Special by I. Powers

The first game of the final day of the 2009 Nike Global Challenge was one that featured some young international players that should attract the attention of NBA scouts over the next few years. Serbia faced off against the All-Asia team, which featured about three players from Australia. The Asian team has some interesting guys who are capable of one day playing in the league. The headliner in this group would have to be 7'1 big Li Muhao, a very long and thin prospect who has a pretty good face up game. He's not a banger by any stretch, but he does excel in transition and being able to use his quickness to put the ball on the floor and beat slower defenders to the basket. He has been on the radar for about a year according to the scouts who were in attendance. Word is that he'll be working out with Tim Grover in Chicago in order to get bigger and stronger, which he desperately needs. Jie Zhao, a 6'5 guard, was the standout for the Asian team in Sunday's game. He is rail thin, but has a nice confident stroke. He lets it go from deep and connects on them more often than not. He flashed a nice ability to put the ball on the floor, although this is not his calling card. Zhao is a tough competitor and was the glue that kept everything together for his team despite the loss. He's young and will have time to develop his body and try to utilize the dribble a little more to become a more effective player, but definitely a kid that scouts should keep an eye on. He led the Asian team with 30 points in the game. The Serbian team also featured a nice prospect in 6'6 wing Svetozar Stamenkovic, who  is a well built wing, but is not the most athletic guy, though he does have a nice stroke and is tough as nails. Stamenkovic went toe to toe with Harrison Barnes the day before, scoring 35 in the overtime loss to USA Midwest. He followed it up Sunday with a 38 point effort against the All-Asia team. His main drawbacks are a lack of athleticism, that should be best described as average, and lacking much ability to put the ball on the floor. His prospects for playing in the league are okay at best right now until he improves in those areas. He gives you that toughness needed to win games, much in the mold of Argentinian forward Andres Nocioni of the Sacramento Kings.
The second game of the day was between two of the more disappointing American teams. USA West/South faced a talented, but enigmatic USA Midwest team. The West/South team was led with 27 points by 6'3 shooting guard JT Terrell '10, a Wake Forest-commit from Cummings (NC). Terrell gives new meaning to the term "never met a shot he didn't like." He has absolutely no conscious and reminds me a lot of former NBA player John Starks in that he can shoot you into a game and shoot you out of a game. His lack of discipline and inability to play the point will hurt him at the next level. He needs to be reigned in by a tough coach in order to be able to become a better team player. He inexplicably attempted a pass to himself off the glass for a dunk late in the game in a half court set with three or four guys already under the basket that drew some harsh remarks from the NBA people sitting next to me. Needless to say, the play did not quite work out the way that he would have hoped. CJ Leslie '10 of Word of God Academy (NC) was productive again for his team. He seems to always be around the ball and his activity will get him noticed every time out. His skill set is still very raw and he lacks a very high IQ, but his length, activity, and bounce make him very intriguing. Florida-pledge Austin Rivers'11 out of Winter Park (FL) continued his uneven play Sunday. He was 3/14 from the floor, with all three field goals being threes and nine of his 14 attempts coming from long distance. He hunts the deep ball a little too much in my opinion and often settles for that shot when he can try to utilize his handle to get into the lane. For the Midwest team it was Harrison Barnes '10 of Ames (IA) who once again led the way. He had a rough start to the game, finishing with only six points in the first half. He got it rolling in the second half finishing with a game-high 28 points. There really is not much more to be said. He is a great young talent and has a bright future ahead of him at the highest level. We actually got signs of life from Baylor-commit Perry Jones '10 of Duncanville (TX) today. He finished with a quiet 16 points, but his impact still left a lot to be desired. He showed a nice drive game off the face up and his athleticism was on display on a couple of nice lobs that he was able to finish. Heart and effort are two things that will get him to the next level and tap into his enormous potential, so stay tuned. Ray McCallum '10  from Detroit Country Day School (MI) was steady again on Sunday. He will not wow you with athleticism or quickness, but he makes the right plays and hardly ever turns the ball over. He is a coach's son—Detroit Head Coach Ray McCallum, Sr. is his father—and it shows. One NBA scout said that he wasn't sure how good he will be, but he knows that wherever he goes he will make that team a lot better. Check back tomorrow for a top prospects report.

Note- photo on the left is of Austin Rivers and photo on the right is of Ray McCallum; both are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/