PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Michael Porter Jr., who recently de-committed from Washington to verbally commit to Missouri, scored 19 points and the U.S. national junior select team beat the world team 98-87 in the 20th annual Nike Hoop Summit.
Porter, the 2017 Naismith Trophy Player who is widely viewed as the top player in the 2017 class, saved his best and most exciting play for the last minute of the game, finishing back-to-back plays with one-handed slam dunks to seal the win for the United States.
Jarred Vanderbilt also had 19 points and Troy Brown Jr., who signed a national letter of intent to play at Oregon, also got cheers from the crowd at the Moda Center and finished with five points.
“It’s a great honor just to see my name next to all these great players. All 12 of these guys (on the U.S. roster) are McDonald’s All-Americans, so you know you’re really playing with the best,” Porter said after the game.
Porter’s father, Michael Porter Sr., was an assistant at Washington under coach Lorenzo Romar last season. The elder Porter recently joined new coach Cuonzo Martin’s staff at Missouri.
Germany’s Isaiah Hartenstein, son of former Oregon basketball player Florian Hartenstein and a projected 2017 NBA draft pick, was the biggest name on the world’s roster and had 10 points. Kostja Mushidi, projected to be a second round 2017 draft pick, led the world team with 14 points.
The annual Hoop Summit competition features the best 19-and-under players in the world.
NBA players like Serge Ibaka (2008), Tony Parker (2000), Kryie Irving (2010) and Kevin Love (2007) all played in the Hoop Summit in past years, making it a wildly popular event for NBA scouts and media members looking to familiarize themselves with up-and-coming young talent.
Unlike the 2016 competition where the U.S. team dominated for 101-67 victory, Friday’s game stayed close throughout, despite both teams struggling with turnovers. The United States closed the first half with an alley-oop from Collin Sexton to MJ Walker for a 10-point halftime lead.
The world team didn’t allow the United States a basket for the first two minutes of the fourth quarter and was able to close the gap to four-points off of a breakaway lay-up from Iowa State commit Lindell Wigginton, but that is as close as they would get.
“We tried in the second half to play a little bit harder,” world team assistant coach Marin Sedlaceck said. “But in the last quarter we missed nine free-throws. You cannot miss free throws, especially in a moment when you’re down by five. We didn’t have the juice to turn the game (to) our side.”
Photo credit –Â (Billy Gates/The Oregonian via AP)/The Oregonian via AP)(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
