: (2-2)

Quinn Peterson – www.courtcred.com

Day 2 of the adidas Nations Global Experience Camp began much the same as the first. Stretches followed 25 minutes of various shooting, one-on-one, two-on-two and full-court drills. After the station work, however, came the first set of games for the day. The USA 2011 team was pitted against Africa, USA 2012 took on Europe, and China faced off against Latin America. Meanwhile, the college guys broke up into two groups as they did the day before and shot for another hour.

On the bench today as mentors were current NBA players; Anthony Randolph (USA 2011), Jrue Holiday (USA 2012), Serge Ibaka (Africa), Robin Lopez (Asia), Corey Brewer (Europe) and Toney Douglas (Latin America) all helped to guide their respective teams.

Anthony Randolph has really just been giving me advice on what to do on different plays. I’ve been getting advice from all the players, even the college players,” said Quincy Miller.

“They’ve been giving me a lot of tips,” added LeBryan Nash. “We [Nash and Randolph] talk about basketball all the time, as well as off the court. He just tip in life, just to be safe and work hard every time you step on the court.”

While the USA 2011′s speed was too much for the Europeans yesterday, the Africans proved to be a much tougher matchup in the beginning, as they had the size, speed and the length to give 2011 some trouble. Ryan Boatright’s ridiculous speed jump-started the Americans, however and he, along with Quincy Miller, combined for the team’s first eight points. Boatright, Miller and Wayne Blackshear all played well early and throughout the game. LeBryan Nash showcased his strength, hitting the boards hard, constantly getting to the basket and free throw line. The Africans played hard and were active on the glass (namely center Bakary Konate), but couldn’t score enough to hang with the US. Behind Miller, who was on attack mode all afternoon, 2011 steadily pulled away, winning easily, 85-58.

On the far court, USA 2012 scrapped their way to another tough victory and survived another scare. They trailed for much of the game — as they did yesterday — and faced a 15-point deficit at the half. The European squad shot extremely well, and got excellent play from Pavlin Ivanov, Raphael Gaspardo and Alessandro Zanrilli. Jordan Adams, Xavier Johnson and Amile Jefferson all came up with huge baskets for 2012 down the stretch, propelling them to a 99-90 win.

Also nice to see was the return of Kyle Anderson. After missing yesterday’s action, his presence was felt immediately today, as he showed off his incredibly smooth handle and provided a much needed calm for 2012.

In the third game, Latin America jumped on Asia from the get-go, winning 102-63. While the the Asians struggled, their coach for the week, Frank Johnson, was as passionate as if it was an NBA game. From riding the refs to cheering his team on, he was a joy to watch on the sideline.

After returning from the midday break, the second set of high school game featured the marquee matchup of the week: USA 2011 vs. USA 2012. Earlier in the day, Nash said he hoped to, “do them like we did the other teams — blow them out.” Be careful what you wish for. Both teams looked outstanding early on, going basket for basket. 2012 came out ready to go for the first time, and every player on both teams seemed looked the most comfortable they have thus far. Nash lead the way for 2011 with five quick points. Quinn Cook looked tremendous, having his best game of the weekend, as did Deuce Bellow who finally came to life, active on both ends of the floor. For 2012, Kyle Anderson looked great again, handling the ball and seeing over the defense and Amile Jefferson continued to show his nose for the ball and ability to score around the basket. Shabazz Muhammad played well also. At the half, 2011 led, 51-46.

In the third quarter, however, 2012 quietly came back, finally taking a one-point lead on a Kevin Ferrell three. Ferrell was the pioneer of 2012′s pull-away down the stretch.

Earlier in the day, he said that his NBA coaches and mentors were telling him to, “just be the point guard. Just go out there and make the right plays.” He certainly did that against 2011, making several jumpshots in addition to finding his teammates and running the show.

