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(E) Croatia takes silver on Global Games
http://www.croatia.org/crown/articles/7938/1/E-Croatia-takes-silver-on-Global-Games.html
By Nenad N. Bach
Published on 07/7/2004
 

 

Croatia Takes Silver at the Global Games

 

GLOBAL GAMES NOTES
Posted on Sun, Jul. 04, 2004
Scouts keep it in family

By John Miller

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - For the first time since 2000, NBA Director of Scouting Marty Blake did not attend the Global Games.

But the tournament got the next best thing with his son, Ryan Blake, there to represent the NBA.
Blake followed his father's footsteps into basketball scouting, and, as the NBA's assistant director of scouting, he spent most of the week scouting the young talent at the Global Games.
"It's a lot of work, but it's been great," Ryan said. "I knew exactly what I was getting into. Being around [Marty Blake] is a learning experience. He's just a wealth of information and you learn by example."
Blake grew up traveling the country with his father, who was one of the pioneers of basketball scouting and has been nicknamed "Super Scout." The younger Blake started scouting games when he was 16 and took it up full time in 1995 after a stint as a professional tennis player.
The father-son duo advises teams on players to watch and not to watch, puts together profiles of players and makes a database with scouting reports.
Twenty-eight of the 30 NBA teams sent representatives to the Global Games.
Hard knock victory
With 9:12 left in the fourth quarter of the fifth-place game against Puerto Rico, former Dunbar player Jeremis Smith fell and hit his head, rendering him unconscious for a brief period of time.
"I didn't know I was on the ground until I saw everybody standing above me and looking at me," Smith said.
Smith was helped off the court and sat behind the Team USA bench as he recovered.
He returned with 5:21 to play in regulation and connected on a key three-point play in the final minute before fouling out in overtime in Team USA's 108-107 victory.

"Mainly, I wanted to help my team," Smith said. "I didn't want to quit on my team. I got the three-point play and made the free throw like I was supposed to and then my team finished it up from there."
Smith and teammate Anthony Morrow, a fellow Georgia Tech signee, were both named to the All-Global Games Team.

Ukraine wins gold
Oleksiy Pecherov led all scorers with 31 points as Ukraine claimed the gold medal with an 84-79 win over Croatia.
Ukraine was down by as many as seven points late in the third quarter, but Pecherov hit two free throws to tie the game at 63 midway through the fourth. After Croatia pulled to within three points with a minute left, Pecherov hit a field goal and two free throws.
Pecherov and Croatia's Marko Banic, who scored 26 points Saturday, were named co-MVPs of the Global Games.

In the bronze-medal game, Leonardo Mainoldi scored 39 points and had eight rebounds to lead Argentina to a 94-88 win over Lithuania, which had three players score 20 or more points.

Staff Writer Mercedes Mayer contributed to this report.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/9078884.htm?1c

 


(E) Croatia takes silver on Global Games

 

Croatia Takes Silver at the Global Games

 

GLOBAL GAMES NOTES
Posted on Sun, Jul. 04, 2004
Scouts keep it in family

By John Miller

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS - For the first time since 2000, NBA Director of Scouting Marty Blake did not attend the Global Games.

But the tournament got the next best thing with his son, Ryan Blake, there to represent the NBA.
Blake followed his father's footsteps into basketball scouting, and, as the NBA's assistant director of scouting, he spent most of the week scouting the young talent at the Global Games.
"It's a lot of work, but it's been great," Ryan said. "I knew exactly what I was getting into. Being around [Marty Blake] is a learning experience. He's just a wealth of information and you learn by example."
Blake grew up traveling the country with his father, who was one of the pioneers of basketball scouting and has been nicknamed "Super Scout." The younger Blake started scouting games when he was 16 and took it up full time in 1995 after a stint as a professional tennis player.
The father-son duo advises teams on players to watch and not to watch, puts together profiles of players and makes a database with scouting reports.
Twenty-eight of the 30 NBA teams sent representatives to the Global Games.
Hard knock victory
With 9:12 left in the fourth quarter of the fifth-place game against Puerto Rico, former Dunbar player Jeremis Smith fell and hit his head, rendering him unconscious for a brief period of time.
"I didn't know I was on the ground until I saw everybody standing above me and looking at me," Smith said.
Smith was helped off the court and sat behind the Team USA bench as he recovered.
He returned with 5:21 to play in regulation and connected on a key three-point play in the final minute before fouling out in overtime in Team USA's 108-107 victory.

"Mainly, I wanted to help my team," Smith said. "I didn't want to quit on my team. I got the three-point play and made the free throw like I was supposed to and then my team finished it up from there."
Smith and teammate Anthony Morrow, a fellow Georgia Tech signee, were both named to the All-Global Games Team.

Ukraine wins gold
Oleksiy Pecherov led all scorers with 31 points as Ukraine claimed the gold medal with an 84-79 win over Croatia.
Ukraine was down by as many as seven points late in the third quarter, but Pecherov hit two free throws to tie the game at 63 midway through the fourth. After Croatia pulled to within three points with a minute left, Pecherov hit a field goal and two free throws.
Pecherov and Croatia's Marko Banic, who scored 26 points Saturday, were named co-MVPs of the Global Games.

In the bronze-medal game, Leonardo Mainoldi scored 39 points and had eight rebounds to lead Argentina to a 94-88 win over Lithuania, which had three players score 20 or more points.

Staff Writer Mercedes Mayer contributed to this report.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/9078884.htm?1c