[arthurhenry14Participant]

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/basketball/mens/story/_/id/9341212/usa-basketball-u16-tryouts-malik-newman-rise-no-1-player-class-more-basketball-recruiting-buzz

Thank you guys

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Editor’s note: Every week in “Starting 5,” we’ll roll out five stories, themes and nuggets from the basketball recruiting world to set the table with the stories that need to be told and give you a leg up on the watercooler conversations around the office.

This week we look back at the USA Basketball U16 tryouts that were held in Colorado Springs, Colo., the team’s renewed focus on pure hoops, Malik Newman’s evolution during the tryouts and picks for the top player in each class for the impending ESPN 100, 60 and 25 rankings.

1. Malik Newman is undergoing major changes
Two weeks ago, Malik Newman was lauded for his ability to score and do it from all over the floor all the time. We all knew Newman, the nation’s No. 4 sophomore, could get buckets. With his high school team and travel squad, he’s been a volume shooter and big number scorer. At USA Basketball last weekend, Newman showcased a completely different side of his game.

AP Photo/Damen Jackson via Triple Play New Media
Highly coveted 2014 prospect Malik Newman is the No. 4 player in the ESPN 25.
Newman should not be pigeonholed as a scorer. That tag will often carry with it the dreaded “ball hog” connotation. Newman’s no ball hog. He is leading the Nike EYBL in scoring (24.7 points per game) but shooting 44 percent from the field. All of that is immaterial because this serious candidate for top dog in 2015 is a complete player. Being around the best talent USA Basketball has ever assembled in a U16 camp has allowed Newman to play a different role instead of hired gun.

“He’s never played with players (that good) before,” Malik’s father, Horatio, said. “Now he’s playing with good players and he’s not selfish at all.”

Beginning last Thursday, Newman was the top guard at the camp and top overall performer. Long term, 2016 forward Harry Giles is the best prospect playing in a USA uniform but Newman is a productive whiz, and he’s doing it as a shooting guard and part-time point man.

What no one saw coming was the loquaciousness of the kid who calls himself “Mississippi.” Basically, since USA head coach Don Showalter asked him to talk and communicate, no one can shut Newman up. From cutting up with his teammates to calling out defensive rotations, Newman’s gone from chatter less to chatterbox. His attitude and energy infected Team USA and came from a source no one expected. At last fall’s USA workout, Newman was among the least vocal players in attendance. Those days are over.

The rising junior isn’t interested in recruiting at this point. His father is the point man for his recruitment and it’s truly in the infancy stages. The entire SEC, including Kentucky but excluding Florida (so far) is into him. Georgetown, UCLA, North Carolina, Arizona, Memphis and very likely a nation of college hoops blue bloods will offer him a scholarship.

2. USA Basketball has different tone
There were no coaches yelling, “Do Him.” And if your goal was to get off and showcase what you can do at the expense of the four other guys on the court, your chances of making this squad weren’t very good.

This year’s USA Basketball tryout was a pure hoop setting.

Thirty underclassmen born in 1997 or after gathered in Colorado Springs, Colo., last week to try out for the U16 team that will participate in next week’s FIBA America’s championship. Pairing the team down to 12 was impossible. The deepest position was the wing spot, and three bigs, all of whom can one day be lottery picks, were on display.

This was my first time with USA Basketball as a member of the selection committee, and it was a learning experience. You’re first reminded that Team USA has never lost a U16 game and the feeling is no one wants to buck the trend. The 12 players who made this team each brought different skill sets but had one thing in common: Nobody survived all the pair-downs unless they could defend the basketball. Showalter was adamant in preparing his team on that end of the court.

Making this team was an exercise in mental toughness, focus, utilizing your talents within the confines of a team and understanding your role and what’s required of you. Showalter’s staff coached, corrected and constructed a team using the culture of the Olympic team that Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski built.

Watching players compete not just every game but each possession made me realize the purity of the experience and why this game is played. I also was reminded of how most kids want to be coached, not coddled. Correct them, provide structure and rules and they don’t revolt, they respond and thrive while embracing the setting and goal.

