Named head coach of the 2006 USA Team was Herman Harried (Lake Clifton High
School, Baltimore, Md.), who served as the assistant coach for last year's
victorious USA Hoop Summit team. Pat Fitterer (Eisenhower High School, Yakima,
Wash.), who served as the head coach of the USA White Team that captured gold at
the 2005 USA Youth Development Festival, was chosen to assist on the U.S. bench.
Seven players who have participated in recent USA Basketball Men's Youth
Development Festivals were among the 10 prep standouts named to the 2006 USA
Basketball Junior National Select Team roster that will compete in the 2006 Nike
Hoop Summit.
Named to the 2006 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team were
high school standouts: Kevin Durant (Montrose Christian School / Forrestville,
Md.); Wayne Ellington (Episcopal Academy / Wynnewood, Pa.); Paul Harris (Notre Dame Prep / Niagara Falls, N.Y.); Spencer Hawes (Seattle Prep / Seattle, Wash.);
Gerald Henderson (Episcopal Academy / Blue Bell, Pa.); Tywon Lawson (Oak Hill
Academy, Va. / Clinton, Md.); Vernon Macklin (Hargrave Military Academy /
Chatham, Va.); Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North H.S. / Northbrook, Ill.); Brandan Wright (Brentwood Academy / Nashville, Tenn.); and Thaddeus Young (Mitchell H.S.
/ Memphis, Tenn.). The coach and player selections were made by the USA
Basketball Men's Junior Development Committee.
"I think through the past four-five or six Hoop Summits we've done a much
better job of identifying players that are going to develop into a team. The
Nike Hoop Summit is an entity of its own now, people and players now look at it
not so much as an all-star game anymore," commented Don Showalter (Mid-Prairie
High School, Wellman, Iowa), who served as head coach of the USA squad in the
1998 Hoop Summit and is the current chair of the USA Basketball Men's Junior
Development Committee.
"This team is a little bit different than teams we have selected in the
past in that we have a lot of players who are pretty versatile, who can play a
lot of different positions. I think it's going to be a team Coach Harried can
really develop into a pretty good team in a couple of days.
"Both Herman (Harried) and Pat (Fitterer) are very well versed in what
USA Basketball is and what the Hoop Summit is and I think that's huge just from
the standpoint that they know how to get the team ready for this kind of
competition. Both are excellent selections, they're thrilled about being a part
of the Nike Hoop Summit and I know they'll do a great job for us.
"The World team is always made up of very good players from all over the
world and the games have been extremely competitive," continued Showalter. "I
think we've maybe had the better shooters the last couple years and we've done a
great job of playing defense on the international team in the last three-or four
games and that's been because our coaches know what it takes to win the game and
our players buy into that."
The Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premiere annual basketball game
featuring America's top senior boy high school players taking on a World Select
Team comprised of the world's top players who are 19-years-old or younger. The
2006 Nike Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 8, 3 p.m. (CT) at the
FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. Again in 2006, the Hoop Summit will be preceded by
the Memphis All-Star Classic, a game that will showcase the top prep senior
players from the Memphis area. The Memphis All-Star Classic game will tip off at
12:30 p.m. (CT). The 2006 Nike Hoop Summit game will be televised nationally by
Fox Sports.
Tickets are on sale now, with reserved lower bowl seats priced at $10 and
$20. Seats in the second row at courtside are $40, with front row courtside
seats $75. Tickets can be purchased at the FedExForum box office, all
Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling
Ticketmaster at 901-525-1515.
The World Select Team as well as the players and coaches involved in the
Memphis All-Star Classic will be announced at a later date.
The USA Basketball Men's Junior Development Committee is chaired by
Showalter, and also includes AAU appointees William Anderson (head coach, AAU
YMOCA Team Memphis, Tenn.), and Rod Seaford (head coach, AAU Charlotte Royal,
N.C.); National Federation of State High School Associations appointees Todd
Buller (head coach, Pacific Grove High School, Calif.) and Eric Flannery (head
coach, St. Edwards High School, Ohio); as well as athlete representatives Kermit
Holmes (1999 USA Pan American Games Team and 1997 USA Tournament of the Americas
Team) and Jimmy Oliver (1998 USA World Championship Team).
