Ten named to Nike Hoop Summit Roster

Ten of America's top high school seniors have been named to the 2004 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team that will compete in the 7th Hoop Summit. The game is played under international rules and will see the USA Select group square off against a World Select Team comprised of 19-year-old and younger players. College Basketball News will be in attendance for ths outstanding event and providing recaps of the game held during Final Four weekend.

The University of Texas at San Antonio will host the game on Sunday, April 4 at 2 p.m. (EST) at the UTSA Convocation Center (5,100 capacity).  The contest will be held in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Final Four and will be televised on Fox Sports Net.  Tickets for the 2004 Hoop Summit, priced $10 for reserved seats and $6 for general admission, are now on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 210-224-9600 or www.ticketmaster.com.

Named to the 2004 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select team are: LaMarcus Aldridge  (Seagoville High School / Seagoville, Texas); Jordan Farmar (William H. Taft / Woodland Hills, Calif.); Rudy Gay (Archbishop Spalding / Severn, Md.); Malik Hairston (Renaissance High School / Detroit, Mich.); Dwight Howard (Southwest Atlanta Christian / Atlanta, Ga.); Al Jefferson (Prentiss High School / Prentiss, Miss.); Josh Smith (Oak Hill Academy / Mouth of Wilson, Va.); J.R. Smith (St. Benedict's Prep School / Newark, N.J.) Sebastian Telfair (Abraham Lincoln High School / Brooklyn, N.Y.) Mike Williams (Wilcox Central High School / Camden, Ala.).

"The players we have this year are some of the best we've ever put together on one team," noted Don Showalter (Mid-Prairie High School, Wellman, Iowa), chair of the USA Basketball Cadet and Youth Committee.  "They represent USA Basketball, many of them were at the Festival (2003 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival) last year and many have been asked to try out for other teams that represent USA Basketball.  This is going to be a very fine group that represents USA Basketball in this year's Hoop Summit."

Controlling the reigns of the USA squad is Will Robinson (Woodbridge Senior High School / Woodbridge, Va.) and Joe Kleine (Arkansas Wings AAU / Little Rock, Ark.), as head coach and assistant coach, respectively.  Both Robinson and Kleine boast of prior experience coaching for USA Basketball.

Robinson served a an assistant for the victorious USA Team at the 2000 Hoop Summit was head coach of the USA East Team at the 1999 USA Youth Development Festival.  Kleine, a 1984 Olympic gold medalist, returned to USA Basketball last summer as an assistant for the gold medalist South Team at the 2003 Youth Development Festival.  

"First of all, this is the future of basketball, some of these guys are possible pro players," remarked Robinson.  "The idea that some of these kids, certainly in my opinion, have an opportunity to play at the NBA level is promising to the outcome of this particular game.  We know that the World Team is going to be very good, but going up against competition like this is intimidating."

Six of the ten players already boast USA Basketball experience, acquired either at the Youth Development Festival or at the National Team Trials.  Farmar (2003 West Team), Hairston (2003 North Team), J.R. Smith (2003 East Team), Telfair (2002 and 2003 East Teams) and Williams (2002 and 2003 South Teams) have all participated in USA Basketball's Youth Development Festival, while Jefferson took part in the 2003 USA Junior National Team Trials.

All ten players on this year's Junior National Select Team have also been selected to participate in the 2004 McDonald's All-American Game and eight are ranked among The Insiders' hoops.com top 12 seniors. 

Eight of the ten players from the Junior National Select Team have signed a letter of intent with a Division I program, with Hairston and Howard remaining undecided (as of 3/2/04).  The players who have signed with respective schools: Aldridge (Texas), Gay (Connecticut), Farmar (UCLA), Jefferson (Arkansas), J.R. Smith (North Carolina), Josh Smith (Indiana), Telfair (Louisville), Williams (Texas). 
 
A premiere event for high school seniors, 50 former USA and World Select Hoop Summit team members have been drafted by NBA teams, and 28 USA players and nine world team members currently play in the NBA. 

Some of the American NBA standouts boasting of Hoop Summit experience include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Portland Trail Blazers); Ron Artest (Indiana Pacers); Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies); Mike Bibby (Sacramento Kings); Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers); Baron Davis (New Orleans Hornets); Mike Dunleavy (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves); Al Harrington (Indiana Pacers); Larry Hughes (Washington Wizards); Casey Jacobsen (Phoenix Suns); Joe Johnson (Phoenix Suns); 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 (Los Angeles Clippers), and Stromile Swift (Memphis Grizzlies). 

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), Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (Cleveland Cavaliers), Bruno Sundov (New York Knicks), Jerome Moiso (Toronto Raptors), and Bostjan Nachbar (Houston).

Other former players still competing on the collegiate level include Duke's Chris Duhon, Miami's Darius Rice, North Carolina State's Scooter Sherrill, UCLA's T.J. Cummings, Texas A&M's Nick Anderson, DePaul's Andre Brown, and South Carolina's Rolando Howell.