Harrison Barnes, Ames (Iowa)
Photo by Nicholas Koza
It’s too bad the Harrison Barnes vs. Svetozar Stamenkovic show was tucked away in consolation action Saturday at the Nike Global Challenge on the campus of Liberty High School.
The duel between the Iowa star and one of Europe's top junior players was a classic and the game itself a heated confrontation that took overtime to decide before USA Midwest pulled away for a 103-94 win.
In semifinal action, Canada and USA East advanced to Sunday night's tournament championship. Canada eased past Senegal, 89-71, while Josh Selby's 30 points helped USA East past Brazil, 89-74.
But back to the performance of the day turned in by MaxPreps' No. 4 prospect in the class of 2010.
“We knew going in to this game that it was going to be a great game because we almost got into a little fight with them last year,” Barnes said. “We felt like we had a lot to prove since we lost yesterday.”
With the American squad looking flat and down by eight at halftime, Barnes took over in the second half, erupting for totals of 46 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two assists. The Ames High School senior scored 11 of the United States’ 13 points in overtime.
“We needed to go down and get buckets,” Barnes said. “My shot was on … I thought it would be good for me to continue to shoot.”
Stamenkovic, a 6-6, 220-pound wing forward, countered with 35 points, 14 rebounds and three assists of his own.
“I think he is a very skilled player and would not be surprised if he ended up in the NBA,” Barnes said of Stamenkovic.
Barnes capped his performance by providing the dagger and the exclamation point – both coming on steals followed by jackhammer dunks. The first came at the 2:51 mark of the five-minute overtime period to give the United States an 8-point lead. The second came with 56 seconds left and erased any thoughts of a Serbian comeback.
Barnes left the game to a warm ovation shortly after.
Texas wing Cameron Clark (20), Tony Mitchell (12), Jereme Richmond (11) and Ray McCallum (10) also scored in double figures for the Midwest squad.
Filip Djuran added 18 for Serbia.
Semifinal: Canada 89, Senegal 71
Canada received double-digit scoring from five players, including double-doubles by Mangisto Arop and Maurice Walker, in a comfortable 89-71.
Arop, a 6-6 Gonzaga signee, scored 24 points and collected 14 rebounds. Walker, a 6-10, 275-pound behemoth, added 13 points and 10 boards.
Texas verbal commitments Myck Kabongo (12 points, six assists) and Tristan Thompson (11 points, eight rebounds) turned in their usual solid performances, while rising junior Kyle Wiltjer added 10 points.
Gorgui Sy Dieng led Senegal with 21 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Sy Dieng hit a game-winning three Friday night that helped Senegal upset USA Midwest.
Semifinal: USA East 89, Brazil 74
Josh Selby's 30 points, six rebounds and five assists helped USA East advance to Sunday night's final with an 89-74 win over Brazil.
Backcourt mate Kyrie Irving added 17 points and five assists, while post players Tobias Harris and rising sophomore DaJuan Coleman combined for 24 points and nine rebounds.
"I've played against a few of those guys (Canadian team members) in AAU and they beat us," Coleman said of the Global Challenge championship game. "We'll be ready."
Vitor Alves Benite, a 6-2 guard from Sao Paulo, led Brazil with 19 points. A hand injury limited Andre Silva to just 19 minutes. Silva was a thorn in the United States' side early on with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Selby put on a show for the fans that stayed all the way to end as the game wound down around 10:15 p.m., putting down a 360 dunk off an alley-oop pass from teammate Will Barton.
Austin Rivers, Winter Park (Fla.)
File photo by Jim Redman
After being held scoreless in Friday night’s game, Florida phenom Austin Rivers – the son of Boston Celtics coach Glen “Doc” Rivers – warmed up Saturday and led the United States to a blowout victory over All-Asia Camp, 107-82.
Rivers drilled five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, five rebounds and two steals.
“Yesterday we got it handed to us pretty good,” Rivers said. “I couldn’t even sleep last night with the way that we played and that way I played. Tonight the goal was to not only win, but to play good. I know how good I am and I want to show everybody how good I am.”
Ironically, it was a banked 3-point shot that sparked Rivers’ barrage from beyond the arc.
“After I hit the bank shot, things started clicking and shots started falling,” Rivers said.
Local product Terrence Jones of Portland’s Jefferson High School led all scorers with 22 points. C.J. Leslie (17), J.T. Terrell (13) and Quincy Miller (10) added double-figure point totals.
Australian Anthony Drmic led All-Asia Camp with 20 points.
MaxPreps’ coverage from the Nike Global Challenge continues Sunday from Hillsboro.
