Doug McDermott invited to tryout for USA u-19 team

[Jays26]

Looks like Little Mac is picking up where he left off last year..........




USA Men’s U19 Team Scrimmages Air Force Academy
Nic Hallisey
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Joe Jackson and the other USA U19 finalists faced some new faces Monday night as the USA squad scrimmaged players from the Air Force Academy.
Steven Maikoski/USA BasketballThe 13 finalists for the USA Men’s U19 National Team took a break from drills and conditioning Monday evening, and took the court against an unofficial group of players from the Air Force Academy men’s squad.

“I really appreciate (USA Basketball Men’s National Team Director) Sean Ford organizing that and having the Academy come play with us,” said U19 head coach Paul Hewitt (head coach George Mason). “I think we’ll get a lot of tape out of it, and we’ll be able to show the kids what we did and what we need to improve on.”

The two teams competed for a total of 50 minutes, broken up into five 10-minute quarters. International rules were in effect, and the USA team tried out different plays and defensive methods.

“I think it was a good test, especially against the group we played against,” Hewitt said. “They know each other a little bit. They know the Princeton offense. It tested our half-court defense in terms of guys being able to help pressure the basketball and not get beat. Early on they were hurting us with some screens, but I think we made some adjustments, and I thought the guys did a nice job.”


It was the team’s first scrimmage against outside competition, which the players said should help when it comes to playing in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship For Men, which is being held June 30-July 10 in Valmiera, Liepaja and Riga, Latvia.

“It was nice to play someone other than ourselves,” said Meyers Leonard (Illinois/Robinson, Ill.). “It was pretty good to see each others’ talents both on offense and defense, and just to get a different feel for the game was nice.”

The USA beat the Air Force team 101-87, outscoring its opponent in each quarter except for the fifth.

Five players scored in double figures, led by Joe Jackson’s (Memphis/Memphis, Tenn.) 13 points. Tim Hardaway, Jr. (Michigan/Miami, Fla.), Doug McDermott (Creighton/Ames, Iowa), Anthony Brown (Stanford/Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Leonard also scored in double figures. Patric Young (Florida/Jacksonville, Fla.) led the USA rebounding effort with 10, falling one point short of a double-double.

“We’re starting to get a feel for each other,” Leonard said. “We can slow down in transition, we have guys that can shoot, we have guys that can score in the paint. I think we’ll be alright.”

While Hewitt sees some things he’d like cleaned up before heading overseas Friday, overall, he was pleased with the performance.

“I was happy with the effort,” he said. “I thought our defense was really good. I think our ability to rebound the ball will be one of our strengths.”

[LMS]

McDermott officially makes the USA under-19 team.

Creighton forward Doug McDermott made the USA’s under-19 team and will play in the world championships later this month in Latvia.

The 6-foot-7 sophomore-to-be is one of 12 players on the USA team. He was among 13 who survived the initial cut Sunday, and he learned Wednesday that he had made the final roster.

McDermott is the first Creighton player to make the under-19 national team. The team leaves Friday for Lithuania, where it will play two exhibitions.

The USA team begins competition in the world championships June 30 against Egypt.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110622/B ... -19-roster

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

I am thrilled to see Doug make the team and the Valley have representation but I wonder if this team is strong enough to beat the foreigners. Some of those former Soviet countries are tough. I watched the World Championships last year and some of those countries that I barely had heard of had some good ballplayers.

[MVCfans]

I am thrilled to see Doug make the team and the Valley have representation but I wonder if this team is strong enough to beat the foreigners. Some of those former Soviet countries are tough. I watched the World Championships last year and some of those countries that I barely had heard of had some good ballplayers.

I think the US is at a disadvantage because they don't have much of any real practice time as a team. I suspect the other teams have played as a group for quite a while.

[CaseyGarrisonforPrez]

I am thrilled to see Doug make the team and the Valley have representation but I wonder if this team is strong enough to beat the foreigners. Some of those former Soviet countries are tough. I watched the World Championships last year and some of those countries that I barely had heard of had some good ballplayers.

I think the US is at a disadvantage because they don't have much of any real practice time as a team. I suspect the other teams have played as a group for quite a while.

That is a good point. Plus the funky FIBA rules with the weird shaped lanes and stuff. Really weird how they changed our game. Teams like Lietuva seem to really develop people at an early age and they are such a basketball oriented country that they will be hard for our kids to beat.

[bleach]

Is Jake too busy or over 19?

[DUBulldog]

Is Jake too busy or over 19?

Over 19.

[Jays26]

Is Jake too busy or over 19?

I think he is like 30....he got a late start because of his role in Deliverance.

[LMS]

Here's a link to the game report. Awesome to see a photo of Doug in the red white and blue.

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/u19/

[MVCfans]

I noticed that if you read the article you will see on the right hand side "Doug's European Diary" which details the goings on of the team from Doug McDermott's perspective.