Hoop Summit: Game Day
20 abril 2009
After losing his first four Nike Hoop Summits, World Select Team head coach ROB BEVERIDGE recorded his first victory in Portland Saturday ...
I really felt earlier in the week that this group was coming together. They enjoyed each other's company and we spent a lot of time on team bonding exercises.
We went ten-pin bowling and were laughing at each other for the gutter balls and because the bowling alley were struggling to find size 17 shoes for some of the guys. We had competitive drills and the guys had to do push-ups or have piggy-back races when they lost. All that really brought this group together and you saw what this team is about.
This is the biggest challenge I could ever have in my coaching career. I have spent year after year listening to the USA guys talk about the problems they have of bringing their team together but unless a coach has been in the situation we're in, you really have no idea of the difficulties we face.
It's like a game of chess and trying to teach all the players which piece they are in the game and obviously the biggest challenge we have is doing that with the language barrier to overcome.
So, while the win is fantastic, I'm more concerned that the players appreciate what they have actually done - they have done something very very special and I feel privileged to call myself their coach.
I'll always think how lucky I am. I'm a professional coach, I get to travel the world, develop friendships with people and have long-term relationships with many of the players and I know I will keep in touch and follow the careers of many of these kids.
At the end, our celebrations were pretty wild and that was relief more than anything. I'm a competitive guy and to beat the USA on their own court with so many things against us ... that was pretty special.
DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS, from Lithuania, scored 21 points in the World Select Team's 97-89 victory in the Nike Hoop Summit game in Portland Saturday.
This is history!
The last time the World Team beat the USA in this game was 1998 so beating them here in Portland is awesome for us and, especially, for the coaches.
From 10 different players, selfish players including me, the coach built a TEAM. Not every coach could do that and you have to honor our coach, Rob Beveridge, for doing it.
Of course, the USA thought they were better than us but we proved we were the better team and, again, that is thanks to the coaches and I thank them with all my heart.
Rob has been coaching this team for five years and he has so much experience which he passed on to us and that is why we won the game.
It seemed like the week started slowly but it finished like an explosion! For me, the second half of the game was really enjoyable, the first half not so much, but I think I finished the game strong.
There was quite a big crowd at the game but when you have played in some of the gyms I have played in in Lithuania, then the noise and the crowd tonight is nothing!
The NBA is a dream for me - of course it is, who wouldn't want to play there? And watching the game between the Blazers and the Lakers on Friday showed me what the NBA is like. Did tonight show me I'm ready for the NBA? I don't know. I am waiting to hear from somebody! I have said before, when the people around me tell me I am ready for the NBA, then I am ready. Not until then.
So the week is over and I have so many memories, it is impossible to pick just one. There will not be one memory I take home, there will be lots - both on the court and off it where this was my first ever time in America.
But if I had to choose one memory, it would probably be the final buzzer when our celebrations started. The World Team has waited 11 long years for a victory. Now, thanks to the coaches, and teamwork, we have made history.
MILAN MACVAN led the World Select Team to a 97-89 victory at Nike Hoop Summit in Portland Saturday, scoring 23 points and adding 14 rebounds and 6 assists.
I have won against a US team before, at the World Championships in Novi Sad, and any time you beat Americans is special. America is the biggest country in the world for basketball so to beat them in their own country ... it is hard to describe.
This was an enjoyable week for me - my first time in the USA - and I am glad I was selected because I learned so much and had so many experiences.
Even though there were some language problems at first, we made friendships that will last for a long time and, even though many of us knew each other from playing in Europe, we had not played together before.
We obviously spent a lot of time in practice but we did many different things as well - like designing Nike iD shoes for a team mate.
There was fun but, of course, the week was about the game and, while the game was tough, we played a lot of zone and that helped us win. Zone is how we beat the USA in Novi Sad and we did the same here. Maybe that's the way to beat the USA all the time.