This team is in good shape.

They’ll be very successful this summer. However, it’s the first step in their journey as the 2014 U17 World Championship looms next summer, and that’s the big prize.

We know our Olympic team is healthy. People who value USA Basketball and appreciate the experience and follow the program will be happy to know that our younger squads are just as healthy as our headlining Dream Team.

3. What do assistants do in June?
July is widely regarded as the month where coaches, especially the assistants, earn their money. Once the evaluation periods tips, these guys criss-cross the country. They often have to hold the hands of their head coaches and do everything from make their daily schedule to pick them up at the airport and chauffeur them from gym to gym. Trust me, it’s not as glamorous as it sounds.

This month, it’s the players themselves who are busy. High school recruits are engrossed in team camps, elite camps, position camps, camps for guys who aren’t good enough to be at the other camps. Get the picture? As much as July is a travel beast, June’s no picnic for the players. From USA Basketball to the Nike position camps and tons in between, the kids are busy.

While the players play, the college coaches have plenty on their plates to stay more than busy. “We’re organizing our calls for June 15 (when the NCAA says programs can contact sophomores), preparing for the return of our players for summer school and organizing and coordinating our summer workout schedule,” Texas assistant Russ Springmann said.

“We stay in touch on the phone with everybody we’re involved with,” Kansas assistant Norm Roberts said. “We’ll try and set up unofficial visits if possible and contact new recruits that might just be entering the radar. We’ve got to help with camps and clinics for coaches. You have to work with your incoming recruits and get them acclimated to summer school and workouts.”

Over at Cincinnati, assistant Darren Savino preps for the July grind. “Recruiting is an everyday thing. You must be in communication with your top recruits and their families, coaches and mentors almost daily.

“You stay in touch via phone calls, texts, emails, or mail. Besides communication, we’re always looking for new recruits and updating our lists. Then, the last part would be organizing July plans which can be very time-consuming.”

4. The Fives:
Point Guards
1. Tyus Jones (best point guard in the country)
2. Emmanuel Mudiay
3. Joel Berry
4. Josh Perkins
5. Romelo Trimble
Summary: No change here at all. Heading into NBA camp, everybody on this list is solid.

Guards
1. Rashad Vaughn (Pangos Camp was the perfect setting for a guy like him)
2. JaQuan Lyle
3. Dion Wiley
4. Theo Pinson
5. Brandone Francis
Summary: You can flip a coin between Vaughn and Lyle but with last week’s showing at Pangos, we split the difference and the two swapped places.

Courtesy of Roderick Haynes
Justin Jackson is one of the top wing players in the 2014 class.
Forwards
1. Justin Jackson (See those guys coming? That’s the rest of a hungry pack.)
2. Kevon Looney
3. Stanley Johnson
4. Justise Winslow
5. Chris McCullough
Summary: McCullough reportedly played well at Pangos. We’ve always said he could shoot up the list but consistency has been a bugaboo so we’ll be patient. Instead, we vaulted Stanley Johnson up a few slots.

Posts
1. Jahlil Okafor (Can he hold off a feisty group below him?)
2. Trey Lyles
3. Cliff Alexander
4. Karl Towns Jr.
5. Myles Turner
Summary: No changes here. Okafor is set to try out for USA U19 team next week. He and Winslow are the lone high school players on the invite list; Tyus Jones has a sick family member and wants to stay in the country, otherwise he’d have been invited.

Up Next: USA Basketball’s Five Best Prospects from U16 Tryouts
1. Harry Giles (2016)
2. Malik Newman (2015)
3. Ivan Rabb (2015)
4. Seventh Woods (2016)
5. Josh Jackson (2016)
Summary:Giles and Newman took turns leading the way at tryouts. Newman was the hottest out of the gates but Giles’ steady approach wore on throughout camp. If there was a sheriff, a guy that was the best performer from the camp, one could go with Newman. However, the best long-term prospect in the building was Giles.

