If Saturday night's Nike Hoop Summit in Portland was any indication, Duke and Kentucky have a lot to look forward to next season.
Duke-bound guard Austin Rivers scored a game-high 20 points, leading the U.S. to a 92-80 victory, earning MVP honors and cementing his reputation as the most college-ready player in his class. Meanwhile, future Kentucky freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague each started for the U.S. team, with Davis scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards and Gilchrist adding 16 points and 5 blocks.
U.S. coach Kevin Sutton got a firsthand view of the 10 American players, seven of which he'd already coached in international competition the previous two summers. I spoke to the former Montverde Academy coach by phone on Monday to get his impression of how some of these top prospects will fare in college next year.
JE: Most analysts agree that Austin Rivers is the most polished prospect of any player in his class. What impresses you about him and is there any facet of his game that needs the most work?
KS: Austin is an outstanding player, first and foremost. He's very deserving of all the accolades bestowed upon him. I told Austin the area he needs to improve upon the most is his maturity level. I think now he's a much more mature player. His basketball IQ is very high. He understands he can score in different ways. Before he was a volume shooter, but now he's very efficient.
JE: Anthony Davis' growth spurt last year vaulted to the top of the national rankings in many people's eyes. How high is his upside?
KS: I was most impressed with Anthony's length and his unbelievable hands. Last summer he was 6-foot-3 and now he's a legitimate 6-foot-11. He runs the floor very well, he has tremendous hand-eye coordination and obviously his shot-blocking ability on the defensive end. I'm just real impressed with his overall potential.
JE: Three of the four Kentucky recruits in the game were playing on your team. Could you tell they enjoyed playing together and did they have some additional chemistry?
KS: They definitely had chemistry and synergy. They like each other an awful lot and they spent a great deal of time together off the court as well as on the court. Marquis Teague is a solid guard who's going to be a very good college player. Michael Gilchrist is a basketball player that doesn't have a real position in my opinion and is always going to have stats across the board. And then obviously Anthony has a great deal of potential and tremendous upside. I would venture to say Kentucky's looking pretty good as long as they're there.
JE: What position do you see Gilchrist making the most impact at in college?
KS: He's a young man who plays so hard that he's going to do whatever the team needs him to do to win. If Coach Cal asked him to play the three, he would happily play the three. If the opportunity for more minutes was at the four, I'm certain he'd welcome that opportunity as well. His ability to guard several positions is going to make him that much more attractive as a player.
JE: Tony Wroten's passing ability stood out to me, though it led to both easy baskets and turnovers. Were you impressed with his court vision and unselfishness?
KS: I've always loved Tony. I think he brings a number of things to the table. He's a tremendous defender, first and foremost. He has great athleticism and ability and great size. But his court vision is tremendous. He has learned time, score and possession of the ball. He's going to be that much more valuable at the next level because he can make passes that other players dare not throw. Sometimes it's a completed pass and sometimes it's not, but as he continues to mature, I think he'll learn when to make the simple pass versus when to make the spectacular one.
JE: Foul trouble prevented James McAdoo from making much impact in the game itself, but I've heard he stood out in practice. How has he improved since you first saw him?
KS: I've had James for the last two summers so I know exactly what he does well. James is a tremendous basketball player with a high basketball IQ. He understands the scouting report, he understands the game and he's such a tremendous rebounder and fluid athlete. He's going to have a great career at the University of North Carolina and I'd venture to say he ends up playing 10 years in the NBA because he's a great player and such a great teammate.
JE: Rakeem Christmas still looked like a work in progress offensively. Is his back-to-the-basket game the area where he needs to improve most?
KS: His defense is definitely ahead of his offense. Rakeem had tremendous practices. I was very pleased. He had a great attitude and he played very hard. From what everyone was observing, they said he had better practices at the Hoop Summit than he did at the McDonald's game.
JE: This is probably a difficult question, but if you had to pick one or two of these guys to make the biggest immediate impact in college, who would you select?
KS: That's a very tough question because a lot of it depends on the circumstance at their particular universities. Some of them may have opportunities early in their career, some of them in the middle of their careers and some of them late in their careers. They're all talented players, they're all quality people and they all have bright futures.
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