After the game, there were many journalists asking us questions. One said I reminded him of Kevin Love. He's a great player, I love Kevin Love, but I don't want to be Kevin Love! I want to be Milan!
When I was young I liked a European player, Vlade Divac, and, in the NBA, Charles Barkley, so maybe I am more like them.
The NBA is my dream, of course. We saw Portland play the Lakers on Friday and that was fantastic, my first NBA game. But maybe I have more chance in Europe because I'm not a great athlete. Maybe that's a problem for me, I don't know.
Now I must go home and play in the National Championships in Serbia which end in May and, after that, I'll talk to my agent about the NBA and the future. Right now, I have no plans.
But, like every kid in Europe, the NBA has always been my dream. I started playing basketball in the first place because I wanted to be Shaq O'Neal. That was my first basketball jersey and I still have it at home, though I can't fit in it any more!
Maybe one day I will be back here and playing again. Who knows?!
TOMISLAV ZUBCIC from Croatia hit 17 points in the World Team's 97-89 upset of the USA at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland Saturday.
I have learned so many things, about basketball and life, this week and I am so glad I was here and part of the win.
We feel we have been part of history and I am going back to Europe thinking maybe I can play now. After all, I have beaten the USA! How many Europeans my age can say that?
From the start, the Americans were saying that they would beat us and had the attitude that they would beat us easily. I didn't like that attitude and we showed them how to play. We showed them that they were not the best. We were!
The first thing you have to say is our coach, Rob Beveridge, did a very good job and the second is we played like a team - playing good defense. We stopped them because they like to run and we stopped them running thanks to our rebounding and our smart players.
When we play like that, this team could beat anybody.
I am very happy personally with my performance and the way I played tonight because other people were watching. I scored what I scored but I think I did other things to help us win and that was important.
Like every young guy, I dream of playing in the NBA but it is not in my mind right now because I do not think this one game will make such a difference.
To play in the NBA, you must play well for a few years and you must have experience for the NBA. I'm not yet ready to play in the NBA.
But I do think that I am a better player and I have had so much fun this week. It is something I will always remember.
Photo Credit: USA BASKETBALL
I really felt earlier in the week that this group was coming together. They enjoyed each other's company and we spent a lot of time on team bonding exercises.
We went ten-pin bowling and were laughing at each other for the gutter balls and because the bowling alley were struggling to find size 17 shoes for some of the guys. We had competitive drills and the guys had to do push-ups or have piggy-back races when they lost. All that really brought this group together and you saw what this team is about.
This is the biggest challenge I could ever have in my coaching career. I have spent year after year listening to the USA guys talk about the problems they have of bringing their team together but unless a coach has been in the situation we're in, you really have no idea of the difficulties we face.
It's like a game of chess and trying to teach all the players which piece they are in the game and obviously the biggest challenge we have is doing that with the language barrier to overcome.
So, while the win is fantastic, I'm more concerned that the players appreciate what they have actually done - they have done something very very special and I feel privileged to call myself their coach.
I'll always think how lucky I am. I'm a professional coach, I get to travel the world, develop friendships with people and have long-term relationships with many of the players and I know I will keep in touch and follow the careers of many of these kids.
At the end, our celebrations were pretty wild and that was relief more than anything. I'm a competitive guy and to beat the USA on their own court with so many things against us ... that was pretty special.
DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS, from Lithuania, scored 21 points in the World Select Team's 97-89 victory in the Nike Hoop Summit game in Portland Saturday.
This is history!
The last time the World Team beat the USA in this game was 1998 so beating them here in Portland is awesome for us and, especially, for the coaches.
From 10 different players, selfish players including me, the coach built a TEAM. Not every coach could do that and you have to honor our coach, Rob Beveridge, for doing it.
Of course, the USA thought they were better than us but we proved we were the better team and, again, that is thanks to the coaches and I thank them with all my heart.
Rob has been coaching this team for five years and he has so much experience which he passed on to us and that is why we won the game.
