Always good to hear these kind of things. Here, Ben, have a trophy, you deserve one.

Yes, It was quite a nice event to have in Portland.
I walked up to the Rose Garden 10 minutes before tipoff and was handed a free ticket.....then was informed that it was general seating for most sections. I proceeded to walk right up to the front row where the players walk out.

Very pleasant.

I've been spending way too much time scouting the 2009 draft class and was generally geeked out the whole time finally getting to see some of these names that Ive been reading about.
I want to give a little bit of what I saw out there.
Let's start with the world team:
First off I saw only 2-3 players with any chance of being in the association.
The first player that stuck out was Serge Ibaka.
This 18 years old has a NBA body to go with nice balance and great footwork. He probably would have to be a 3 in the league, but from what I saw of his jumper and general feel of the game, I think he can get there. He ended up missing a few mid range jumpers but they were taken in the flow of the game and he had nice form.

2. Alexis Ajinca - Everyone has been talking about how thin and weak he is. What I saw was a 7-1 small forward with NASTY shot blocking ability. He even sank a international 3 pointer with fantastic form. He obviously would be a project, but his length in combination with a great feel for the game will get him drafted possibly in the first round if he waits until next year. He also made a few very advanced low post moves on greg monroe.......dribble, dropstep and finish with his left off glass.

All the draft boards are high on Boban Marjanovic..........man is this guy a stiff. He was getting pushed off the block by skinny 200 pound power forwards. I couldnt help but think of  Pavel Podkolzin the 7-5 guy from Russia who was drafted in the first round and did a nice job of wearing out the seats on the end on the bench for the Mavs.
KP - please dont draft this guy.

The rest were interesting and could be some surprises there.
Ziggy Janavicius was tough and will probably have a nice career over in Europe. Samardo Samuels was big and tough. looks like a great college player.
Devoe Joseph showed a fantastic motor and never stopped playing great D. He will be a nice piece for Tubby Smith. Diego Gerbaudo came into the game like gang busters but just coudnt hang with the athleticism of the USA players.

Now on to team USA.
it was really impressive how young and thin most of these guys look. but DAMN there are some hops in that bunch.
Im just gonna give you my impressions of the standouts.

1. Jrue Holiday - Easily the toughest player on the court. He showed every bit of the complete game everyone has been talking about. The thing that I noticed was the swagger that this kid has.
That Chris Paul kind of swagger. I see good things for this Kid. A leader. (reminds me of Jordan Farmar)

2. Demar Derozan - after his display in the Mcdonalds All-Star game and his lackluster practices I didnt know what to expect.
Two things jumped out in this game. The kid has REDICULOUS hops and he knows how to use them. He plays with a very lackadaisical style and then BAM! he's almost hitting his head on the rim.
The second is that he has a very pretty stroke.
Coaches and scouts are going to love this kid. Terrific balance on drives and pull-ups. He did a great job at absorbing contact when finishing at the rim. He just needs to get bigger. If he does, he could be a very, very special player. (could be a well adjusted O.J. Mayo, Kobe Bryant)

3. Al-Farouq Aminu
Evrything about watching him warm up was underwhelming. He didnt look like he possessed the physical gifts some of the other team USA'ers  had (Drew Grodon, Derozan, Evans, Monroe) his stroke looked just OK until.........he got into the game and showed the most mature feel for the game of all the players on the court. He hit from distance, he crashed the boards, dunked, assisted and seemed to take the big stage in stride.
He's gonna have to physically develop to have any real shot at the NBA.....but with determination and hard work he could be special (reminds me of Shareef Abdur-Rahim)

4. Tyreke Evans - Hmmm what to say about Tyreke Evans.......well he obviously has an uncanny ability to score the basketball and has been the focal point of every team he as ever played on.
Tyreke didnt play very well. I was surprised at how much of a "playground" game he has. His jumper is akward, his drives are herky jerky and he didnt seem to see the court very well for someone who loves the ball in his hands.
He was ridiculous in the McDonalds All-Star game,
scoring at will and displaying an ultimate confidence and swagger. Here he really struggled playing against bigger stronger players. He just looks older than most of the baby faced team. I foresee him having a tough time against NBA quality players. He played some tough D, but really every USA player out there did. If fact it was very impressive.
(The only comparison I could see for Tyreke would be Gilbert Arenas.........if he reached absolute max potential) He seems like a bit of a tweener to me.

5. Drew Gordon - Im not sure why Drew Gordon fell off the radar after his leg injury. He was every bit as explosive, tough and active as Greg Monroe. He played with passion and the fans seemed to love him. He hit the glass hard and always contested anything around the rim. He was the best USA bigman on the floor.

6. Greg Monroe - Well, I dont scout for a living so Im sure that the people who do have a reason for loving this guy. What I say was a plyer who did not bring the goods. He never made a nice move on the block, Got rejected by Ajinca easily with some mechanic low post moves. On Defense, he played hard but wasn't terribly effective. He seemed way smaller than I had imagined him to be. Serge Ibaka and Samardo Samuels pushed him around all game. There must be something there..........right?

7,8,9. Scotty Hopson, Jerime Anderson, Malcom Lee - Im gonna group these guys together because i really didnt know anything about them coming in.
They all did some really great things out there.
Scotty Hopson was all over the place on D and on O. Jerime Anderson also played fantastic D and ran the team with great poise. Malcom Lee ditto.
All three posses very nice jumpers. I could see any one of these guys being serious college ballers.

Ben, I loved what you wrote and I just wanted to put in another perspective.

jans