(Submitted By: Malek Williams)
This summer, the men's USA 18U team have come out and shown their superiority overseas with two dominating victories (105-42 vs. U.S. Virgin Island & 110-59 vs. Mexico). The crew averages 107 points per game while their opponents only average 50 points per game, also they're shooting 56% from the field. Coming off the bench, Shaq Goodwin is averaging an amazing 21.5 points per game and shooting 90% from the field. In game one, Shaq shot 100% from the field and added on six free throws to have a perfect shooting game with 30 points and sparked a great offensive start from the team. Also coming off of the bench, Montrezl Harrell is also shooting 90% from the field on 10 shot attempts, but more importantly, Harrell leads the team in rebounds with a total of 15 boards averaging 7.5 a game. Another player, leading the assist category is James Robinson. In his average of 16.5 minutes per game; which is in the middle of average playing time, comes out and displays teamwork by averaging 4.5 steals a game. Lastly, leading the team in steals is Marcus Smart averaging 3 per game. Surprisingly the starter only averages 13.5 minutes per game, but comes out and gets things going on the defensive end. With four out of the five categories covered, three of the leaders were coming off of the bench. This shows how well rounded the team is and the quality depth they have. Besides injured Sam Dekker, all but one player average over 30 minutes per game and that is what will make this team strong and consistent throughout the tournament. With all of the heat being brought from the team, they have come across the name "hot squad" for their accurate shooting and their dominating attitude on the court. We will see if they will be able to hold onto the name for the rest of the tournament.
The next game for the "hot squad" will be tonight against the 2-0 Brazil team. Brazil is always known to have some competitive players in basketball that have made it to the NBA such as: Rafael Araujo(Utah Jazz), Leandro Barbosa(Pheonix Suns), Anderson Varejao(Cleveland Cavaliers), Marcus Vinicius(N.O. Hornets), and Nene(Denver Nuggets). It will be interesting to see what Coach Billy Donovan has in plan for the game tonight at 6:00pm*, and whatever it is, it should be good.
To see complete 18U Men's USA Team Roster http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/u18/roster.html
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