Nike Global Challenge: Day 3By: ipowers

By Ian Powers
NBADraft.net

Portland, OR – The first game of the final day of the 2009 Global Challenge was one that featured some young international players that should attract the attention of NBA scouts over the next few years. Serbia faced off against All-Asia team, which featured about 3 players from Australia.

The Asian team has some interesting guys who are capable of one day playing in
the league. The headliner in this group would have to be 7’1" big Li
Muhao. Muhao is a very long and thin prospect who has a pretty good face up
game. He’s not a banger by any stretch, but he does excel in transition and being
able to use his quickness to put the ball on the floor and beat slower defenders
to the basket. He has been on the radar for about a year according to the scouts
who were in attendance. Word is that he’ll be working out with Tim Grover in Chicago
in order to get bigger and stronger, which he desperately needs.

6’5" guard Jie Zhao was the standout for the Asian team in Sunday’s game. He is rail thin, but has a nice confident stroke. He lets it go from deep and connects on them more often than not. He flashed a nice ability to put the ball on the floor, although this is not his calling card. He’s a tough competitor and was the glue that kept everything together for his team despite the loss. He’s young and will have time to develop his body and try to utilize the dribble a little more to become a more effective player, but definitely a kid that scouts should keep an eye on. He led the Asian team with 30 points today.

The Serbian team also featured a nice prospect in 6’6" wing Svetozar Stamenkovic. Stamenkovic is a well built wing who is not the most athletic guy, but has a nice stroke and is tough as nails. He went toe to toe with Harrison Barnes the day before scoring 35 in the overtime loss to USA Midwest. He followed it up today with a 38 point effort against the All-Asia team. His main drawbacks are a lack of athleticism, that should be best described as average and lacking much ability to put the ball on the floor.

His prospects for playing in the league are average at best right now until he improves in those areas. He gives you that toughness needed to win games, much in the mold of Argentinian and Sacramento Kings forward Andres Nocioni.

The second game of the day was between two of the more disappointing American teams. USA West/South faced a talented but enigmatic USA Midwest team. the West/South team was led with 27 points by 6’3" 2 guard J.T. Terrell (Burlington,NC). Terrell gives new meaning to the term, "never met a shot he didn’t like". He has absolutely no conscious. He reminds me a lot of former NBA player John Starks in that he can shoot you into a game and shoot you out of a game. His lack of discipline and inability to play the point will hurt him at the next level. He needs to be reigned in by a tough coach in order to be able to become a better team player. He inexplicably attempted a pass to himself off the glass for a dunk late in the game in a half court set with 3 or 4 guys already under the basket that drew some harsh remarks from the NBA people sitting next to me. Needless to say the play didn’t quite work out the way that he would have hoped.

C.J. Leslie (Word of God Academy/ Raleigh,NC)
was productive again today for his team. He seems to always be around the ball
and his activity will get him noticed every time out. His skill set is still very
raw and he lacks a very high IQ, but his length, activity, and bounce is very
intriguing.

Austin Rivers (Winter Park/ Winter Park,
FL) continued his uneven play today. He was 3-14 from the floor, with all 3 field
goals being threes and 9 of his 14 attempts being from long distance. He hunts
the deep ball a little too much in my opinion and often settles for that shot
when he can try to utilize his handle to get into the lane.

For the Midwest team it was Harrison Barnes
who once again led the way. He had a rough start to the game, finishing with only
6 points in the first half. He got it rolling in the second half finishing with
a game high 28 points. There really is not much more to be said. He is a great
young talent and has a bright future ahead of him at the highest level.

We actually got signs of life from Perry Jones
( Duncanville/ Duncanville,TX) today. He finished with a quiet 16 points, but
his impact still left a lot to be desired. He showed a nice drive game off the
face up and his athleticism was on display on a couple of nice lobs that he was
able to finish. Heart and effort are two things that will get him to the next
level and tap into his enormous potential, stay tuned.

Ray McCallum ( Detroit Country Day/ Birmingham,
MI) was steady again today. He will not wow you with athleticism or quickness,
but he makes the right plays and hardly ever turns the ball over. He is a coach’s
son and it shows. One NBA scout said that he wasn’t sure how good he will be,
but he knows that wherever he goes he will make that team a lot better.

Check back tomorrow for a top prospects report.