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Portland, OR – The USA men’s team needed overtime to get past the World team 124-114 at the Nike Hoop Summit which was held at the Moda Center on Saturday evening. The USA was led by 24 points from both AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) with 24 points each. Dybantsa scored most of his points in the first half while Acuff Jr. came on in the second half. Cameron Boozer (Duke) added an impressive 22 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Trey McKinney (Michigan) also came on late and finished with 22 points. 6’5 Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor) led the World team with 24 points.
Most of us who were at the practices during the week thought the USA team would likely win the game by a fairly large margin, so the competitiveness of the game was a bit of a surprise. The World team took a nine-point lead into halftime. Then the USA used a 37-point third quarter to storm out to a 15-point lead. The World team then made a late comeback and tied the game at 98 on a Yessoufou layup to send the game to overtime. McKinney helped the USA take control in overtime with nine points and Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville) closed the game out with ten points at the foul line. The 124 points scored by the USA was a Hoop Summit record.
Much has been written about the top USA players (Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Acuff Jr. etc.) so we’ll review some of the World players that impressed us during the game and at the practices earlier in the week.
Yessoufou was the most impressive World player, both in the game and at the practices. At 6’5”+ and 216 pounds he’s a strong lead guard who can score on penetration as well as from outside. The Baylor commit has the strength and ability to step right into a starting role as a freshman. Yessoufou is from Benin and is ranked No. 14 in the 2025 class.
Dame Sarr, a 6’7.5” shooting guard from Italy impressed with 17 points and four rebounds. Sarr checks all the boxes for an NBA level shooting guard and has a 6’11.75” wingspan. He has been in the Barcelona club system since 2022 and played for their top team in Liga Endesa this season, averaging 5.8 points in 13.4 minutes per game. Sarr has excelled in the European youth championships he played in, averaging in double-figures. Sarr appears likely to play in college next season with Illinois, Duke and other high majors in the picture.
Bogoljub Markovic, a 6’11 forward from Serbia was solid with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Markovic showed the ability to score inside and out, connecting on 3-of-4 three-pointers and 6-of-7 from the field overall. This season he averaged 13.7 points on 39.1% three-point shooting, with 6.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists playing for Mega in the Adriatic League. He’s projected as an early second round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
UConn recruit Eric Reibe, a 6’11.75” center from Germany showed a nice skill set during the week and had 11 points and eight rebounds in the game. Reibe is another big who can score inside and out and runs the floor well. He’s had some injury problems in the past but if he can stay healthy, he’ll be in UConn’s rotation next season.
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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