Tim Hardaway Jr has been invited to be a part of the USA Basketball select team

Michigan Basketball
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Former Michigan Wolverines standout Tim Hardaway Jr has been invited to be a part of the USA Basketball select team that will train with the men’s national team in Las Vegas, NV prior to the FIBA World Cup.

Hardaway Jr joins Victor Oladipo, Marcus Smart, Doug McDermott, Tobias Harris as well as Mason and Miles Plumlee as names that have been leaked to this point. It is anticipated that the entire USA Basketball select team roster will be announced soon as training camp begins on July 28th.

In his rookie season with the Knicks, Hardaway Jr averaged 10.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game while shooting just under 43% from the field. The former first round pick is playing with the Knicks entry into the 2014 Samsung Vegas Summer League this month and has had a great showing to this point averaging 21.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for the Knicks who have yet to lose in Las Vegas.

Names starting to leak out for the USA Select Team, which will workout with Team USA in Vegas. Mason Plumlee Tim Hardaway Jr. among them

— Josh Newman (@Joshua_Newman) July 18, 2014

Photo Credit: © USA TODAY Sports Images

Source: http://michigan.247sports.com/Board/59424/Contents/Tim-Hardaway-Jr-Invited-To-Join-USA-Basketball-Select-Team-29696235

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Seen this earlier, happy for THJ, his skillset is much better suited for the league vs college. I maintain that I think THJ will be a better pro in relation to Trey. Could potentially be a low caliber all star at some point in his career.

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Yeah, Tim’s skill-set wasn’t maximized at UM. He is a guy who needs to get out and run, iso and post-up smaller guards, all things secondary to ball-screens in JB’s system. I think most would have him pegged as the most likely best pro so far with Nik and Mitch not far behind.

Huge honor and congrats to THJR.

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As much as I like Trey, I’d have to agree with you Matt. THJr has been a pleasant surprise because I think many didn’t think he was ready for the NBA when he left. He already has a complete NBA offensive game with the only knock being his sometimes streaky shooting. I look for him to round out his game with better defense and improved passing/rebounding.

On the flip side, I have been completely underwhelmed by Trey’s shooting, especially in the current summer league. Trey was an above average 3 point shooter in college and had plenty of range, but he is really struggling from 3 in the NBA. I really hope he has a sense of urgency and refines his game fast because Jazz fans have already moved on to Dante Exum and many are calling for him to be the starting PG. This is arguably his best chance to prove that he can be a starting PG in the league and if he doesn’t act fast, he will find himself in the backup role that Matt thinks he’s best suited for.

I think that GRIII will probably be the worst pro of the 5 unless he wakes one day and loses his passive mindset. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s unable to stick in the league and be forced to play overseas. He’s been playing terribly in the summer league and it’s kind of sad because he has the most potential of the bunch.

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I was absolutely crucified for my opinions on Trey a few weeks ago. I’ll say this…after watching Trey in summer league this year I’m more convinced than ever that my thoughts on Mr. Burke are correct. Hopefully he proves me wrong

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Matt, I hope you took away that it was much more about approach than content.

But let’s not draw that out. Onwards and upwards.

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With all due respect to THJr, let’s ease up on the low caliber allstar talk. In his first year he was exclusively just a shooter who couldnt guard anybody. Love the guy and I know the doubters are what propel him, but I am not sure that his ceiling isnt much more than a decent role player/6th man

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I was absolutely crucified for my opinions on Trey a few weeks ago.
I don't remember the thread...were you crucified for your opinion or how you presented it?
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With all due respect to THJr, let's ease up on the low caliber allstar talk. In his first year he was exclusively just a shooter who couldnt guard anybody. Love the guy and I know the doubters are what propel him, but I am not sure that his ceiling isnt much more than a decent role player/6th man

I didn’t say he would be a low caliber all star, but rather the potential to be a low caliber all star. That being said, if Richard Hamilton can be an all star, THJ certainly has the potential to be an all star. Better handle, better athlete, more range on the shot in relation to Rip.

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With all due respect to THJr, let's ease up on the low caliber allstar talk. In his first year he was exclusively just a shooter who couldnt guard anybody. Love the guy and I know the doubters are what propel him, but I am not sure that his ceiling isnt much more than a decent role player/6th man

He wasn’t just a shooter… he was an elite finisher and could shoot off the bounce.

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I was absolutely crucified for my opinions on Trey a few weeks ago.
I don't remember the thread...were you crucified for your opinion or how you presented it?

