The Nike Hoop Summit will return to Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, at 7 p.m. PT on Friday, April 8. The game, featuring top American high school senior boys facing off against international players 19-and-younger, will be contested for the first time since 2019 following a layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets for the 22nd Nike Hoop Summit are on sale now by visiting Ticketmaster.com .
Selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee, the 2022 USA Nike Hoop Summit Team features 12 top-recruited athletes from across the country. The U.S. will be led by head coach Joe Mantegna (Blair Academy, N.J.), and assistant coaches Scott Fitch (Fairport H.S., N.Y.) and Chet Mason (Charles F. Brush H.S., Ohio).
Nine of the top 10 prospects, as seeded by the ESPN 100, headline the USA’s roster, including No. 1 recruit Dereck Lively , a 7-foot center from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Lively, who has committed to Duke, will play alongside fellow future Blue Devils Dariq Whitehead and Kyle Filipowski. Teammates at North Little Rock High School (Little Rock, Ark.), Nick Smith Jr. and Kel’el Ware are the seventh set of high school teammates to make a USA Nike Hoop Summit Team. Amari Bailey was a member of the U.S. team that went 6-0 en route to the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 title. Along with Filipowski, Gradey Dick and Keyonte George won gold at the 2021 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup last summer. The U.S. roster also includes Dillon Mitchell (Texas), Jarace Walker (Houston), Cason Wallace (Kentucky) and Cam Whitmore (Villanova)
“USA Basketball is excited to continue the Nike Hoop Summit tradition in its longtime home of Portland,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. “The game offers fans and scouts the opportunity to see future stars of the game in a competitive and entertaining environment as we welcome some of the best athletes from across the country and around the world.”
The 2022 World Select Team is expected to be announced at a later date and will draw players from FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania, with approved sanction of FIBA, the governing body of international basketball.
Before the 2020 Nike Hoop Summit was canceled, USA Basketball announced a U.S. team that highlighted eight players who have since made their NBA debuts, including each of the top five picks of the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes and Jalen Suggs. USA Basketball named a 2021 team though the game was not planned. An impressive 253 Nike Hoop Summit alumni have been drafted by NBA teams, with 14 having been selected with the No. 1 pick and 88 taken in the top 10. For more information, click here.
Some of the NBA’s biggest stars have turned in key performances at the Nike Hoop Summit. In the inaugural game, Kevin Garnett recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks; Dirk Nowitzki recorded 33 points and helped the World Team to a win in 1998; and in 2000, Tony Parker had 20 points and seven assists. The USA boasts a 15-7 series advantage over the world team.
Held annually since 1995 (with the exception of 2001-03 and 2020-21), the Nike Hoop Summit has been in Portland since 2008.
(Release/photo via USA Basketball)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram
