Sporting News, The: Keepsakes from another July on the road: late to bed, early to rise

The people who say there are no clocks in Las Vegas never stood where I did last week. If they were with me at the Durango High gymnasium--instead of wasting their time in a casino or at Cirque du Soleil--they would have seen the clock on the wall revealing it was 12:17--a.m.

The last game of yesterday had just ended, with Kevin Durant's DC Blue Devils winning in the semifinals of the Main Event tournament. It was their fifth victory of the day. That's right. They played five games in one day to reach the following afternoon's championship.

So how did Durant feel? "Oh, man, it feels good. I love playing basketball. So it wasn't a problem for me."

We sometimes forget players love to play. It doesn't hurt to be reminded of that after the close of the July recruiting period--a time when prospects travel from coast to coast competing in tournaments, attending camps and being seen by Division I coaches.

That five-game day, though, did catch up to Durant, who will be Texas' top freshman in 2006-07. His build, athleticism and skills are similar to Kevin Garnett's, but Durant doesn't have the same raging intensity. He also tries too hard to show he's a perimeter player. Back 12 hours later, in a championship-game loss to Seattle's Friends of Hoop team, Durant had no juice in his legs and shot 0-for-10 from 3-point range.

It seemed like a good time for a nap.

The chase continues

Five uncommitted players who could improve your team as freshmen:

1. Chase Budinger, 6-8, SF, Encinitas, Calif. He will help only if you are a fan of Arizona or UCLA--he's leaning toward the Wildcats. Budinger is growing toward 6-9, jumps well, has a great nose for the ball and is an excellent deep shooter. Some scouts are starting to question Budinger's lateral quickness, but he is quick enough to defend top wings.

2. Deshawn Sims, 6-7, SF, Detroit. He has such a solid body that some would like to see him at power forward. He would do OK there but will be better on the wing, dominating smaller players on post-ups and hitting long-range jumpers.

3. Willie Kemp, 6-2, PG, Bolivar, Tenn. It's not easy to find a comparison to Kemp, but searching deep into the archives turned up Lee Mayberry, the former Arkansas Razorback. Kemp runs his team efficiently and defends. He knows how to win.

4. Alex Stepheson. 6-8, C, North Hollywood, Calif. He is powerful, can finish plays around the basket and has decent feet. Stepheson will be an immediate contributor to any school he chooses. What's not to like?

5. Earl Clark, 6.7, SF, Rahway, N.J. He handles the ball well enough to play guard, so he spends a lot of time on the perimeter. This does not please all who watch him, especially given his average shooting. At small forward, he will contribute as a playmaker and rebounder. Eventually, he might learn to shoot.

Having never made it to The Palms ...

The five most amazing sights and sounds of July:

1. The D-1 Greyhounds. the Cincinnati-based team featuring elite guard O.J. Mayo, refused to take the court for 47 minutes in the Reebok Big Time Tournament because several members of New Mexico Force Gold brought dark jerseys to the game. The host school, Basic High, offered its light jerseys to New Mexico, but that wasn't a sufficient solution for the Greyhounds, who instead wanted a forfeit win.

The Greyhounds eventually agreed to play, as long as players without gold jerseys were excluded. Thus rising star Kasey Cunningham. a 6-5 wing from Albuquerque, could not challenge Mayo and wing Bill Walker.

2. Indianapolis center Greg Oden blocked a 14-foot jumper by 6-9 forward Epke Udoh of Edmond, Okla. Understand, Udoh's shot was perfectly designed not to be blocked. He spun toward the left baseline, put a little extra loft on the shot and figured he was safe. Oden was standing at least 5 feet away but rose and deflected the ball on its way up.

3. This piece of high-quality coaching advice, directed at one top prospect as he was about to challenge a defender one-on-one during the Big Time Tournament in Vegas: "Tear him up!" Next time you hear something like that from Jim Calhoun or Roy Williams, let me know.

4. The brilliant play of junior forward Herb Pope, an elite prospect who grew up in western Pennsylvania. There hasn't been such a talent from the Pittsburgh area since I was in high school. That was a long while ago.

