KD II "Scoring Title"

US Basketball 18 and under

Washington point guard Abdul Gaddy made the 2010 USA Basketball Men's U-18 National Team following a three-day tryout in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Incoming Washington freshman Desmond Simmons, who received a late invitation to the tryout, did not make the team.

Gaddy is one of 12 players that will play for the U.S. in the 2010 FIBA U-18 Championship in San Antonio from June 26-30.

"It felt great," Gaddy said of his selection. "I'm honored. I'm just trying to go out there and play hard and win a gold medal."

The Washington sophomore is one of three players on the team that has previous USA Basketball experience after having played in the annual Nike Hoop Summit. Gaddy was a member of the 2009 USA Junior National Select Team that fell to the World Select Team 97-89.

Gaddy struggled during much of his freshman year at Washington. Strength, defense and jump shooting were challenges for the young point guard. He shot 41.7 percent from the field, 56.4 percent from the free-throw line and 15 percent from behind the three-point line. He averaged 4.4 points per game and 2.2 assists per game.

He also had trouble maintaining his confidence, which Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said was low and that Gaddy may have been surprised by the level of competition in Div. I.

"There's no question he will have much better seasons individually than he had this year," Romar said after the season. "I think he learned a lot about himself."

Playing, and doing well, in this tournament could be a step for a player who has the potential to take a tremendous leap on the floor in his second season for Washington.

To be eligible for the tournament, players must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1992. Gaddy turned 18 on Jan. 26, 2010.

Also selected to to the team were: Vander Blue (James Madison Memorial H.S. / Madison, Wis.); Trevor Cooney (Sanford H.S. / Wilmington, Del.); Joshua Hairston (Montrose Christian School (Md.) / Fredericksburg, Va.); Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick's H.S. / Elizabeth, N.J.); Quincy Miller (Quality Education Academy / Winston-Salem, N.C.); Tony Mitchell (L.G. Pinkston H.S. / Dallas, Texas); LeBryan Nash (Lincoln H.S. / Dallas, Texas); Jereme Richmond (Waukegan H.S. / Waukegan, Ill.); Austin Rivers (Winter Park H.S. / Winter Park, Fla.); Amir Williams (Detroit Country Day / Detroit, Mich.); and Patric Young (Providence School / Jacksonville, Fla.).

John Wall works out for Wizards and debuts Reebok Zigtech basketball

48 Players withdraw from NBA draft.

Here is the list of players from U.S. colleges and institutions who have withdrawn their names from consideration for the 2010 NBA Draft:

Player School
Lavoy Allen Temple
Kevin Anderson Richmond
Talor Battle Penn State
Keith Benson Oakland
Anatoly Bose Nicholls State
Dee Bost Mississippi State
Carlon Brown Utah
Mike Davis Illinois
Paul Davis Winston-Salem State
Malcolm Delaney Virginia Tech
Kenneth Faried Morehead State
Jimmer Fredette BYU
Anthony Gurley Massachusetts
Jeremy Hazell Seton Hall
Adnan Hodzic Lipscomb
JaJuan Johnson Purdue
Ravern Johnson Mississippi State
Cameron Jones Northern Arizona
Kenny Lawson Creighton
Demetri McCamey Illinois
E'Twaun Moore Purdue
Arnett Moultrie UTEP
Rico Pickett Manhattan
Eniel Polynice Mississippi
Herb Pope Seton Hall
Jeff Robinson Seton Hall
Tracy Smith North Carolina State
Alex Tyus Florida
Quinton Watkins San Diego State
Chris Wright Dayton
Here is the list of international players who have withdrawn their names from consideration for the 2010 NBA Draft:

