DeAndre Jordan to play in Under Armour Exhibition 8/14

[mkwest]

Team of Under Armour NBA players to exhibition game at St. Frances

Several NBA players will be in Baltimore on Tuesday for an exhibition game at St. Frances.

Dwayne Wise, Under Armour B'more Finest's director of basketball operations, told The Sun that a team of Under Armour-sponsored pros will take on a team made up mostly of Baltimore players.

Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), former Terps star Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans Hornets), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers) and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves) will lead the UA pros team against a B'more Finest squad featuring Portland Trailblazers rookie Will Barton (Lake Clifton), second-year Memphis Grizzlies guard Josh Selby (Lake Clifton), Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, Patterson senior guard Aquille Carr and St. Frances junior forward Dwayne Morgan. Carr, a consensus four-star prospect, is committed to Seton Hall. Morgan, who spent his first two years of high school at City, is a five-star prospect with offers from Florida, Georgetown, Maryland, Miami, Seton Hall, South Florida and UNLV, among others.

Matt Bracken, The Baltimore Sun

DJ gets the toughest cover for the Under Armour players. It's an exhibition game, but he's going up against a quality big man in Cousins. Hopefully DJ can hold his own.

[TheNewEra]

any reps are good ones

[mkwest]

Baltimore's Best won 124-109. Will Barton (Blazers) put up 72 points. Derrick Williams was on (off) him.

any reps are good ones

It doesn't hurt. It gives him a chance to put whatever he's been working on into an actual game (even though it's basically only a pick-up game).

[mkwest]

Basketball stars gather for battle of Baltimore pride

The rookie Portland Trail Blazers swingman led "Baltimore's Best," a makeshift squad featuring NBA role players and high school talents from the Charm City, to a 124-109 win over "Team Armour" — a group comprised of big names like Brandon Jennings, Kemba Walker, DeAndre Jordan and Derrick Williams.

"They had a lot of pros on the other team. In fact, their whole team was pros," Barton said as he took pictures with fans after the exhibition. "So for us to come blow them out like that, it just shows that Baltimore's got the best talent."

"It's always good to come back to an inner city like Baltimore," said former Duke star Jay Williams, who had a front-row seat for the action. "To give back to the local community and have guys like DeAndre, Kemba, Brandon and all these guys come through, it's a blessing."

All in all, it was a special evening for a community built on basketball.

"I'm not really surprised because Baltimore is basketball," Parker said. "They love basketball. But I didn't expect this kind of excitement."

As for Barton? He was just pleased to protect his house. It hardly mattered that no referees officiated, no stats were kept and no checks were cashed.

"It always feels good to put on for your city," he said.

Connor Letourneau, Baltimore Sun

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-cNhlJf_9E[/youtube]

[og15]

Lol @ the faces as DJ is going up for the dunk. The man definitely has some good jumping ability and length.

[mkwest]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcsa8iBQ6bA[/youtube]

[mike3]

Damn look at Will Barton. Dude's got moves.

As much as those DJ dunks are awesome, I'd rather see him working out offensive post moves.

[og15]

Do post ups and therefore post moves actually happen in these no defense games, and if he scores against no help defense in an open paint area, will it really make us happy? Probably not.

Hopefully the work he's putting in is paying off though. A 65% FT shooting DJ with on post move and a 10-15 foot jumper is a huge improvement on offense.

[mkwest]

Yeah, the pick-up games are more streetball/guard-oriented games. There were no refs and players aren't really playing D.

Even though DJ isn't really working with a big man coach named Hakeem, I'm glad that he's spent the majority of his summer out here in the training center. In the past, he went home to Houston and probably had a lot of distractions out there being around family and old friends. At least you know that he's putting in work with Iavaroni and Odom if he's in LA .

[playaloc916]

Even though DJ isn't really working with a big man coach named Hakeem, I'm glad that he's spent the majority of his summer out here in the training center. In the past, he went home to Houston and probably had a lot of distractions out there being around family and old friends. At least you know that he's putting in work with Iavaroni and Odom if he's in LA .

He can probably learn a few moves from his bud Blake too. Add some simple pump fake/up and under moves. Maybe a little running hook? Just one polished move would be great.

[mkwest]

He can probably learn a few moves from his bud Blake too. Add some simple pump fake/up and under moves. Maybe a little running hook? Just one polished move would be great.

I'd be happy if he started using the drop step and added a hook.

[TheNewEra]

Should develop his handles to get a face up game his mechanics are solid to have a nice J and he has the length and quickness to get around defenders all he needs is the handles and the go to move.

[og15]

Maybe we should let him do one thing at a time. I have doubt that if he hasn't shown any semblance of a face-up game at this point that he will develop one anytime soon. He doesn't have a blow by first step, a tight handle, or anything that would make that effective for him.

I hook going baseline and a hook going middle is all he needs right now in terms of post moves. Add a 10-15 foot jumpshot, and improved FT shooting, and that's good enough for DJ's current offensive track.

[mkwest]

In an insider article by Chris Palmer, he says that DJ has been working on a half jump hook all summer. The question is how will that and whatever else he's been working on translate to an actual game.

We know that he's been working out with Iavaroni. He said he has also worked out with other coaches and former players, but no specific names were mentioned.