The Pacers left Orlando confident with 10th overall draft pick Paul George (Fresno St.). George scored 15.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He also averaged 2.4 steals.

Defense has been a significant point of criticism against the Pacers. I will be happy to see the addition of his youthful aggression on that end of the floor this season. His ability to grab boards and force turnovers could combine to create many more scoring opportunities for the Pacers this year.

Team USA was lead by guard Brad Beal (Chaminade College Prep H.S./St. Louis, MO), who averaged 18.3 PPG and earned the World Championship MVP award. James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian H.S./Norfolk, VA) joined Beal on the all-world championship tournament team.

Beal scored 20 points in the championship game. Michael Gilchrist (St. Patrick H.S./Somerdale, NJ) added 16. Chasson Randle (Rock Island H.S./Rock Island, IL) scored 9. Adonis Thomas (Melrose H.S./Cordova, TN) and Marquis Teague (Pike H.S./Indianapolis, IN) scored 8 each.

Teague was 2-5 with 2 rbs, 8 ast, and 1 stl in 16 minutes.

Recap | Box Score

Hayward scored 14 pts with 4 rb and 1 ast in this game against the 76ers. The Jazz defeated the 76ers 85-56 for their 2nd win in 2 days.

Hayward is averaging 10.8 ppg and 3.0 rpg for the Jazz. His shooting has been impressive, silencing critics who questioned his shooting stats in the 2009-10 NCAA season for Butler. So far in the Summer League, Hayward is shooting 61.9% from the field and is 2-6 from behind the arc. He has also made 26 out of 28 FT attempts for 92.9%.

Interestingly, fellow Butler alum Mike Green was playing for the 76ers in this game, but had a rough showing with 0 pts, 1 rb, 0 ast, 2 stl in 19:55 on the floor. Green will make his way out to Las Vegas, NV in the next couple days to continue Summer League play for the Portland Trailblazers.

More Summer League scores and highlights are available at NBA.com.

LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers / Texas)
Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets / Syracuse)
Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets / Colorado)
Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz / Duke)
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors / Georgia Tech)
Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers / Lower Merion H.S.)
Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors / Davidson)
Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas)
Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings / Memphis)
Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies / Connecticut)
Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers / Indiana)
Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers / New Mexico)
Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder / Georgetown)
Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic / Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy)
Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona)
LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers / St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.)
Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves / Prentiss H.S.)
David Lee (New York Knicks / Florida)
Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets / Stanford)
Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA)
O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies / USC)
Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers / Rhode Island)
Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets / Wake Forest)
Kendrick Perkins (Boston Celtics / Clifton J. Ozen H.S.)
Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons / Kentucky)
Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls / Memphis)
Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns / Cypress Creek High School)
Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat / Marquette)
Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats / Alabama)
Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA)
Deron Williams (Utah Jazz / Illinois)

Lavoy Allen (Temple/Morrisville, PA)
William Buford (Ohio State/Toledo, OH)
LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor/Monroe, LA)
Jimmer Fredette (BYU/Glens Falls, NY)
Scotty Hopson (Tennessee/Hopkinsville, KY)
Scoop Jardine (Syracuse/Philadelphia, PA)
JaJuan Johnson (Purdue/Indianapolis, IN)
Jon Leuer (Wisconsin/Orono, MN)
Shelvin Mack (Butler University)
Marcus Morris (Kansas/Philadelphia, PA)
Jacob Pullen (Kansas State/Maywood, IL)
John Shurna (Northwestern/Glen Ellyn, IL)
Kyle Singler (Duke/Medford, OR)
Chris Singleton (Florida State/Canton, GA)
Nolan Smith (Duke/Upper Marlboro, MD)
Howard Thompkins (Georgia/Lithonia, GA)
Mike Tisdale (Illinois/Riverton, IL)
Kemba Walker (Connecticut/Bronx, NY)
Chris Wright (Dayton/Trotwood, OH)
Tyler Zeller (North Carolina/Washington, IN)

The USA Select Team will begin training in Las Vegas this July, and will get to train with the USA National Team.

Pacers fans may be a little nervous about the Pacer’s first round pick of Paul George out of Fresno St. (or perhaps, more likely, they aren’t paying much attention to the Pacers at all), but I would say George is a big man from a small school.

Larry Bird said of him,

Paul is multi-skilled. He can play two positions and with his work ethic, he has a chance to be a very good player in this league.

But, if you need more assurance, here’s a good video highlight reel to get Pacer fans fired up about Paul George.

Why play four quarters, when you could win it in one?

That seemed to be the Cavaliers’ strategy Sunday against the Clippers, when they scored 46 points against LA’s 20 in the first quarter. LeBron James scored half the Cavs’ points in that quarter. Three of those points were off a shot from the “C” in “Cavaliers” 30 feet toward center court. Moments later another trey came from the “a” a few feet deeper.

James kept contributing to accumulate 32 points including five three-point shots and 11 assists. Four of those threes were in the first quarter.

LeBron is almost too easy a pick for a Hinkle Hoops Featured Baller. Of all the teams in all the sports in the world, he might be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of all. His career average is 27.7 PPG! He has improved all of his major stats in this, his seventh season in the NBA, scoring 29.4 PPG with 8.0 assists. He is one of the best athletes to ever play the game of basketball, but he continues to work to improve his game. He focused in the off-season on his shooting, and improved both his FG% and 3P% by 2% each over his career average.

As he has improved, so has his team. The Cavs now have the best record in the NBA at 38-11, are on an 8 game win streak, and are 2-0 against the Lakers, who are a half game behind them at 37-11.

