The Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 8th at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. FSN will broadcast the game live at 4 PM EST.
Because of the age limit, NBA scouts will only be allowed to attend the World Select team practices and the game itself, but DraftExpress scout Mike Schmidt will be in Memphis covering everything.
Last year, Tyler Hansbrough gave UNC fans a taste of what to expect in his freshman season by absolutely dominating the game with 31 points and 10 rebounds en route to a 106-98 win by the US.
2006 World Roster.
2006 US Roster
Kevin Durant - 6'9, 200 lbs; SF; signed with Texas
McDonald's All-American Stats: 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists (co-MVP)
Jonathan Watters
Even in a 2006 class with a phenomenal amount of superstar potential, it is hard to overstate the upside of Texas-bound Kevin Durant. Durant has long tantalized scouts with an impossible to replicate combination of length, athleticism and shooting ability for quite some time now, and he displayed plenty of it in last week's McDonald's All-American game. To put it simply, there aren't many better shooters at any level - I'm not talking five years down the road, but right now. Did we mention he is pushing 6'10, and is a terrific athlete?
Everything about Kevin Durant's game is smooth. He handles the ball quite well for a big kid still in high school, and is already capable of taking formidable opponents off the dribble. His shot is entirely effortless, deadly quick, and impossible to block. He appears to be more comfortable playing on the perimeter at the moment, and doesn't have the bulk or physical nature to play in the post at this point. For these reasons, it is easy to see Durant as an NBA SF someday. He says he patterns his game after Rashard Lewis, and it is easy to see the similarities there.
Of course, Durant has the potential to be much more than just a 3-point bombing big man. His remarkable touch isn't confined to outside the arc, as he looks very agile and fluid in the lane and around the rim. Midrange and turnaround jumpers come just as easily as 3-pointers, when he attempts them. His long arms and quick leaping ability give him the potential to be a "perimeter-oriented PF", provided the Texas coaching staff can get him in the weight room and convince him to utilize that natural length advantage closer to the basket.
While there is a bit of Darius Rice in his game, you would have to go back quite a long time to find a player with the potential to be a Kevin Garnett-mold prospect as good as Kevin Durant. He first must decide whether he wants to be strictly an outside shooter and slasher, or would like to develop into an inside/outside threat. Scouts will get their chance to evaluate him next year at Texas, but it is pretty clear that if it wasn't for the age limit, only a couple of NBA teams would have gotten the chance to work him out before the 2006 draft.
Whats Next for Durant: Jordan Classic on April 22nd in New York, New York