The Nike Hoop Summit isn’t simply another “all-star” game along the lines of the McDonald’s All America Game or the Jordan Brand Classic.
As opposed to those events, which match teams based on geography, the Hoop Summit matches the best players from the United States against some of the top young players from around the world.
On Sunday the United States roster for the April 20 event was announced, with players such as twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison, forward Jabari Parker and forward Julius Randle making the list.
The full roster (hometown and the college to which they’ve committed in parentheses):
G Aaron Harrison (Richmond, Texas/Kentucky)
G Andrew Harrison (Richmond, Texas/Kentucky)
G Kasey Hill (Eustis, Fla./Florida)
G Demetrius Jackson (Mishawaka, Ind./Notre Dame)
F Aaron Gordon (San Jose, Cal./Undecided)
F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Philadelphia, Pa./Arizona)
F Jabari Parker (Chicago, Ill./Duke)
F Bobby Portis (Little Rock, Ark./Arkansas)
F Julius Randle (McKinney, Texas/Undecided)
F Noah Vonleh (Haverhill, Mass./Indiana)
Of the ten players on the roster only two have yet to commit to a school and both are power forwards: Gordon and Randle.
According to Scout.com Gordon is down to three schools: Arizona, Kentucky and Washington. Randle has a longer list, as Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, NC State, Oklahoma and Texas are still in the running for his services.
The United States team will be coached by Mike Jones, who is the head coach at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland, and he will be assisted by Cory Alexander of the Boo Williams AAU program.
The World team won last year’s game 84-75, with 2013 prospect Andrew Wiggins scoring a team-high 20 points to lead the way. UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad led all scorers with 35 points.
The World team will be announced in late February or early March according to event organizers, but it’s a safe bet that Wiggins will be one of the players on that roster.
Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.