Player Team/Country*
Pablo Aguilar Granada (Spain)
Andrew Albicy Paris-Levallois (France)
Robin Benzing Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
Stefan Bircevic Metalac (Serbia)
Bojan Bogdanovic Cibona (Croatia)
Sarra Camara Le Havre (France)
Antoine Diot Le Mans (France)
Bangaly Fofana Asvel (France)
Miralem Halilovic Sloboda Dita (Bosnia)
Edwin Jackson Rouen (France)
Mindaugas Kuzminskas Siauliai (Lithuania)
Luc Louves Maurienne (France)
Uros Lukovic Radnicki Basket (Serbia)
Donatas Motiejunas Benetton Treviso (Italy)
Tomasz Nowakowski Luka Koper (Slovenia)
Xavier Rabaseda FC Barcelona (Spain)
Fernando Raposo Pau Orthez (France)
Semen Shashkov Ural Ekaterinburg (Russia)
*Country indicates where team plays, not country of nationality.

NIKE BASKETBALL RESPOND TO HYPERIZE BAN IN DETROIT

In February, Detroit Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander banned the Pistons from wearing the Nike Hyperize after several Pistons suffered ankle injuries while sporting the shoe. Claiming that the shoe was "way too light" and that Nike had "taken most of the support out of the sides," Kander issued his decree and the Pistons' ankles were fine. End of the story, right?
Not so much, because that would have been a very short post, plus Nike is still making shoes. In fact, just last week, Nike unveiled the Hyperdunk 2010, which is both a refresh of the still-popular Hyperdunk from 2008 and the latest (along with the Hyperfuse) in Nike's Hyper line of basketball shoes.
I was at the unveiling, and so was Tracy Teague, Nike's global creative director. Teague spoke about the features of this year's Hyperdunk, saying that they were able to "remove some of the layers which makes the shoes a little bit lighter and a little more flexible." Ummm, wasn't that the problem with the Hyperize?
According to Teague, not so much. Here's his response when I asked about the Pistons banning Nike's shoe:
For us, the Hyperize was a shoe that we tested extensively, as were the Hyperdunk 2010s as well. That's something I don't think a lot of folks have a lot of visibility to is the amount of testing that goes on. Something like the Hyperize — we didn't see those kind of problems. If you just look at the total number of products that were out there, it was a very small percentage that actually had issues with it. But, I mean, we worry about anytime somebody has some issues. But for us, what we've been able to do, again, is find that fine edge of lightweight but yet still strong enough to perform ... So that's the challenge, and that's the brunt of it, but I think it's good.
Thus far, the new shoes have been getting rave reviews. Sure, it's early, but around the time of the Hyperize's release, stability issues had already been noted. So it seems like this is going to be an improvement over last year's model, and possibly a shoe that we see on NBA feet for a few years to come, just like we have with the original Hyperdunk.
However, if Ben Gordon and Will Bynum have exploding ankles again this year, don't be surprised if Arnie reaches for his trusted ban hammer early. We'll know something happened if everyone on Detroit is playing in Timberlands. Hey, it'd fit that tough image they're so concerned about.

Coach K Academy

Introducing the Nike Zoom HYPERFUSE

For the love of the game pack from Jordan Brand

World Basketball Festival

NEW YORK, N.Y. (June 9, 2010) — This summer, five of the world’s best basketball teams and top musical performers will meet throughout New York City for the inaugural World Basketball Festival, a four-day celebration of the performance and culture of the game created by NIKE, Inc. and USA Basketball, that Nike has committed to reprising every two years.

The World Basketball Festival, August 12-15, features basketball’s leading brands within the NIKE Inc. portfolio - Converse, the Jordan Brand, and Nike Basketball.

The World Basketball Festival is a uniquely dynamic event, from the moment it tips off with a showcase featuring members of the 2010 USA Basketball National Team on an open-air court in Times Square, to an unprecedented Times Square concert by a surprise musical act, to the final games of the weekend between four of the best teams in the world at Madison Square Garden.

“The World Basketball Festival will be an unforgettable event for the people of New York City and basketball fans around the world,” said Charlie Denson, Nike Brand President. “Every two years we plan to connect the global world of basketball to celebrate the sport while leaving a lasting legacy within the community.”