5. Recruiting analyst Clark Francis ranked Oden No. 3 in the class of 2006, behind guard Wayne Ellington of Merion. Pa., and Durant, who is from Suitland, Md. That might be worth another column

Hitting the recruiting trail--hard

As recruiting analysts sat on press row watching to see which players might drop in their rankings, the hardest fall took place behind them--in the stands. New Southern California coach Tim Floyd went down hard. Back in college basketball for the first time since 1998, Floyd was exiting the bleachers at a game in Las Vegas when he slipped and fell so dramatically observers wondered if he had broken his collarbone--or worse. Floyd only fractured two toes, but played hurt pretty well the following day, walking with barely a limp.

"It was kind of embarrassing, to say the least," Floyd says.

He kept his sense of humor about the accident.

"I felt a push from behind me before I fell," Floyd says, trying to keep a straight face.

"I looked back and saw my two assistants and (UCLA coach) Ben Howland. I didn't know which one of them got me."

Spencer: Far higher

Entering the summer, top analysts ranked Seattle center prospect Spencer Hawes between No. 4 and No. 14. Given his play in July, it's hard to imagine him much lower than No. 2. Nobody did more to boost his stock.

"I think it's just the opportunity to come out and show it," Hawes says. "I just really worked on my patience.... I'm trying to let the game come to me and take what my teammates give me."

Hawes, 6-11, is the most dangerous offensive big man in his class. He is a fine face-up shooter and has an abundance of scoring moves in the post with a keen understanding of how to get open.

He is considering Washington, UCLA, North Carolina, Connecticut and Stanford. After bouncing from the Nike Camp to the Peach Jam to the Pangos Midnight Madness to the Main Event tournament, Hawes had a pretty fair idea that scouts were impressed with his play. "But I try not to let it get to my head," he says.

INSIDE DISH

Head coach Phil Martelli and the committee selecting the U.S. U-21 national team took a gamble by cutting Memphis' Darius Washington, by far the most gifted offensive point guard at the trials. Martelli says Washington was losing focus and functioning more as a shooting guard as the practices progressed. The U.S. left for the August 5-12 World Championship in Argentina with Connecticut's Marcus Williams and Kentucky's Rajon Rondo at the point. Neither scored effectively in last week's Global Games tournament, the warmup that the U.S. won. At least the U.S. has plenty of shooters: Wake Forest's Justin Gray, Duke's J.J. Redick and Villanova's Allan Ray. > Jimmy Patsos of Loyola (Md.) took two weeks away from summer recruiting to coach a team of Metro Atlantic Conference all-stars on a tour of China. Calling from near the Great Wall, Patsos praised Iona SG Steve Burtt, who averaged better than 20 points, and Marist PG Jared Jordan for their play. Patsos, entering his second season as a head coach, took the assignment to gain experience running games. > Former Virginia coach Pete Gillen was among those attending the Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas. He hopes to do some broadcasting work, then get back into coaching in 2006-07 if the right opportunity develops. > Don't be surprised to see Arizona's Hassan Adams log more minutes at power forward next season. Adams (6-4, 201) was effective there on the Wildcats' undersized 2003-04 team, averaging 17.2 points and 7.3 rebounds and shooting 54.2 percent. As a small forward last season, his numbers dipped to 12.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 49.1 percent. Incoming freshman Marcus Williams, a polished and versatile offensive player who made all-tournament at the Global Games, is likely to force his way into the Wildcats' rotation at small forward. > G Jamelle McMillan, a prospect from Seattle's O'Dea High, has one advantage over his famous dad, Nate: The son can shoot. McMillan helped Friends of Hoop win the Main Event tournament in Las Vegas with his timely 3-pointers. The younger McMillan (6-2, 180) is quick and alert.

(S) For more analysis from Mike DeCourcy and the latest college basketball news, go to sportingnews.com/cbasketball.

MIKE DeCOURCY

decourcy@sportingnews.com