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Surprisingly aggressive on the offensive end...got to the basket a few times and threw down a monster dunk

Pete Sumulong via Twitter

USA National Team minicamp set to open in Las Vegas

Twenty-three of the top young NBA talents will assemble Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the July 23-25 USA Basketball Men's National Team mini-camp.

The USA Basketball Men's National Team mini-camp will feature practice sessions on July 23 and July 24 at Valley High School, and the mini-camp will be capped by the USA Basketball Showcase, a Blue-White intra-squad game, on Saturday, July 24, 7 p.m. (PDT) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2009 USA Basketball Showcase, with seats priced at $10 to $75. Tickets can be purchased through http://www.UNLVtickets.com or 702-739-FANS.

NBA.com

The Candidates

PGs:
Chauncey Billups, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose & Russell Westbrook

Wings:
Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon, Danny Granger, Andre Iguodala, O.J. Mayo
Durant is on the team and is likely to be the starting small forward when the U.S. takes the floor against Croatia on Aug. 28. The biggest unknown going into camp may be who the starting two guard will be.

You can separate the rest of this group into shooters and non-shooters. Figure that either Mayo or Gordon make the team for their shooting, and Granger would be valuable as a combo-forward. Iguodala is the most experienced and is also the best defender, so Gay may be the odd man out.

Fours:
Jeff Green, Lamar Odom, Gerald Wallace

Bigs:
Tyson Chandler, David Lee, Brook Lopez, Robin Lopez, Kevin Love, Amar'e Stoudemire, JaVale McGee

John Schumann, NBA.com

mkwest wrote:In response to the question of how EJ is looking at the USA minicamp...

Surprisingly aggressive on the offensive end...got to the basket a few times and threw down a monster dunk

Pete Sumulong via Twitter

mkwest wrote:
Coach K shares his thoughts on Gordon in the first video clip.

breaking bad wrote:

mkwest wrote:
Coach K shares his thoughts on Gordon in the first video clip.

Can't get all his words, could someone help me with the quote? Only for the EJ part

CLiPPzWeRD12 wrote:

breaking bad wrote:

mkwest wrote:
Coach K shares his thoughts on Gordon in the first video clip.

Can't get all his words, could someone help me with the quote? Only for the EJ part

"Eric Gordon is a powerful player.. Offensively, he fills the lane great, he can shoot it, and I think he could be.. he's a really good defender also.. he's a great kid."

At least that's what I got out of it.. Hope that helps!

chupamilto21 wrote:Sorry here is the video again

http://vimeo.com/13543199

Clippers' Gordon seeks U.S. spot

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Gordon came on strong as the week progressed and added the coaching staff will need the extra evaluation period from Saturday's Blue-White intrasquad scrimmage to get a better feel for the 6-foot-3, 222-pound guard from Indiana.

"Eric Gordon was terrific," Colangelo said, before praising the defense of Gordon, who has made his mark in the NBA as an offensive marksman. "We thought we had some good defensive people in '08 in the backcourt. I'll tell you right now, guys that we have in the backcourt here like Gordon, like [Derrick] Rose, like [Rajon] Rondo, like [Russell] Westbrook, they were terrific. We're going to really utilize that."

Gordon said the camp has helped him polish his point guard skills, something that could pay off for the Clippers next season.

"I've played a lot of point guard out here with this type of talent and I think I'll be able to adapt later on," Gordon said. "I'll probably play a little more 1 this year because we don't have that many point guards so I'll adapt to doing that a little bit."

Dave McMenamin, ESPN Los Angeles