5. The battle for No. 1 in the next three classes

Sooner than later, we’re going to release our new ESPN 100, 60 and 25. The staff will weigh in on the positions and voila — we’ll have our latest set of rankings sometime around the middle of the month. The burning question on everyone’s mind: Who’s No. 1 on each list? Here are my votes.
2016: Harry Giles, F
When this process plays out, remember who warned you about the total package that this kid is. He’s a special talent. At 6-foot-9, he easily transitions from the paint to the perimeter, has the IQ of an all-american collegian and the requisite humility to be great. I see no other candidate at the moment.

2015: Malik Newman, G
Power forward Ivan Rabb sits atop our current rankings and he’s a heckuva choice. Rabb’s done nothing but solidify his case for the top spot. However, the emergence of Newman is too significant to ignore. Newman’s got the scoring game of Monta Ellis and the ability to handle the ball, play some point and be a 20-point guy in college. There isn’t anything he can’t do offensively. He separated himself last weekend with his tenacious defense and improved attention to communication.

2014: Jahlil Okafor, C
The fact of the matter is Okafor’s been banged up all spring long and probably didn’t give himself enough down time to fully heal his injury. Regardless, I’d keep him at the No. 1 spot for the time being because of his offensive ability and reliability as a player capable of being the focal point of an offense. Tyus Jones would be my second choice and I could see him reclaiming the spot he once owned. Trey Lyles and Cliff Alexander are dark horses. Alexander is the most physically inspiring prospect of the bunch and should he decide to bring the noise every time, he could make a run at the spot. Until then, we’ll stick with the known: Okafor and Jones.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

Editor’s note: Every week in “Starting 5,” we’ll roll out five stories, themes and nuggets from the basketball recruiting world to set the table with the stories that need to be told and give you a leg up on the watercooler conversations around the office.

This week we look back at the USA Basketball U16 tryouts that were held in Colorado Springs, Colo., the team’s renewed focus on pure hoops, Malik Newman’s evolution during the tryouts and picks for the top player in each class for the impending ESPN 100, 60 and 25 rankings.

1. Malik Newman is undergoing major changes
Two weeks ago, Malik Newman was lauded for his ability to score and do it from all over the floor all the time. We all knew Newman, the nation’s No. 4 sophomore, could get buckets. With his high school team and travel squad, he’s been a volume shooter and big number scorer. At USA Basketball last weekend, Newman showcased a completely different side of his game.

AP Photo/Damen Jackson via Triple Play New Media
Highly coveted 2014 prospect Malik Newman is the No. 4 player in the ESPN 25.
Newman should not be pigeonholed as a scorer. That tag will often carry with it the dreaded “ball hog” connotation. Newman’s no ball hog. He is leading the Nike EYBL in scoring (24.7 points per game) but shooting 44 percent from the field. All of that is immaterial because this serious candidate for top dog in 2015 is a complete player. Being around the best talent USA Basketball has ever assembled in a U16 camp has allowed Newman to play a different role instead of hired gun.

“He’s never played with players (that good) before,” Malik’s father, Horatio, said. “Now he’s playing with good players and he’s not selfish at all.”

Beginning last Thursday, Newman was the top guard at the camp and top overall performer. Long term, 2016 forward Harry Giles is the best prospect playing in a USA uniform but Newman is a productive whiz, and he’s doing it as a shooting guard and part-time point man.

What no one saw coming was the loquaciousness of the kid who calls himself “Mississippi.” Basically, since USA head coach Don Showalter asked him to talk and communicate, no one can shut Newman up. From cutting up with his teammates to calling out defensive rotations, Newman’s gone from chatter less to chatterbox. His attitude and energy infected Team USA and came from a source no one expected. At last fall’s USA workout, Newman was among the least vocal players in attendance. Those days are over.

The rising junior isn’t interested in recruiting at this point. His father is the point man for his recruitment and it’s truly in the infancy stages. The entire SEC, including Kentucky but excluding Florida (so far) is into him. Georgetown, UCLA, North Carolina, Arizona, Memphis and very likely a nation of college hoops blue bloods will offer him a scholarship.

2. USA Basketball has different tone
There were no coaches yelling, “Do Him.” And if your goal was to get off and showcase what you can do at the expense of the four other guys on the court, your chances of making this squad weren’t very good.

