McGee invited to USA Basketball workout

hands11 · Post #1 » by **hands11** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:30 am

I didn't see this any where and thought it was kind of big news.

Marc Spears, formerly of the Boston Globe and Denver Post and now Yahoo! Sports, reported on McGee's invitation last night and I just got confirmation from USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller. McGee will be among the 23 young NBA players to participate in the mini-camp, which will practice for two days then play a Blue and White intra-squad game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/wizard ... _news.html

If he made the team that would be huge for him. Playing for USA seemed to really help Melo mature. It also helped Kobe a lot. This could really help accelerate his development.

Also, looking at some recent pics of McGee, those 10 lbs of muscle seem to have landed in the right spots. His seps look ripped and a good bit bigger. Also, lets no forget his mother reported him at 7-1 bare footed. I guess he is 247 lbs now.

Benjammin · Post #2 » by **Benjammin** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 2:34 am

Hands, did you also hear that we landed on the moon? j/k

IBTM

eltacoman · Post #3 » by **eltacoman** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 7:31 am

With Blake injuring his shoulder.... Mcgee should get more looks ... the stars are aligning for our team... I believe this upcoming season is ours

http://www.usabasketball.com/
there is a pick with Javale against Greg Oden on the front page

Post #4 » by **LyricalRico** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:21 pm

^ Geez, Oden looks like JaVale's old, drunk uncle trying to lean on him for support during a driveway game of 21. No way this guy is in his 20's. Forget Obama's birth certificate, I want to see Oden's!

REDardWIZskin · Post #5 » by **REDardWIZskin** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:47 pm

This is good exposure for McGee and will also help his confidence. He could use the extra time/experience matching up against the NBA's young elite at NBA Game speed.

Post #6 » by **TheSecretWeapon** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 3:19 pm

This probably has nothing to do with McGee's selection:

Ernie's bio wrote:In May of 2005, Grunfeld was named by USA Basketball to a panel of nine basketball executives that will advise the United States’ men’s senior national program on matters including coaches and players selection.

CrankyTodd · Post #7 » by **CrankyTodd** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 3:52 pm

McGee making a good impression at USA Basketball Camp

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/new ... NHeadlines

Durant, along with Andre Iguodala and Jeff Green, is now back for his third consecutive summer of practices with the so-called Select Team, and his familiarity and comfort level with the Team USA system were superior to that of anyone else on the court Thursday. Others who caught the coaches' eyes included Rudy Gay, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon and JaVale McGee, and several team insiders said they were surprised how spry Greg Oden looked.

Agent0_MVP · Post #8 » by **Agent0_MVP** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:34 am

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/ju ... -team-usa/

Javale played well!!!!

pancakes3 · Post #9 » by **pancakes3** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:17 pm

it's generally a bad sign when you're surprised at how spry a 21 year old looks.

JWizmentality · Post #10 » by **JWizmentality** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:39 pm

pancakes3 wrote:it's generally a bad sign when you're surprised at how spry a 21 year old looks.

I was going to type the same thing. :lol:

BigA · Post #11 » by **BigA** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:28 pm

Some practice footage with Oden looking very spry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PDIBTS_xDQ

Kanyewest · Post #12 » by **Kanyewest** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:28 pm

This is how the teams broke down:

USA Blue: McGee, Brewer, Gay, Green, Harris, Mayo, Millsap, Oden, Rose and Gordon.
USA White: Augustin, Iguodala, Korver, Lopez, Love, Durant, Westbrook, Young, Smith, Randolph.

Chocolate City Jordanaire · Post #13 » by **Chocolate City Jordanaire** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:29 pm

pancakes3 wrote:it's generally a bad sign when you're surprised at how spry a 21 year old looks.

After a lengthy injury period Oden looked mechanical and a bit sluggish last season for the Blazers.

I'm thinking he's probably both more fully recovered and in better condition now. Spry probably means quick, which surprised the coaches.

I'm reading that Oden's been by far the best defender.

mls737 · Post #14 » by **mls737** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:10 am

JaVale McGee, the UNR center now playing for the Washington Wizards, swatted a few shots – even 21 feet from the rim – and finished with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith went 1-for-9 from the field, and McGee launched an air ball from the free-throw line.

Yup.

In all seriousness it sounds like it was a great opportunity for our boy and he did very well. Looks like he did a little better in the scrimmage on Friday than the showcase on Saturday.

If anyone's curious here is the box score from the showcase: http://www.usabasketball.com/seniormen/ ... se_box.pdf

I think you could have gotten 1000-1 odds on Kyle Korver leading the game in blocks.