After some early growing pains, the players of Team USA rallied late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter as they took over against the World Team in the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit. Team USA rolled in the second half for a 102-80 win at the Moda Center.
The Nike Hoop Summit is an annual contest between some of the best basketball players who are heading out of the high school ranks. Team USA is made up of American players and the World Team is made of international talent. Almost all of the players in Friday night’s contest will be competing at the NCAA Division 1 level next winter.
Almost all of the members of Team USA were coming off of different postseason all-star games, including the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Geico High School Basketball National Tournament.
“I thought that all 12 of them conducted themselves in a manner that USA Basketball would be proud to have them back in the future,” Team USA coach Joe Mantegna said. “I think it’s really tough for these guys that are coming off the McDonald’s game. Some were coming off Geico. They’re tired. Some of these guys haven’t been home for a couple of weeks.”
Team USA was led by Cam Whitmore, a Villanova commit, who scored 19 points. Dariq Whitehead, who is headed to Duke, scored 17 points. Oregon signee Kel’el Ware scored 11 points. Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas) and Amari Bailey (UCLA) each scored 10 points.
Kyle Filipowski (Duke) was a big part of what led the team to its early comeback after falling behind in the first quarter. Filipowski scored just three points, but his eight rebounds were tied for first on the team.
Team USA made 52.4% of its three-pointers and ended the night with 23 total assists.
“There was nobody out there playing for themselves,” Mantegna said.
Whitmore said the key for the teamwork that was on display on Friday night was the team’s ability to trust each other and the coaching staff.
“From day one, everybody bought in. It was just a brotherhood,” Whitmore said.
The World Team was led by Jean Montero, who scored 23 points and had three assists. Omaha Biliew scored 12 points and Leonard Miller had 11.
Tyrese Proctor opened up the scoring, getting the World Team on the board first with a big three-pointer. Amari Bailey was the first scorer for USA, with a putback score shortly after.
The World team took advantage of Team USA’s growing pains early on in the game. With players who don’t usually play together, there were noticeable unforced errors by Team USA, including a pass from Smith to an unaware Grady Dick that almost sailed out of bounds.
Team USA battled back late in the first quarter, with hustle plays by Filipowski leading to offense by Team USA. Whitmore became a spark plug for the USA offense, with explosive dunks helping shift the momentum.
When the momentum was in their favor, Team USA showcased its star talent and found some separation. Whitehead hit a late three-pointer and Team USA took a 51-45 lead into halftime.
The two teams continued battling in the third quarter, with Team USA showing its skill with the ball. After some back and forth by both sides, Whitmore grabbed a loose ball and found Whitehead wide open for a three that gave Team USA a 63-51 lead. Ware hit a deep two-pointer in the final seconds of the third quarter to make it a 74-64 lead for Team USA.
Team USA continued to roll in the fourth quarter. Though the World Team made runs, the American team didn’t allow a comeback.
Friday’s game was the 10th Hoop Summit for World Team coach Roy Rana, the winningest coach in the history of the annual event.
8 апр 2022
