2010 adidas Nations: Day 1By: Aran_Smith

With around 25-30 NBA scouts on hand, adidas Nations got underway on Friday. The morning session consisted of station drills and some light scrimmages and one on one plays. Jared Sullinger and Renardo Sidney engaged in a solid battle in the post.

In the shooting drills, Damian Lillard‘s jumpshot stood out as one of the best among the guards. Lillard has a little bit of as low release and pushes the ball out away from his body some but his follow through and consistency make his shot extremely consise.

2011 USA vs Europe

The 2011 USA team rolled to victory over the European team (a team comprised essentially of all Italian players), finishing 100-71 although the games wasn’t even that close.

Quincy Miller put on a show with 26 points, 7 rebs and 3 assists. He had a monster dunk that had the entire gym buzzing. He was the top high school kid in the gym by a mile on day one and had scouts raving about him after his game ended.

LeBryan Nash went for 17 points, 9 rebs and 1 ast showing a relentless motor and his scoring came within the flow of the game.

Pavlin Ivanov was the most impressive player for the Italian squad showing solid athleticism going for 16 pts, 5 rebs and 4 ast.

Also interesting for the Euro squad was 1994 born 7-foot-3 center Samuel Deguara. He’s the biggest kid in the entire gym by far and probably the youngest as well. He held his own in the half court drills against guys like Sullinger but was welcomed to the NBA on one drill by Chris Singleton who hammered one over him. He looked slow in the game and lacks great leaping ability but is young so one to watch.

Africa vs. China

Africa beat China in the game on the middle court. Both teams feature a lot of length but lack great skill. No players stood out enough to mention on day one, and to be honest this wasn’t the game I focused on but I’ll get a chance to see these guys again the next few days.

USA 2012 vs. Latin America

The USA 2012 vs. Latin America tuned out to be the game of the day. Team Latin America came to play and had the USA squad’s number throughout the first 3 quarters.

Towards the end of the third, impressive wing forward Winston Sheppard went for three straight baskets including 2 jumpers and a emphatic dunk, but behind gritty Cesar Guerreo built the lead back up to 7 going into the fourth.

The Latin American squad held the youngsters at bay for another few mintues but with 3:37 on the clock Team USA 2012 took their first lead at 65-63.

6-8 small forward Alex Murphy out of Rhosde Island then absolutely crushed the Latin team’s spirits with the dunk of the day over the opposition’s most athletic player: Hanner Parea. The dunk was an and1 with Murphy giving Parea a stare down as Parea had to give him an "alright you got me" pat on the butt.

From the point forward Team USA 2012 cruised to a double digit victory.

Shabazz Muhammad was one of the most impressive players showing a variety of skills. He struggled some early to get on track but even when his shots weren’t falling, the talent and skill level is evident. He finally began to get things clicking as the the 2012 squad ran away with things in the final minutes.

Scouts mentioned Kevin Ferrell as a player they were impressed with as he is a blur pushing the ball up the floor and shows pretty good control even when operating at such a high speed.

6-8 small forward Kyle Anderson missed the game after participating in the morning drills. His dad mentioned that he was waiting to hear on the results on it and was seen icing his ankle in the afternoon.

College Scrimmage Notes

Colorado’s Alec Burks led all scorers with a combined 22 points in his two halves of basketball. He looked extremely smooth handling the ball in the open floor and scored in a vaiety of ways including lay ins and jumpshots.

6-5 Georgia Tech combo guard Iman Shumpert went for 17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. He used his long arms to be disruptive defensively and scored a number of easy baskets in transition. Scouts mentioned being disappointed in his jumpshot in the early morning drills, but he found ways to score in the actual scrimmages and impressed.

6’7 UCLA small forward Tyler Honeycutt had 14 points, 6 rebs, and 2 ast. He looked impressive in the morning drills with both an impressive pull up jumper as well as jaw dropping athleticism. He went through his legs and dunked with ease in the morning. He also had a jaw dropping ally oop on a pass from Nolan Smith where he caught the ball and flushed it with his back to the rim all in one motion. His ability to locate the rim and finish the play was very impressive.

6’2 Weber State point guard Damian Lillard had 12 points and looked especially strong shooting from the outside. His quickness in the open floor and strength allows him to convert plays on the break.