2006 USA
Basketball Junior National Select Team - The Players
Selecting 10 players who list among the nation's top ranked senior
prospects, seven of the USA's 10 players possess experience in USA Basketball's
Men's Youth Development Festival. Ellington (USA Blue), Harris (USA White),
Henderson (USA White), Scheyer (USA Red) and Young (USA Blue) all participated
in the 2005 Youth Development Festival, while Henderson (East), Macklin (East)
and Wright (South) gained USA playing experience in the 2004 Youth Development
Festival.
In the 2005 Festival, Harris, who played for USA Hoop Summit assistant
coach Fitterer, helped lead the White squad to the gold medal and was the
White's second leading scorer and the Festival's fifth overall scorer averaging
16.8 ppg., while grabbing a Festival and team high 9.0 rpg. and passing out 3.6
assists a game to ranked fifth overall in the Festival. Ellington and Young
teamed together on the USA Blue Team and led them to a silver medal finish.
Ellington ranked as the Festival's second leading scorer and rebounder,
averaging 20.3 ppg. and 8.8 rpg., while Young played in one game and scored 16
points before an injury forced him out for the remainder of the Festival.
Henderson and Scheyer were part of the bronze medal winning Red Team and
Henderson tied for team high scoring honors averaging 16.2 ppg. and adding 5.0
rpg., while Scheyer posted 6.4 ppg., 1.8 spg. and 1.6 apg. for the Red.
In the 2004 Festival, Macklin posted 12.2 ppg. and 6.4 rpg., and Wright
recorded 12.0 ppg., 7.4 rpg., and ranked third overall in the Festival in
blocked shots swatting 1.6 a game, and fourth overall for field goal percentage
hitting 66.7 percent of his shots for the gold medalist South team. Henderson
led the bronze medalist USA East Team in scoring at 13.6 ppg. and added 6.4
rpg.
All 10 U.S. players have signed National Letters of Intent with
prominent NCAA Division I basketball programs. The trio of Ellington, Lawson and
Wright are headed to the University of North Carolina, while Henderson and
Scheyer have signed to attend Duke University (N.C.). Durant will take his
skills to the University of Texas, Davis is headed to Syracuse University, Hawes
stayed home and will play at the University of Washington, Macklin will don the
Georgetown University uniform, while Young will be off to Georgia Tech.
Among the players' many accolades, USA Today included nine of the 10
selected players in its November 2005 listing of the Super 25 Boys Players,
including Durant, Ellington, Harris, Hawes, Henderson, Lawson, Macklin, Wright
and Young.
All of the named U.S. players were ranked among the top 27 in The
Sporting News' "The Hot 100." In fact, six were among the top seven ranked
preps. The Sporting News ranked Durant #2, Ellington was #3, Wright was listed
#4, Young fell in right behind at #5, Hawes was #6, Harris #7, Lawson ranked
#10, Macklin #14, Henderson #19 and Scheyer came in at #27.
2006
USA Basketball Junior National Select Team - The Coaches
2006 USA head coach Harried boasts of success with his Lake Clifton High
School program and with USA Basketball. Serving as the assistant coach for the
2005 USA Junior Select Team that earned a 106-98 win in last year's Nike Hoop
Summit, Coach Harried also served as a head coach for the 2004 USA Basketball
Youth Development Festival East Team that won the bronze medal.
"Being
selected head coach of the USA Team for the Nike Hoop Summit is definitely an
honor, I'm saying that sincerely," said Harried, who has also coached at the
Nike All-America Camp since 2000. "I know a lot of high school coaches aren't as
fortunate to be involved in such an event. They coach for years and years and
just never have the opportunity to do something like this, so I definitely see
it as an honor.
"I do think being previously involved in this event gives me a jump start
of what to expect. I can better prepare myself and I have an idea of what the
event is about and the value of it. There are two keys we'll focus on. The first
thing is the defense and that the USA team understand the importance of it and
that they also play as a group. A lot of these kids are the man on their team
and they're probably averaging 30 points apiece and now you're trying to take a
kid from 30 point down to 12 or 15 because you're trying to get a team effort.
"This is an athletic team," continued Harried. "The forwards are
versatile which is going to be very key because the European forwards aren't
traditional forwards, they're forwards who play like guards and they're not just
posting up all the time. So we have to have forwards that can go out and defend
on the wing as well and not just in the box. Our guard play is very solid and
that's also going to be a key because the World team will open the floor
up."