After losing the lead, 2011 slowly fell apart, and behind Ferrell, Anderson, Adams and DaJuan Coleman, 2012 would get the victory, 102-91. These two will likely see each other again in Monday’s championship game. On the two other courts Latin America took out Africa, 64-36, and Europe squeezed one out over Asia, 77-70.

Following the high school games were three sets of short exhibition games between the college players. In front of several NBA scouts, players worked to etch themselves into their memories. Marcus and Markieff Morris both played well, showing their ability to score both inside and out. Perry Jones, Thomas Robinson Miles Plumlee and Scotty Hopson all showed their incredible athleticism, running the floor and finshing with authority. Malik Wayns, Terrell Holloway, Iman Shumpert, Josh Selby, Nolan Smith and Tyler Honeycutt were among the top guards.

Corey Brewer and Jrue Holiday ran with the college players, as well.

View Box Scores from Today [ Click Here ]

LATIN AMERICA: 64
AFRICA: 36

Latin America continued to show why they are a legitimate competitor for the adidas Nations Championships by defeating Africa 64-36. The impressive Latin America backcourt duo of Cesar Guerreo and Davi Rossetto de Oliveria proved to be too much for the Africans. Both teams played tough interior defense, rarely allowing a shot to go uncontested around the rim. Guerreo lead the way for the Latin American squad with a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) and Steven Adams pulled down 15 boards to go along with 3 points. Africa was lead by Bryan Pamba’s 9 points and 4 rebounds, while Bakary Konate continued his dominance on the glass with 13 rebounds.

LATIN AMERICA: (2-1)
AFRICA: (1-2)

USA 2012 VS. USA 2011

USA 2012: 102
USA 2011: 91

USA 2011 got off to an early lead with Quinn Cook and LeBryan Nash scoring 17 points and 12 points, respectively, in the first half. However, Kevin Ferrell and Jordan Adams hit some big shots in the 3rd quarter to take the lead. Ferrell had 17 points in the 2nd half and Adams scored 18 points in the 2nd half. USA 2012 also had major contributions from Jarnell Stokes with 9 rebounds and DaJuan Coleman with 8 points and 7 rebounds. This game drew the biggest crowd of the tournament so far and many predict this to repeat as the championship matchup.

LeBryan Nash finished with 26 points and 4 rebounds and Quincy Miller finished with 18 points and 8 rebounds for USA 2011.

USA 2012: (3-0)
USA 2011: (2-1)

ASIA VS. EUROPE

EUROPE: 77
ASIA: 70

In a game that featured two teams looking for their first win at the adidas Global Experience, passion, effort and intensity were not lacking. The score was close throughout the whole game , but in the end team Europe’s skill and size led them to a 77-70 victory behind the efforts of Pavlin Ivanov (27 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists) and 7’4 C Samuel Deguara (16 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist).
Team Asia had an impressive showing from several of their key players, but fell short behind the efforts of Si Yuheng (27 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) and Ge Zhaobao (19 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds).

EUROPE: (1-2)
ASIA: (0-3)

Team USA 2012 continued their winning ways in game number two, but not before a scare from a hot shooting Europe Team. Europe jumped out to an early lead behind some solid perimeter play from Pavlin Ivanov and Paolo Zanatta. The US managed to close the gap thanks to Coach Johnson’s full-court press and some crafty play from Amile Jefferson. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch, but the solid play of Jefferson, Xavier Johnson and Kyle Anderson in the fourth quarter proved to be too much for the Europeans. Amile Jefferson finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Kyle Anderson contributed a well-rounded 7 points 6 rebounds and 7 assists for the US. Pavlin Ivanov had a tournament high 32 points (including 21 in the first half) and added 6 rebounds and 4 assists for Europe. Europe will play Asia next, while USA 2012 will face USA 2011.