This year’s USA Basketball tryout was a pure hoop setting.

Thirty underclassmen born in 1997 or after gathered in Colorado Springs, Colo., last week to try out for the U16 team that will participate in next week’s FIBA America’s championship. Pairing the team down to 12 was impossible. The deepest position was the wing spot, and three bigs, all of whom can one day be lottery picks, were on display.

This was my first time with USA Basketball as a member of the selection committee, and it was a learning experience. You’re first reminded that Team USA has never lost a U16 game and the feeling is no one wants to buck the trend. The 12 players who made this team each brought different skill sets but had one thing in common: Nobody survived all the pair-downs unless they could defend the basketball. Showalter was adamant in preparing his team on that end of the court.

Making this team was an exercise in mental toughness, focus, utilizing your talents within the confines of a team and understanding your role and what’s required of you. Showalter’s staff coached, corrected and constructed a team using the culture of the Olympic team that Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski built.

Watching players compete not just every game but each possession made me realize the purity of the experience and why this game is played. I also was reminded of how most kids want to be coached, not coddled. Correct them, provide structure and rules and they don’t revolt, they respond and thrive while embracing the setting and goal.

This team is in good shape.

They’ll be very successful this summer. However, it’s the first step in their journey as the 2014 U17 World Championship looms next summer, and that’s the big prize.

We know our Olympic team is healthy. People who value USA Basketball and appreciate the experience and follow the program will be happy to know that our younger squads are just as healthy as our headlining Dream Team.

3. What do assistants do in June?
July is widely regarded as the month where coaches, especially the assistants, earn their money. Once the evaluation periods tips, these guys criss-cross the country. They often have to hold the hands of their head coaches and do everything from make their daily schedule to pick them up at the airport and chauffeur them from gym to gym. Trust me, it’s not as glamorous as it sounds.

This month, it’s the players themselves who are busy. High school recruits are engrossed in team camps, elite camps, position camps, camps for guys who aren’t good enough to be at the other camps. Get the picture? As much as July is a travel beast, June’s no picnic for the players. From USA Basketball to the Nike position camps and tons in between, the kids are busy.

While the players play, the college coaches have plenty on their plates to stay more than busy. “We’re organizing our calls for June 15 (when the NCAA says programs can contact sophomores), preparing for the return of our players for summer school and organizing and coordinating our summer workout schedule,” Texas assistant Russ Springmann said.

“We stay in touch on the phone with everybody we’re involved with,” Kansas assistant Norm Roberts said. “We’ll try and set up unofficial visits if possible and contact new recruits that might just be entering the radar. We’ve got to help with camps and clinics for coaches. You have to work with your incoming recruits and get them acclimated to summer school and workouts.”

Over at Cincinnati, assistant Darren Savino preps for the July grind. “Recruiting is an everyday thing. You must be in communication with your top recruits and their families, coaches and mentors almost daily.

“You stay in touch via phone calls, texts, emails, or mail. Besides communication, we’re always looking for new recruits and updating our lists. Then, the last part would be organizing July plans which can be very time-consuming.”

4. The Fives:
Point Guards
1. Tyus Jones (best point guard in the country)
2. Emmanuel Mudiay
3. Joel Berry
4. Josh Perkins
5. Romelo Trimble
Summary: No change here at all. Heading into NBA camp, everybody on this list is solid.

Guards
1. Rashad Vaughn (Pangos Camp was the perfect setting for a guy like him)
2. JaQuan Lyle
3. Dion Wiley
4. Theo Pinson
5. Brandone Francis
Summary: You can flip a coin between Vaughn and Lyle but with last week’s showing at Pangos, we split the difference and the two swapped places.

Courtesy of Roderick Haynes
Justin Jackson is one of the top wing players in the 2014 class.
Forwards
1. Justin Jackson (See those guys coming? That’s the rest of a hungry pack.)
2. Kevon Looney
3. Stanley Johnson
4. Justise Winslow
5. Chris McCullough
Summary: McCullough reportedly played well at Pangos. We’ve always said he could shoot up the list but consistency has been a bugaboo so we’ll be patient. Instead, we vaulted Stanley Johnson up a few slots.