From Times Square on August 12, the action moves uptown to New York City’s legendary basketball courts at Rucker Park in Harlem, Friday and Saturday, August 13 and 14.

Rucker Park will be home to open-air practices and scrimmages by National Teams from Brazil and Puerto Rico, and training by France, mixed with performances by top international music acts, in addition to a grassroots youth tournament serving as the championships for some of New York’s top summer basketball leagues. Fans will also be invited to participate in clinics here designed to improve training and basketball skills. The two days at Rucker Park will culminate with a special celebration on Saturday, August 14. Details will be provided closer to the day.

The World Basketball Festival concludes Sunday, August 15 with an exciting exhibition double-header featuring the United States taking on France (1 p.m. EDT) and China meeting Puerto Rico (3:30 p.m. EDT) at famed Madison Square Garden.

The exhibition games are being utilized as part of the teams’ preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship in Turkey, August 28 to September 12.

“We’re thrilled with the opportunity to bring the energy and excitement of USA Basketball’s Men’s National Team to fans and give them with a way to celebrate their team,” said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball Chairman. “We are honored to have the opportunity to represent the United States in the FIBA World Championship and I can’t think of a better sendoff for our team than the World Basketball Festival.”

NIKE, Inc. will use the backdrop of the World Basketball Festival to debut the United We Rise initiative as a catalyst to improve communities through basketball. Over the next two years, Nike is partnering with USA Basketball and New York City, in particular the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and the New York City Housing Authority, to support youth programming and the installation and refurbishment of basketball courts at 25 Community Centers throughout New York City.

“Piloting programs with these 25 rec centers in New York City will allow Nike and other partners to create a new and sustainable model that we can bring to other communities in years to come,” added Denson.

Nike is committed to leaving every court it uses throughout the World Basketball Festival in better shape than what it was at the beginning including dedicating the hardwood courts that will be used in Times Square and Rucker Park to locations where courts are still needed in New York City.

John Wall Signs 25Million dollar Deal with Reebok

John Wall, the 19-year-old Kentucky guard and anticipated No. 1 NBA draft pick in late June, has signed a multi-million dollar endorsement deal with Reebok, according to Yahoo Sports and Wall's twitter account.

The package is reportedly worth $25 million over five years and was negotiated by Wall’s reps Dan Fegan of Lagardere Unlimited and Brian Clifton of Pindar Enterprises. Reebok apparently offered a better deal than Nike and Under Armour.

The deal surpasses recent industry standards for athlete endorsements in a downturned economy. Blake Griffin, last year’s No. 1 pick, signed with Nike for $400,000 a year.

The Washington Wizards, who are slated to announce new owner Ted Leonsis this afternoon, won the NBA draft lottery and have the top pick on June 24th and are expected to take Wall.

TV rating up from last year

The Celtics' series-tying win earned the highest preliminary rating for Game 2 of an NBA finals since 2004.

Boston's 103-94 victory Sunday night on ABC drew a 10.9 overnight rating. That's up 10 percent from the 9.9 for last year's Magic-Lakers Game 2.
Ratings measure the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Overnight ratings represent the country's largest markets.

Adidas renews with UCLA

Adidas is looking to extend its partnership with UCLA as the school's official supplier of athletic apparel, according to a report in the SportsBusiness Daily.

UCLA and adidas have been partners since 1999, and the extension of the initial deal was set to expire this month. UCLA is the only school in the Pac-10 conference that is not outfitted by Nike Inc.

The Portland Oregonian reports that the new extension could be close to adidas' top collegiate partner, the University of Michigan. The Michigan-adidas deal brings in $7.5 million to the school annually. The current UCLA-adidas deal brings in $4.57 million annually.

Should a UCLA-adidas deal approach the figures of the Michigan deal, it would at least be in the top three in the Pac-10. It would be tops amongst public schools in the conference, a distinction it already holds.

The University of Southern California and Stanford University, both private schools, do not disclose the figures of their apparel deals.

R.I.P John Wooden