Although Bahamian DeAndre Ayton was a hit among college coaches and scouts at this year’s Nike Hoops Summit in Portland, Oregon, his effort wasn’t enough to propel a bad Team World to a win over a loaded USA team in the camp’s scrimmage game on Saturday.
Ayton led the way for Team World with eight points and seven rebounds, but it wasn’t close to being enough to give his team a fighting chance as they fell, 101-67. This year’s USA team had incredible depth on the wing and simply outmatched the foreigners as they cruised to an easy win. Terrence Ferguson came up huge for Team USA; he hit seven three pointers to finish with 21 points in the game.
Team USA finished with 36 three-point attempts, setting a record for the most attempts in the event’s history. The 34-point margin was also the largest in the 19-year history of the event. “The USA just really attacked us, they threw the first punch and we didn’t get together and really execute out plays,” said Ayton.
Team USA jumped out to a 20-7 lead after the first quarter and stretched that lead to 40-22 at the half. They won easily, but Real GM writer Christopher Reina was in attendance for the week-long training camp and had a positive take on Ayton’s time in Portland.
He said: “Ayton has the perfect build and level of athleticism for a modern big with explosion to the rim and a tremendously promising jumper. He is an early frontrunner to go first overall for the 2018 draft. Ayton has great mid-range jumper potential, but his flat trajectory is an issue when he steps back to the three-point line. He gets his lower body into his jumper well and it should be a dependable part of his game.