6’9 LaSalle Aaric Murray has dropped nearly 70 lbs in the past year or so. He looks like a completely different player and to be honest he’s gone a little too far as he appears to be around 220. He’s gained some mobility but lost a good deal of strength in th post and its apparent that he’s not an elite level athlete, just a very good athlete. He finished with 9 points but failed to stand out.

Duke’s Mason Plumlee impressed with 8 points in the first half. He converted a number of dunks on his own missed shots. He’s looking to use his size to almost create ally oops for himself but towards the end of the night it appeared players were realizing his plan and finally boxing him out on his own shots. He also lost his man repeatedly on back door cuts. But his size, athleticism and motor should allow him to develop into a first rounder as a PF in the next 2-3 years.

6’1 Villavona Maalik Wayns impressed scouts with his decision making and defensive intensity. He drove for one nice and-1 at one point. He alos knocked down back to back three pointers at another point. Wayns is likely looking at a year of playing behind Corey Fisher but scouts are extremely high on him and feel he’s a near first round lock for 2012.

6’10 Renardo Sidney appears to have been working hard on his body coming in at least 25 lbs slimmer than when he was last seen on the bench at Mississippi State. Sidney had a solid morning set of drills but unfortunately rolled his ankle attempting a crossover from the top of the key just minutes after the college scrimmages began. Sidney laid on the floor for a couple minutes before being helped off, his adidas Nations camp apparently over. One scout joked, "He’ll get on the phone later and say, Yeah I broke someone’s ankle on this crossover I did. Who was it? Mine."

6’3 Josh Selby has a real swagger about him and some scouts like him while others still feel he’s got a lot to prove. He had 8 points in the first 20 minute contest. He did show some impressive things hitting some open shots and his quickness allows him to make plays off the dribble. Unfortunately he’s still extremely turnover prone and needs to tone his game down a ton.

6’6 Texas A&M sophomore Khris Middleton was a nice surprise going up for one and one dunk as well as showing the ability to knock down outside shots. He had 8 pts and 2 rebounds in the first half game. He’s a forward that should be able to improve as he tones his body and gains NCAA experience.

6’6 Baylor power forward Quincy Acy impressed in both the morning session and the scrimmage. His beastly dunks and willingness to bang has scouts very impressed. He appears to be a guy that will be able to overcome his big size disadvantage and get drafted and make an NBA team in the next 2 years.

6’11 Perry Jones went for 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 ast. He wasn’t overly aggresive scoring the ball but did show off his excellent versatility handling and passing the ball. He made a number of no look passes and set up teammates for some buckets. He’s the most talented college kid here but he still doesn’t know how to dominate and is just scratching the surface of his offensive abilities.

NCAA Roster:

Maalik Wayns 6’1 Villanova So.
Nolan Smith 6’3 Duke Sr.
Josh Selby 6’3 Kansas Fr.
Iman Shumpert 6’5 Georgia Tech Jr.
Damian Lillard 6’2 Weber State Jr.
Terrell Holloway 6’0 Xavier Jr.
Malcolm Lee 6’5 UCLA Jr.
Shelvin Mack 6’3 Butler Jr.
Xavier Silas Northern Illinois Jr.
Alec Burks 6’6 Colorado So.
Tyshawn Taylor 6’3 Kansas Jr.
Christian Watford 6’6 Indiana So.
Tyler Honeycutt 6’7 UCLA So.
Chris Singleton 6’9 Florida St. So.
Justin Holliday 6’7 Washington Jr.
Scottie Hopson 6’7 Tennessee Jr.
Quincy Acy 6’7 Baylor Jr.
Khris Middleton 6-6 Texas A&M So.
Mason Plumlee 6’10 Duke So.
JaJuan Johnson 6’9 Purdue Sr.
Marcus Morris 6’9 Kansas Jr.
Perry Jones 6’10 Baylor Fr.
Jared Sullinger 6’9 Ohio St. Fr.
Markief Morris 6’9 Kansas Jr.
Miles Plumlee 6’10 Duke Jr.
Brian Williams 6’9 Tennessee Sr.
Ibrahima Thomas 6’11 Cincinnati Sr.
Thomas Robinson 6’8 Kansas So.
Aaric Murray 6’9 LaSalle So.
Renardo Sidney 6’10 Mississippi Fr.

USA 2011

*Will not participate

USA 2012

Team Africa

Team Asia

Team Latin America

Team Europe (Italy)