This week’s Featured Baller is Jamal Crawford of the Atlanta Hawks, much due to his stellar performance last night against the Pheonix Suns. Crawford was drafted out of the University of Michigan by the Cavs in 2000 and played for the Bulls, Knicks, and Warriors before joining the Hawks this season. So far this year, he has been a reliable sixth man, playing 30.7 minutes per game off the bench to score 17.2 points a game.

Crawford has become a prolific shooter, and that is his primary role on the team. This year, he has improved his FG% from 40.7% to 45.6%, his 3PT% from 34.7% to 35.3%, and his FT% from 84.4% to 85.6%. The Hawks can count on Crawford to hit a big shot when they need it. Last night against the Suns they needed it, and he delivered.

Amare Stoudemire hit a FT to take a 101-99 Suns lead with 3 seconds left. After a timeout, the Hawks’ Mike Bibby inbounded the ball to Crawford, who fired a 28-foot 3-point shot over Jared Dudley that went in at the buzzer, earning Atlanta a 102-101 victory. In a game with horrible 3PT percentages of .154 for Atlanta and .217 for Pheonix, it was a perfect long ball from Jamal Crawford that made the difference.

Crawford finished the game with 21 points, 4 assists, a rebound, and a steal. He made 7 of 7 FT attempts, and of course the game winning 3 to bring the Hawks’ record to 26-13 and give the struggling NBA East a victory over a 24-16 West opponent. (Recap, Box Score)

Inside Hoops reports,

The Memphis Grizzlies claimed Memphis native Lester Hudson off waivers, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced Friday (January 8). Hudson was available after being waived by the Boston Celtics on Jan. 6.

“We are excited to acquire Lester Hudson off waivers,” Wallace said. “Lester is a player we thought of highly in the pre-draft process. He earned favorable reviews for his performance during his brief time with the Celtics. He is an athletic, tough combo guard who was one of the most prolific scorers in college basketball over his two years at the University of Tennessee at Martin. It is a wonderful day for the Grizzlies to be able to bring this Memphian back home to continue his NBA career.”

The 6-3, 190-pound rookie guard averaged 1.4 points and 0.5 assists in 4.4 minutes in 16 appearances this season with the Celtics, who selected him in the second round (58th overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft. Boston also assigned Hudson to two different stints with their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, where the 25-year-old posted 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 28.0 minutes in five games.

One of the most explosive scorers in the NCAA in recent years, Hudson ranked second in the nation in scoring in 2008-09 behind current Golden State Warriors rookie Stephen Curry, averaging 27.5 points as well as 7.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.34 steals in his senior season with the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks. In his junior year, Hudson became the first men’s player in Division I history to record a quadruple-double with 25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals on Nov. 13, 2007 vs. Central Baptist College.

The native Memphian transferred to UT-Martin after playing his first two seasons at Southwest Tennessee Community College in Memphis.

The Grizzlies’ roster now stands at 14 players.

Hinkle Hoops has been tracking the progress of Hudson’s progress in the NBA and D-League after his impressive college career at UT-Martin earned him the nickname“Done Ruthless.”

As a weekly feature on Hinkle Hoops, we post a Featured Baller from any sport or league in the world who is doing something special. Our first Featured Baller is Ryan Wittman, who plays at Cornell University.

Wittman has received a lot of attention this week as his Cornell Big Red nearly beat #1 Kansas in Lawrence, KS, where the Jayhawks have a 50-game home winning streak. Wittman led the Big Red with 24 points in their 66-71 loss to KU (recap, boxscore). He shot 7-17, made 5 3-pointers and 5 of 6 FT attempts, and added 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

The Indianapolis Star did a feature on him yesterday, discussing similarities between him and his father, Randy Wittman, who graduated from Ben Davis High School, played on Indiana University’s 1981 NCAA Championship team, played for the Pacers and other NBA teams, and coached the Cavs and Timberwolves. The Star’s Curt Cavin writes that both Wittmans play with a “high basketball IQ, toughness and talent to support both.”

Wittman is the go-to guy for the Cornell Big Red, averaging 19.1 PPG and leading them to a 13-3 record including victories over Alabama, Massachusetts, Drexel, St. Joseph’s, Davidson, St. John’s, La Salle, and more. His best performance was at La Salle, where he scored a career high 34 points to help his team win a 78-75 game on the road (recap, boxscore).

Cornell is getting a lot of national attention with their 13-3 record, victories over reputable programs, and competitive losses to Seton Hall, #9 Syracuse, and #1 Kansas. They have established an impressive non-conference resume that has fans and analysts wondering if a competitive Ivy League could leave Cornell in 2nd place and earn the conference two NCAA Tournament bids. It is a long-shot for a league that usually earns one bid around 14-seed territory, but it is certainly a possibility with two teams (Harvard and Cornell) at only 3 losses going into conference play.

In his 3.5 years at Cornell, Wittman has averaged over 15 PPG every season. He’s averaged around 3.5 rebounds and 2 assists over his four years, and made more than 81% of his free throws and more than 41% of his 3-point shots every year. He is the top scorer in Cornell history, and still has half a season to build on those numbers before he graduates.

We will keep a close eye on Wittman and the Cornell team as the season progresses, preparing to watch them play in March and then see if Wittman becomes one of the few Ivy League graduates in recent history to play professional basketball.

Update (01/09/2010):

At Basketball State, you can view the team sheet for Cornell as it stands at this point in the season. This is the same exact sheet that the Selection Committee looks at when evaluating teams for placement in the tournament. Read discussion of this topic in The Mid-Majority’s interview with David Worlock, Associate Director for the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.