A four-year varsity player at Syracuse University (N.Y.) (1984-85,
1986-87 to 1988-89), Harried played in four NCAA Tournaments and was part of the
1986-87 Syracuse team that won the Big East Conference title and fell 74-73 in
the final seconds to Indiana in the NCAA Championship game. Compiling an overall
record of 109-33 (.768 winning percentage) while playing for Syracuse, Harried
went on to play five seasons professionally in Europe, playing in England,
Greece and Portugal. While playing in England for the Worthing Bears, Harried
led his team to two English championships, was twice named an all-star, and in
1994 was named MVP of the National Cup (English Championship) after tallying 33
points and 17 rebounds.
Harried has parlayed the success he experienced playing for the Orangemen
into winning as a coach. Completing his ninth season (1997-98 to 2005-06) as
head mentor at Lake Clifton, Harried has guided his teams to a tally of 147-58
for a 71.7 winning percentage (as of 2/11/06).
Lake Clifton has flourished under Harried's direction, capturing one
Maryland 4A State Championship (1999) and reaching another Maryland 4A State
Final Four (1998), while capturing three Maryland 4A State Regional
Championships (1999, 2001 and 2003), advancing to the 4A State Regional Finals
in 2003, and winning a Baltimore City Championship (2003).
Prior to working at Clifton, Harried spent a season coaching at Loyola
College (Md.), where under his guidance the Greyhounds compiled a record of
18-10 and finished second in the MAAC conference.
Harried's success at
Clifton has led to him being honored with coaching duties in the in the 2002
Jordan Capital Classic, the 2002 Charm City All-Star Classic and the 1998 Doc
Mathes All-Star Classic. This past summer he worked as a skills instructor at
the Nike Skill Academy.
Former players under Harried who have gone on to compete at the college
level include Aaron Cook (University of Hartford, Conn.), Jarvis Wiggins
(University of Maryland Eastern Shore), Tavon Nelson (College of Charleston,
S.C.), Teoine Carroll (Wagner College, N.Y.), Kyle Garrison (Norfolk State
University, Va.), Paris Carter (Cook (University of Hartford, Conn.) and most
recently Chester Frazier (University of Illinois).
Nike Hoop Summit
History
USA teams have won six of the previous eight Nike Hoop Summit match-ups
and the Americans have done so on the shoulders of some outstanding showings by
an impressive list of alumni.
The premiere event for high school seniors, 59
former USA and World Select Hoop Summit team members have been drafted by NBA
teams, including three members of the 2005 USA team - Martell Webster (6th NBA
pick by Portland), Monta Ellis (40th NBA pick by Golden State), and Louis Williams (45th NBA pick by Philadelphia), and four members of the 2004 USA Team
- Al Jefferson (15th NBA pick by Boston), Josh Smith (17th pick by Atlanta),
J.R. Smith (18th pick by New Orleans), and Sebastian Telfair (13th pick by
Portland).
Currently 31 former USA players and six former World team members play in
the NBA (as of 1/12/06).
Some of the American NBA standouts boasting of Hoop
Summit experience include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Sacramento Kings); Ron Artest
(Sacramento Kings); Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies); Mike Bibby (Sacramento
Kings); Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers); Nick Collison (Seattle SuperSonics);
Baron Davis (Golden State Warriors); Chris Duhon (Chicago Bulls); Mike Dunleavy
(Golden State Warriors); Ellis (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves); Al Harrington (Atlanta Hawks); Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls);
Larry Hughes (Cleveland Cavaliers); Jefferson (Boston Celtics); Jared Jeffries
(Washington Wizards); Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks); Rashard Lewis (Seattle
SuperSonics); Stephon Marbury (New York Knicks); Darius Miles (Portland Trail Blazers); Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers), Zach Randolph (Portland Trail
Blazers); Quentin Richardson (New York Knicks); J.R. Smith (New Orleans Hornets); Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks); Stromile Swift (Houston Rockets); Telfair
(Portland Trail Blazers); Webster (Portland Trail Blazers); Williams
(Philadelphia 76ers), and Loren Woods (Toronto Raptors).
World Hoop Summit alums now playing for NBA teams include Dirk Nowitzki
(Dallas Mavericks), Tony Parker (San Antonio Spurs), Vladimir Radmanovic
(Seattle SuperSonics), Dan Gadzuric (Milwaukee Bucks), Darius Songaila
(Sacramento Kings), and Bostjan Nachbar (New Orleans Hornets).