USA 2012: (2-0)
EUROPE: (0-2)

ASIA VS. LATIN AMERICA

LATIN AMERICA: 102
ASIA: 63

Latin America pounced on Asia early and never looked back. Cesar Guerrero led Latin America with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Latin America also had help from Steven Adams who tallied 8 points and 7 rebounds within the first 6 minutes of the game. He finished with 8 points and 13 rebounds. Jordan Burger also contributed with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

After being down by 35 points at halftime, Asia rallied in the 3rd quarter with consecutive 3 pointers by Hu Yihan and Si Yuheng, however, Latin America was too much for Asia to handle. Si Yuheng led Asia with 17 points and 4 rebounds.

Latin America faces Africa in their third game and Asian faces Europe.

LATIN AMERICA: (1-1)
ASIA: (0-2)

USA 2011 VS. AFRICA

USA 2011: 85
AFRICA: 58


Team USA 2011 improves their record to 2-0 after a strong performance versus an overmatched Team Africa. Four players for Team USA had double digit scoring efforts (including all three Chicago natives)leading Team USA to a 85-58 victory. Quincy Miller led the way with 19 points and 3 assists, Wayne Blackshear contributed 12 points and 2 rebounds and Ryan Boatright scored 11 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and had 3 assists. Also having a big game was LeBryan Nash who scored 14 points for the US Team. Team Africa was led by 6’10 C Bakary Konate who scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds and Cheirre Ajou had 7 points and 4 rebounds in Africa’s losing effort.

USA 2011 (2-0)
AFRICA (1-1)

USA 2011: 100
EUROPE: 79

USA came out on fire with an action packed first quarter led by Lebryan Nash and Quincy Miller. They combined for 22 points in the quarter and built up a big enough lead to never look back. Miller finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He also wowed the crowd with an electrifying steal and highflying dunk. Nash finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Europe made a good effort to stay in the game but a 30 point deficit was too much for even Italian big man Samuel Deguara to handle. He finished with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.

USA 2011 (1-0)
EUROPE (0-1)

ASIA VS AFRICA

AFRICA: 72
ASIA: 53

Africa made a statement in their first game defeating Asia 72-53 to open up pool play. Asia and Africa traded baskets early on, but the superior athleticism of the African’s proved to be too much for Asia as the game progressed. African point guard Issa Soumare was the catalyst for Africa dishing out 5 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds as the smallest guy on the floor at 5’7”. Abdoulaye Harouna led Africa in scoring with 12 points, while Vafessa Fofana added 10 points and 7 rebounds. Asia was led by a solid all around effort by guard, Liu Zhixuan with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Heng Yifeng added 15 points, while Si Yuheng had 12 points.

AFRICA (1-0)
ASIA (0-1)

USA 2012 VS. LATIN AMERICA

USA 2012: 78
LATIN AMERICA: 65

Team USA 2012 pulls out a hard fought win in the first game of pool play. Although the score doesn’t reflect it, this was a very close game up until midway into the 4th quarter. Shabazz Muhammad led the way for USA 2012 with 14 points and 3 assists, while getting some help from Winston Sheppard who contributed 12 points, 3 assists and 4 rebounds to 2012’s winning efforts. The impressive looking Latin American team was led by Cesar Guerreo who led all scorers with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Davi Rossetto de Oliveira also chipped in for Latin America, scoring 13 points.

USA 2012 (1-0)
LATIN AMERICA (0-1)

Quinn Peterson

Adidas Nations Chicago: Day 1

There’s a stark difference between the third and final adidas Nations camp in Chicago and the first two in Las Vegas and Portland, respectively. While the other camps were made up solely of American players, the Chicago camp consists of players from all over the globe with teams from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe to go along with two USA teams — Class of 2011, and Class of 2012 and beyond. Such diversity provides a much different feel from most – if not all – other uber-camps, and truly exemplifies everything adidas Nations is about — “One Game. One Brotherhood”.