It seemed like the week started slowly but it finished like an explosion! For me, the second half of the game was really enjoyable, the first half not so much, but I think I finished the game strong.
There was quite a big crowd at the game but when you have played in some of the gyms I have played in in Lithuania, then the noise and the crowd tonight is nothing!
The NBA is a dream for me - of course it is, who wouldn't want to play there? And watching the game between the Blazers and the Lakers on Friday showed me what the NBA is like. Did tonight show me I'm ready for the NBA? I don't know. I am waiting to hear from somebody! I have said before, when the people around me tell me I am ready for the NBA, then I am ready. Not until then.
So the week is over and I have so many memories, it is impossible to pick just one. There will not be one memory I take home, there will be lots - both on the court and off it where this was my first ever time in America.
But if I had to choose one memory, it would probably be the final buzzer when our celebrations started. The World Team has waited 11 long years for a victory. Now, thanks to the coaches, and teamwork, we have made history.
MILAN MACVAN led the World Select Team to a 97-89 victory at Nike Hoop Summit in Portland Saturday, scoring 23 points and adding 14 rebounds and 6 assists.
I have won against a US team before, at the World Championships in Novi Sad, and any time you beat Americans is special. America is the biggest country in the world for basketball so to beat them in their own country ... it is hard to describe.
This was an enjoyable week for me - my first time in the USA - and I am glad I was selected because I learned so much and had so many experiences.
Even though there were some language problems at first, we made friendships that will last for a long time and, even though many of us knew each other from playing in Europe, we had not played together before.
We obviously spent a lot of time in practice but we did many different things as well - like designing Nike iD shoes for a team mate.
There was fun but, of course, the week was about the game and, while the game was tough, we played a lot of zone and that helped us win. Zone is how we beat the USA in Novi Sad and we did the same here. Maybe that's the way to beat the USA all the time.
After the game, there were many journalists asking us questions. One said I reminded him of Kevin Love. He's a great player, I love Kevin Love, but I don't want to be Kevin Love! I want to be Milan!
When I was young I liked a European player, Vlade Divac, and, in the NBA, Charles Barkley, so maybe I am more like them.
The NBA is my dream, of course. We saw Portland play the Lakers on Friday and that was fantastic, my first NBA game. But maybe I have more chance in Europe because I'm not a great athlete. Maybe that's a problem for me, I don't know.
Now I must go home and play in the National Championships in Serbia which end in May and, after that, I'll talk to my agent about the NBA and the future. Right now, I have no plans.
But, like every kid in Europe, the NBA has always been my dream. I started playing basketball in the first place because I wanted to be Shaq O'Neal. That was my first basketball jersey and I still have it at home, though I can't fit in it any more!
Maybe one day I will be back here and playing again. Who knows?!
TOMISLAV ZUBCIC from Croatia hit 17 points in the World Team's 97-89 upset of the USA at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland Saturday.
I have learned so many things, about basketball and life, this week and I am so glad I was here and part of the win.
We feel we have been part of history and I am going back to Europe thinking maybe I can play now. After all, I have beaten the USA! How many Europeans my age can say that?
From the start, the Americans were saying that they would beat us and had the attitude that they would beat us easily. I didn't like that attitude and we showed them how to play. We showed them that they were not the best. We were!
The first thing you have to say is our coach, Rob Beveridge, did a very good job and the second is we played like a team - playing good defense. We stopped them because they like to run and we stopped them running thanks to our rebounding and our smart players.
When we play like that, this team could beat anybody.
I am very happy personally with my performance and the way I played tonight because other people were watching. I scored what I scored but I think I did other things to help us win and that was important.
Like every young guy, I dream of playing in the NBA but it is not in my mind right now because I do not think this one game will make such a difference.
To play in the NBA, you must play well for a few years and you must have experience for the NBA. I'm not yet ready to play in the NBA.
But I do think that I am a better player and I have had so much fun this week. It is something I will always remember.
Photo Credit: USA BASKETBALL
CAMBIAR IDIOMA
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