Posts
1. Jahlil Okafor (Can he hold off a feisty group below him?)
2. Trey Lyles
3. Cliff Alexander
4. Karl Towns Jr.
5. Myles Turner
Summary: No changes here. Okafor is set to try out for USA U19 team next week. He and Winslow are the lone high school players on the invite list; Tyus Jones has a sick family member and wants to stay in the country, otherwise he’d have been invited.

Up Next: USA Basketball’s Five Best Prospects from U16 Tryouts
1. Harry Giles (2016)
2. Malik Newman (2015)
3. Ivan Rabb (2015)
4. Seventh Woods (2016)
5. Josh Jackson (2016)
Summary:Giles and Newman took turns leading the way at tryouts. Newman was the hottest out of the gates but Giles’ steady approach wore on throughout camp. If there was a sheriff, a guy that was the best performer from the camp, one could go with Newman. However, the best long-term prospect in the building was Giles.

5. The battle for No. 1 in the next three classes

Sooner than later, we’re going to release our new ESPN 100, 60 and 25. The staff will weigh in on the positions and voila — we’ll have our latest set of rankings sometime around the middle of the month. The burning question on everyone’s mind: Who’s No. 1 on each list? Here are my votes.
2016: Harry Giles, F
When this process plays out, remember who warned you about the total package that this kid is. He’s a special talent. At 6-foot-9, he easily transitions from the paint to the perimeter, has the IQ of an all-american collegian and the requisite humility to be great. I see no other candidate at the moment.

2015: Malik Newman, G
Power forward Ivan Rabb sits atop our current rankings and he’s a heckuva choice. Rabb’s done nothing but solidify his case for the top spot. However, the emergence of Newman is too significant to ignore. Newman’s got the scoring game of Monta Ellis and the ability to handle the ball, play some point and be a 20-point guy in college. There isn’t anything he can’t do offensively. He separated himself last weekend with his tenacious defense and improved attention to communication.

2014: Jahlil Okafor, C
The fact of the matter is Okafor’s been banged up all spring long and probably didn’t give himself enough down time to fully heal his injury. Regardless, I’d keep him at the No. 1 spot for the time being because of his offensive ability and reliability as a player capable of being the focal point of an offense. Tyus Jones would be my second choice and I could see him reclaiming the spot he once owned. Trey Lyles and Cliff Alexander are dark horses. Alexander is the most physically inspiring prospect of the bunch and should he decide to bring the noise every time, he could make a run at the spot. Until then, we’ll stick with the known: Okafor and Jones.

[Moon RiverParticipant]

Don’t sleep on this guy for class of 2016. I have seen him a ton and he reminds me of Andrew Bynum, without the baggage and he actually likes to play basketball.

[Moon RiverParticipant]

Don’t sleep on this guy for class of 2016. I have seen him a ton and he reminds me of Andrew Bynum, without the baggage and he actually likes to play basketball.

[omphalosParticipant]

Karl Towns Jr played on the world team at the Hoop Summit, why is he listed here?

[omphalosParticipant]

Karl Towns Jr played on the world team at the Hoop Summit, why is he listed here?

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

but isn’t there a rule that says you can’t play internationally for two countries? I know I heard this a lot as to why Kyrie Irving didn’t play for Australia in the last Olympics. Apparently if he would’ve played for them then, he wouldn’t have been eligible to play for the US in future international play.

Now that I think about that, I’m not so sure. Didn’t Ibaka switch from Congo to Spain last time?

Great, now I’m more confused about the rule.

[Velvet HoopParticipant]

but isn’t there a rule that says you can’t play internationally for two countries? I know I heard this a lot as to why Kyrie Irving didn’t play for Australia in the last Olympics. Apparently if he would’ve played for them then, he wouldn’t have been eligible to play for the US in future international play.

Now that I think about that, I’m not so sure. Didn’t Ibaka switch from Congo to Spain last time?

Great, now I’m more confused about the rule.

[Author]

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