More highlights from Saturday’s action at Liberty High School;
Standouts
Harrison Barnes, 6-7, W, USA Midwest (Ames, Iowa): Just when it looked like Serbia’s Svetozar Stamenkovic might be the best player on the floor, Barnes stepped up his attack on both ends. Early in the second half he pulled up and converted 3-point attempts on back-to-back isolation plays and also came up with a pair of key blocks defensively. That sequence sparked an American team that featured a lot of players looking ready for a break from the court after a long summer. Barnes’ competitive spirit and will to win was impressive. He explained his motivation after the game. “Anytime you can go on the court with ‘USA’ across the front of your jersey, that’s just an honor.” Barnes believes his 46-point effort may have been a career high. “I don’t remember scoring 46,” he said.
DaJuan Coleman, 6-8, F, USA East (Jamesville, N.Y.): Coleman, just a rising sophomore at Jamesville-DeWitt High School in upstate New York, didn’t post monster numbers against Brazil (10 points, five rebounds), but he was more than comfortable in the international setting competing against older players. “I’ve been playing against guys two or three years older than me my whole life,” Coleman said. “It’s nothing new for me.” Coleman had a big flush in the first half coming off a drive-and-dish, and had a pair of nice finishes in key spots in the second half.
Austin Rivers, 6-4, G, USA West/South (Winter Park, Fla.): Through five quarters in this event (four Friday night and the first Saturday), Rivers really struggled to get his game going, particularly in the form of point production. But a banked 3-pointer jumpstarted a big effort for the future Florida Gator against against All-Asia. Rivers finished with 21 points.
Josh Selby, 6-1, G, USA East (Baltimore, Md.): Brazil sat back in a zone defense and used the 24-second shot clock as a sixth defender. With USA East struggling to get good looks and move the ball against the zone, Selby was asked to force the action. He pulled his team through by pouring in 30 points and adding six rebounds and five rebounds.
Svetozar Stamenkovic, 6-6, W/F, FMP-Serbia (Nis, Serbia): Stamenkovic did it all for Serbia and looked like a special player on Saturday. Operating from all parts of the floor, Stamenkovic finished strong around the basket (13-21 from the field), hit open jumpers (including six 3-pointers), rebounded (14), found teammates for easy buckets (three assists) and took charges. His understanding of spacing on the offensive end of the floor helped Serbia look like a great passing team. With dozens of NBA scouts in attendance, this might have been a monster performance in more ways than one for the 19-year old Serbian.
Extras
The All-Asia Camp team featured a pair of Chinese true 7-footers. Li Muhao of Dongguan was listed at 7-1 and Zhang Dayu of Zheijiang at an even 7-0. The pair combined for 15 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in a blowout loss Saturday. …The Australian and Chinese All-Asian team hasn’t been competitive through the first two days of the tournament. They have allowed an average of 120 points per game in two losses. … Several of the players competing for international squads compete for high schools or prep schools in the United States. Canada's Myck Kabongo (St. Benedict's Prep, N.J.), Junior Lomomba (Madison Memorial, Wis.), Laurent Rivard (Northfield Mount Hermon, Mass.), Melvin Ejim (Brewster Academy, N.H.), Tristan Thompson (Findlay Prep, Nev.), Kyle Wiltjer (Jesuit, Ore.), J.P. Kambola (St. Benedict's Prep, N.J.) and Maurice Walker (Brewster Academy, N.H.), as well as Senegal's Papa Samba Ndao (Montverde Academy, Fla.) and Baye Moussa Keita (Oak Hill Academy, Va.) are all expected at American schools next fall. ... Wiltjer was born and raised in Portland, Ore., but his father is Canadian and played on the national basketball team. He recently obtained dual citizenship in order to pursue international basketball possibilities. Wiljter reports that nearly all of the Pac-10, as well as Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky and Wake Forest have been in contact. ... Lomomba, who helped Madison Memorial win a state title last winter as a freshman, is receiving interest from major programs as well, including Florida and Wisconsin. ... Michael Peck, head coach at defending national high school champion Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., is the head coach of the USA West-South team. He stuck around after coaching his team to a win Saturday to watch star pupil Thompson of Canada. ... How did the Serbian squad show up for the Nike Global Challenge outfitted head-to-toe in adidas gear? The European junior champions (Under-19) are contractually guaranteed a spot in the Nike Global Challenge. FMP Beograd (Belgrade, capital of Serbia) was the club team that earned its way in and showed up minus swoosh, plus stripes.
Sunday’s Slate
2 p.m. - All-Asia Camp vs. FMP Beograd, Serbia (7th, 8th place game)
4 p.m. - USA Midwest vs. USA West/South (5th, 6th place game)
6 p.m. - Senegal vs. Brazil (3rd, 4th place game)
8 p.m. - Canada vs. USA East (Championship game)
