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ESPN to Present 19th Annual Nike Hoop Summit This April

By: Mar. 29, 2016
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The 2016 Nike Hoop Summit will be televised live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 9 from the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

Handling play-by-play for ESPN will be Mike Couzens, and Paul Biancardi with Fran Fraschilla filling the role of analyst for the broadcast.

In its 19th year, the Nike Hoop Summit features a USA BASKETBALL Men's Junior National Select Team that includes some of the best U.S. high school seniors against a World Select Team that is comprised of top international players who are 19 years old or younger. Since the first Nike Hoop Summit was held in 1995, every game has been nationally televised.

"We are excited that fans throughout the United States can watch the Nike Hoop Summit and see some of the best young players from this country and around the world," said Jim Tooley, USA BASKETBALL CEO/Executive Director. "This game is fun to watch, and it is very competitive. We know the U.S. players will be determined get a win."

Headlining the U.S. roster are three-time USA BASKETBALL gold medalists Terrance Ferguson (Advanced Prep International/Dallas, Texas), Josh Jackson (Justin-Siena H.S./Prolific Prep Academy, Calif./Southfield, Mich.) and Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.), who have won FIBA U17 and U19 world championships and are 19-0 together in major international competitions.

They are joined by: Jarrett Allen (Saint Stephen's Episcopal H.S./Austin, Texas), Marques Bolden (De Soto H.S./Dallas, Texas), De'Aaron FOX (Cypress Lakes H.S./Katy, Texas), Markelle Fultz (DeMatha Catholic H.S./Upper Marlboro, Md.), Wenyen Gabriel (Wilbraham and Monson/Manchester, N.H.); Jonathan Isaac (IMG Academy/Naples, Fla.), Frank Jackson (Lone Peak H.S./Alpine, Utah), Joshua Langford (Madison Academy/Huntsville, Ala.) and Payton Pritchard (West Linn H.S./West Linn, Ore.).

The ESPN 100 for the class of 2016 lists Tatum second, Josh Jackson third, FOX seventh, Fultz 10th, Frank Jackson 11th, Isaac 12th, Ferguson 13th, Langford 14th, Gabriel 15th, Allen 19th, Bolden 20th and Pritchard 52nd.

Fox and Gabriel have signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Kentucky; Fultz signed with the University of Washington; Isaac signed with Florida State University; Langford signed with Michigan State University; Pritchard signed at the University of Oregon; and Frank Jackson and Tatum signed with Duke University. Allen, Bolden, Ferguson and Josh Jackson remain uncommitted.

L.J. Goolsby (KC Run GMC, Kan.) will serve as USA head coach, and Eric Flannery (St. Edward H.S., Ohio) will be the assistant coach.

The 2016 World Select Team features ESPN's top-ranked player for the class of 2017, DeAndre Ayton (Hillcrest Academy, Ariz./Bahamas), and four players who have committed to U.S. colleges. Andres Feliz (West Oaks Academy, Fla./Dominican Republic) signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of South Florida, Justin Jackson (Hill Academy/Canada) signed with UNLV, Lauri Markkanen (HBA-Marsky Helsinki/Finland) signed with Arizona and Harry Froling (Australian Institute of Sports/Australia) verbally committed to Southern Methodist University for the 2017-18 NCAA season.

Seven-foot forward Thon Maker (Orangeville Prep, Canada/Australia) returns for his second Nike Hoop Summit after scoring two points and grabbing 10 rebounds in last year's game. Maker, an Australian national originally from South Sudan, will attend college in the USA in the 2016-17 season.

The roster, which features players from 10 different countries, also includes guards Edin Atic (AEK Athens, Greece/Bosnia & Herzegovina), Isaia Cordinier (Denain ASC Voltaire/France), William McDowell-White (Ignatius Park College/Australia), Wesley "Mogi" Silva (Paulistano/Unimed Sao Paolo/Brazil) and Martynas Varnas (Zalgiris Kaunas II/Lithuania), as well as 7-foot center Ziming Fan (Foshan Long Lions/China).

Leading the World Team for a sixth straight year will be Roy Rana (Canada), and Marin Sedlacek, who is making his 16th Hoop Summit appearance, will assist him.

USA Basketball teams have compiled a 12-6 overall advantage in the series. Most recently, 30 points from Jamal Murray (Kentucky/Canada) helped the World Team capture an exciting 103-101 win that saw Luke Kennard (Duke/Franklin, Ohio) score 22 points for the USA. In 2014, the USA won 84-73 as Justise Winslow (Duke/Houston, Texas) lead the USA with 16 points.

An incredible 178 former USA and World Select Team members have been drafted by NBA teams, and a remarkable 78 former U.S. players and 33 former World team members were active in the NBA as of the start of the 2015-16 season.

Tickets for the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit are on sale now. Lower bowl seating starts at just $10, and courtside seats are $35 and $50. Service charges apply. Tickets are available at bit.ly/NHXtix the Rose Quarter Box Office or by calling 800-745-3000.



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