For the sixth straight year, Portland will host the best young basketball players in the country at the 2013 Nike Hoops Summit. A nearly annual event since 1995, Saturday’s Summit is the best platform for players all over the world to showcase their skills against their peers and impress NBA front offices. This year’s game will feature 10 American players facing off against 11 of their overseas counterparts.
Nike Hoop Summit: Preview, TV time and more
The best 19-and-under basketball players from the U.S. will square off against the best international players for the 16th time since 1995.
USA TODAY Sports
Past games have featured future NBA Hall of Famers like Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, and current stars Derrick Rose and John Wall. Foreign players have especially benefited from the event, with NBA front offices sometimes getting their first looks at players who were raised overseas. Tony Parker, Serge Ibaka and Nowitzki are good examples of this. So is Enes Kanter, the current Utah Jazz center who set a Summit record in 2010 with 34 points.
The ten American players are all in the top 25 of the ESPN100, which ranks the best amateur talent. Jabari Parker, the No. 2 player on the list, has committed to play at Duke after winning two state championships in Illinois. Filling out the American team are forwards Noah Vonleh, Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Aaron Gordon and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The guards on the team are highlighted by twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison, who have both committed to Kentucky. Rounding out the backcourt are Kasey Hill and Demetrius Jackson.
The international squad features the most highly touted prospect of the bunch, Canada’s Andrew Wiggins. The 6’8 forward has yet to commit to a school, but has the ability to change the landscape of college basketball with his decision. Joel Embiid, a 6’11 center, has committed. The native of Cameroon will join Bill Self’s Kansas team next season. The rest of the World Team features players from five continents: Germany’s Dennis Schroeder, Montenegro’s Nikola Ivanovic, Argentina’s Gabriel Deck, Australia’s Dante Exum, Russia’s Sergey Karasev, Lithuania’s Tomas Dimsa, and the Dominican Republic’s Karl Towns Jr. There are also a pair of Frenchmen, Mouhammadou Jaiteh and Livio Jean-Charles.
Of the 15 previous games, the United States has won 11. However, the World Team was victorious in the 2012 game, winning 84-75 behind 20 points from Andrew Wiggins.
Date/Time: Saturday, April 20, 7 p.m. ET
Location: Rose Garden, Portland, Ore.
TV Network: ESPN2
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