Although teams and players have been trickling in since Tuesday, the camp officially got underway Friday morning. After taking team photos with their respective nations, players went through some stretches and warm-ups before getting down to business. While the high school players were just preparing to start their day of work-outs, a handful of NBA players, including Devin Harris, Will Bynum, Bobby Simmons and Juwan Howard, could be seen on a side court finishing up workouts of their own.

Splitting up into their teams to start things off, each country, under the tutelage of former NBA players and coaches, went through offensive plays and concepts and some light drill work. Eddie Johnson (USA 2012), Eric Musselman (USA 2011), Detlef Schrempf (Africa), Frank Johnson (Asia), Adriano Vertemati (Europe) and Tony Brown (Latin Ameria) all offered their expertise to their respective teams.

The surprise of the camp came around 10:45. It was said that college players would be present, but to what capacity was unknown. Turns out that, in addition to featuring roughly 75 of the world’s top high school players, the Chicago adidas Nations camp also has plenty of college talent on deck, as well, with 40 of the nation’s top college talents in town for the weekend to work on their game and counsel the youngsters.

Once they were all warmed up, they jumped in with the high schoolers, participating in various shooting, fast-break, offensive and defensive drills. After about an hour, the prep players broke for lunch, but the NCAA studs were just getting started, breaking up into guard and big man groups to put in another hour of work before wrapping it up.

The second half of the day brought the real fun, as both the high school and college players competed in scrimmages. The prep stars played first; USA 2011 played Europe, Africa played China and USA 2012 took on Latin America. USA 2011 jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never looked back, as their defensive pressure proved to be too much for Europe. Quincy Miller led the way looking the most impressive, contributing in all assets of the game. Not only was he able to score the ball, but he did a great job on the boards and was a vocal leader for USA 2011. Ryan Boatright, Wayne Blackshear and Quinn Cook all stood out, as well. After leading by 18 at the end of the first quarter, the Americans never let up, beating Europe 100-79.

A similar matchup between Africa and China, as the speed, length and athleticism of the Africans was just too much. They rebounded extremely well and imposed their will from the start of the game, and won handily, 72-53.

On the far court, however, was what appeared to be the upset of the night. Tied up after the first quarter, USA 2012 and Latin America battle would go down to the wire, though the United States emerged triumphant. Youth and inexperience showed for much of the game for the 2012 squad, as they struggled with turnovers, poor shooting, bad decisions, and most of all, frustration. In turn, they found themselves losing for a majority of the game, trailing by as many as nine. Latin America, on the other hand, was calm and always had an answer when the USA tried to fight their way back. Point guard Cesar Guerreo and center Cristiano Silva Felicio played especially well for the Latin Ameircans.

Starting the fourth quarter down by seven, USA 2012 opened up with a 6-0 run. Again, Latin America would find ways to hold the lead, but eventually their time ran out, as an Amile Jefferson layup tied things up at 63 with 4:10 to play. A Jefferson putback on the following play would give 2012 the lead and put in the driver’s seat for good. A monster dunk by Alex Murphy with 3:08 to play would officially seal the deal, and the USA 2012 was able to pull out a 77-69 victory. Shabazz Muhammad and Winston Sheppard were also key cogs in the USA comeback.

Following the high school games, the college players took the floor for some shorter, less intense matchups. With so much talent on the court, there was, of course, an equal number of NBA scouts to see the action. In the first set of games — two 10-minute halves — Josh Selby, Mason Plumlee and Marcus Morris led their team to a 38-37 win over a Nolan Smith-led squad. In the other game, Shelvin Mack spearheaded his team to a 38-29 win over Scotty Hopson, Jared Sullinger and Co.

In the second set of games Shelby’s team took on Mack’s team, winning 27-26. On the other court, a fifth team, featuring Iman Shumpert, Quincy Acy, Brian Williams and Xavier Silas would play Smith’s crew, beating them 46-30.

In one final, abbreviated game (they played just one half) Shumpert and Silas would lead their squad to a 23-13 win over Hopson’s team.