Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Roberts Gets Little Sleep on Recruiting Trail; Nike Global Challenge Roster Released
Norm Roberts woke up in an Orlando hotel room at 4:15 a.m on Thursday, skipped his daily shave and slept during his 7 a.m. flight to
Kennedy Airport.
Over the past month, the St. John’s coach has been out on a recruiting adventure that took him to Reading, Pa.; Cleveland; Philadelphia; Springfield, Mass.; Augusta, S.C.; Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla.
During the week-long break separating the two July recruiting periods, Roberts came home for only two days.
For the third consecutive year, the world’s best basketball players will travel to the Northwest to compete in the NIKE Global Challenge, held once again at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, OR from August 7-9. The tournament will feature International teams such as Euroleague junior tournament champion FMP-Serbia, the SEEDs Academy from Senegal, an all-star team from NIKE’s All-Asia Camp, Brazil and Canada, as well as three teams made up of the top players from the United States.
This year’s U.S. participants include Harrison Barnes (Ames/Ames, IA), Will Barton (Lake Clifton/Baltimore, MD), Reggie Bullock (Kinston/Kinston, NC), Russell Byrd (Blackhawk Christian/Ft. Wayne, IN), Cameron Clark (Sherman/Sherman, TX), DaJuan Coleman (Jamesville-DeWitt/Jamesville, NY), Trevor Cooney (Sanford/Wilmington, DE), Tobias Harris (Half Hollow Hills West/Dix Hill, NY), Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick/Elizabeth, NJ), Jelan Kendrick (Westlake/College Park, GA), James Johnson (Samuel Morse/Mildomar, CA), Perry Jones (Duncanville/Duncanville, TX), Terrence Jones (Jefferson/Portland, OR), Doron Lamb (Oak Hill Academy/Mouth of Wilson, VA), C.J. Leslie (Word of God Academy/Raleigh, NC), Kendall Marshall (Bishop O’Connell/Arlington, VA), Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day/Beverly Hills, MI), Quincy Miller (Quality Ed. Academy/Winston Salem, NC), Tony Mitchell (Living Faith Christian/Grand Prairie, TX), Johnny O’Bryant (East Side/Cleveland, MS), Adreian Payne (Jefferson/Dayton, OH), Phil Pressey (Episcopal School/Dallas, TX), Jereme Richmond (Waukeegan/Waukeegan, IL), Austin Rivers (Winter Park/Winter Park, FL), Josh Selby (Lake Clifton/Baltimore, MD), Roscoe Smith (Oak Hill Academy/Mouth of Wilson, VA), J.T. Terrell (Cummings/Burlington, NC), Adonis Thomas (Melrose/Memphis, TN), Dion Waiters (Life Center/Philadelphia, PA) and Okaro White (Clearwater/Clearwater, FL).
The first two years of the NIKE Global Challenge featured top U.S. players such as 2009 NBA Draft picks Tyreke Evans (No. 4, Sacramento Kings) and Demar DeRozan (No. 9, Toronto Raptors), as well as Samardo Samuels (Louisville), Greg Monroe (Georgetown), Avery Bradley (Texas), Demarcus Cousins (Kentucky), Xavier Henry (Kansas), John Henson (North Carolina) and John Wall (Kentucky).
Norm Roberts woke up in an Orlando hotel room at 4:15 a.m on Thursday, skipped his daily shave and slept during his 7 a.m. flight to