Young USA too much in scrimmage - 2007-07-02
By ROSS TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
When the Chinese senior national basketball team came to SMU's Moody Coliseum, NBA draft picks Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue had a chance to learn about American-style basketball.
But the Chinese team's scrimmage against the USA Basketball 19-and-under team taught it this: The kids are all right.
The younger, more physical Americans were more effective offensively and pressured the Chinese team en route to a 91-75 victory Sunday.
The Americans forced 24 turnovers, resulting in 27 points. The USA coaching staff emphasized defensive pressure throughout team trials last week.
"We practiced defense for two hours this morning, and they never once looked at me like I was crazy," USA coach Jerry Wainwright said. "I think they take pride in stopping people."
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In a press release Saturday, USA Basketball touted its squad's eight players with collegiate experience. However, Team USA's recent high school grads played a large role in the victory.
Michael Beasley, who will be a freshman at Kansas State, started and contributed seven of the team's first nine points. Beasley finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
"He's a great young talent, and the sky's the limit," Wainwright said. "He's got an unorthodox game, but as he disciplines himself, he's going to become just a great young player."
DeAndre Jordan, headed to Texas A&M, had one of the game's highlights, dunking over a Chinese forward in the second quarter. Jordan finished with seven points.
Oregon's Tajuan Porter led the Americans with 20 points, 15 from 3-point range.
Zhu Fangyu led China with 20 points. Liu Wei added 12 points, but also had a layup swatted into the Chinese bench by South Oak Cliff product Darrell Arthur, now of Kansas.
USA begins Global Games play on Thursday. The Chinese team will play the Mavericks' summer league squad on Tuesday.
Yi struggles early: In his first game on American soil since being drafted, Yi had trouble converting in the paint against strong American forwards, finishing the first half 0-for-4 from the field and 1-for-4 from the line.
In the second half, Yi began to find the shooting touch that was a primary factor in his No. 6 overall selection by the Milwaukee Bucks. He hit several midrange jumpers off screens and began converting from the free throw line, finishing with 15 points.
"It's the first time this season we worked with Yi, and it's been one month since we worked with Sun Yue, so maybe other guys expected too much from them," China coach Jonas Kazlauskas said.
Wang returns: Former Maverick Wang Zhizhi returned to Dallas as part of the Chinese team for Sunday's scrimmage.
Wang and Yi were met by hearty ovations from Chinese fans upon entering the court. Wang finished with eight points.