Other former
Hoop Summit players currently competing on the collegiate level include: North
Carolina super frosh Tyler Hansbrough; Duke starting freshman Greg Paulus;
Kansas' freshmen tandem Brandon Rush and Julian Wright; Arizona guard J.P. Prince; Washington freshman forward Jon Bockman; Alabama forward Richard Hendrix; Texas' standouts Daniel Gibson and Mike Williams; UConn's Rudy Gay;
Oregon's Malik Hairston, Texas A&M's Joseph Jones, Indiana's D.J. White, and
UCLA guard Jordan Farmar.
The USA owns a 6-2 series lead in the Hoop Summit after handing the World
squad a 106-98 loss in Memphis last April as Hansbrough scored a record-tying 31
points and added 10 rebounds, while Webster and Williams contributed 21 and 20
points respectively. Paulus led the American offense with a USA Hoop Summit
record 10 assists. In 2004, the USA upended the World Select Team 99-79 in a
game played in San Antonio, Texas. In that contest, Josh Smith led the U.S.
offense with 27 points on 12-of-18 shooting, and his 12 made field goals set a
new single game USA Hoop Summit record. J.R. Smith added 17 points in the win,
while Gay and Jefferson were credited with 14 and 13 points respectively.
Telfair recorded a game high seven assists, tying what was at the time the USA
Hoop Summit record.
In the 2000 Hoop Summit the USA edged the World Select Team 98-97 in
Indianapolis, Ind. In that contest, Randolph accounted for 24 points and eight
rebounds, Miles contributed 15 points and eight boards, while France's Parker
paced the World squad in the loss, scoring 20 points and dishing off seven
assists. In 1999 in Tampa, Fla., USA guard Casey Jacobsen scored a U.S. team
record 31 points on 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point as the Americans rolled to a
107-95 victory. In 1998, the World Select Team earned a hard-fought 104-99
victory thanks to a Hoop Summit record 33 points and 14 rebounds from future NBA
All-Star Nowitzki. Current Atlanta Hawks forward Harrington posted 26 points and
nine rebounds for the U.S. in the loss.
In the 1997 Hoop Summit, contested in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., future NBA
standouts Hughes and Artest posted 20 and 19 points, respectively, as the USA
squad battled to a 97-90 triumph. Despite O'Neal finishing with 21 points, 10
rebounds and seven blocked shots, the World Team claimed a 104-96 win in the
1996 Hoop Summit in Charlotte, N.C. In the inaugural Hoop Summit contest held in
Springfield, Mass., the USA won 86-77 as Garnett accumulated 10 points, 10
rebounds and nine blocked shots, Marbury added 10 points and five assists, while
Albert White tossed in 13 points and Jelani McCoy added 11.
2006 USA
Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team
POS HGT WGT DOB HIGH SCHOOL
/ HOMETOWN / COLLEGE
Kevin Durant F 6-9 190 9/30/88 Montrose Christian School
/ Forrestville, MD / *Texas
Wayne Ellington G 6-4 180 11/29/87 Episcopal
Academy / Wynnewood, PA / *North Carolina
Paul Harris G 6-5 225 10/15/86
Notre Dame Prep (MA) / Niagara Falls, NY / *Syracuse
Spencer Hawes C 6-11 225
4/28/88 Seattle Prep / Seattle, WA / *Washington
Gerald Henderson G 6-5 205
12/09/87 Episcopal Academy / Blue Bell, PA / *Duke
Tywon Lawson G 6-0 188
11/03/87 Oak Hill Academy (VA) / Clinton, MD / *North Carolina
Vernon Macklin
F 6-9 215 9/25/86 Hargrave Military Academy / Chatham, VA / *Georgetown
Jon
Scheyer G 6-5 170 8/24/87 Glenbrook North H.S. / Northbrook, IL /
*Duke
Brandan Wright F 6-10 201 10/05/87 Brentwood Academy / Nashville, TN /
*North Carolina
Thaddeus Young F 6-8 200 6/21/88 Mitchell H.S. / Memphis, TN
/ *Georgia Tech
HEAD COACH: Herman Harried, Lake Clifton High School
(Baltimore, MD)
ASSISTANT COACH: Pat Fitterer, Eisenhower High School
(Yakima, WA)
*Indicates college where the player has signed a national
letter-of-intent to play in 2006-07.