I guess it depends on who you ask…from my viewpoint it’s entirely viewpoint based. To put this in context, my “Lebron/Heat are most overrated thread” was considerably less polarizing vs. my opinions on Trey. I’m sure most would agree - questioning LB as being overrated is a much closer call than claiming Trey is not a starting PG on a quality team, yet the responses toward me took a much more defensive, personal tone.

Bottom line for me, Trey is near and dear to our hearts, hence reactions to my less favorable opinion of Trey are going to evoke emotional responses, whereas most posters on this board don’t have a vested interest in LB/Heat, so reactions are much more tame in nature. Nevertheless, the claim that Trey isn’t a starting PG is much less debatable then LB being overrated - so why the backlash?

One answer - it’s because of WHO we’re discussing rather than what

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If THJ ever plays with an elite passing PG such as CP or Rondo to name a few, I could really see THJ flourishing. He will never be an elite defender because his lateral movement is poor, but that kid has the capability to fill it up every night because of his range, great elevation on his shot off the bounce, finishing ability, etc.

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I know Jose Calderon isn’t considered an elite passing PG but he is above average correct? Nonetheless almost anything is better than Raymond Felton. Cannot fathom how anyone can see him as a starting PG in the NBA.

Also Matt, like you said, Trey is near and dear to the hearts of many on this board (especially me) and I think we all want him and other former UM players to do as well as they can, but I think the reason why you were “crucified” in that thread is because you made (and make) absolute statements. Not a direct quote, but something along the lines of “Trey will be an above average backup in the league at best.” Another would be “Battle is not coming to UM.” As I said in my post just above, I think at his current trend, Burke is headed for a backup role in the NBA but his career is so young that I am not willing to make any definite statements because we just don’t know what will happen. You said in another thread that you’ve been on enough blogs to know proper etiquette so I’m not going to lecture you about how you need to change and shit, but at the same time you are wondering why people were “crucifying” you and while I was not one of those people, I can understand the mindset of others. We seem to have this exact same discussion countless times on the board so I’m going to stop while I’m ahead. Anyways, that’s my two cents.

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point taken, I guess I don’t feel the need to put caveats/disclaimers on my opinions. If that is how I see it, then that is how i see it, no need for a CYA statement. If that were the point of a blog (to essentially take a wait and see approach and then critique in retrospect) then we could all just read Dylan’s work without offering input on a prospective basis. That’s part of the fun the way I see it. For me it’s all in fun and I root like crazy for our UM alums to make it, but I have to call it how I see it regardless of affiliation. Point remains I don’t get crucified for making absolute statements about how good DT is or his elite skills or how overrated LB is, so why the crucification on Burke related opinions? Just some food for thought for those that claim it’s the tone rather than the content.

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He’a just a shooter in a league that needs and covets shooters! He can live off his three ball for ten years!

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OK, I guess we are going to talk about this yet again. The reason MattD was crucified wasn’t because he made absolute statements. It was because he conveyed that disagreeing with those absolute statements was “unfathomable” or a “joke” or a sign of “homerism”. All of which amount to name calling for disagreeing. Here are his actual quotes:

"To think that some people around here were throwing around the idea that Trey>MCW is really unfathomable in retrospect."
"That being said, a number of you a few years back thought Trey>MCW, which is a joke if we're being honest. Just using that as an example to reference the homerism and lack of objectivity."

…which I personally find funny since Trey was projected to be drafted ahead of MCW in like every mock draft, and then actually picked ahead of him…so I guess Chad Ford and Utah’s GM, among several others, are Michigan homers that lack objectivity.

Then he later said:

"Why am I guilty of trashing simply because I think Burke's ceiling is that of a good backup and simply pointing out the statistics to back up my contention."

(Emphasis mine). If only that were true. And then my favorite line:

"let's be mindful of the opinions of others"

Oh, MattD. You silly goose, you.

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With all due respect to THJr, let's ease up on the low caliber allstar talk. In his first year he was exclusively just a shooter who couldnt guard anybody. Love the guy and I know the doubters are what propel him, but I am not sure that his ceiling isnt much more than a decent role player/6th man

His ceiling??? He’s basically that as a rookie.

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OK, I guess we *are* going to talk about this yet again. The reason MattD was crucified wasn't because he made absolute statements. It was because he conveyed that disagreeing with those absolute statements was "unfathomable" or a "joke" or a sign of "homerism". All of which amount to name calling for disagreeing. Here are his actual quotes:
"To think that some people around here were throwing around the idea that Trey>MCW is really unfathomable in retrospect."
"That being said, a number of you a few years back thought Trey>MCW, which is a joke if we're being honest. Just using that as an example to reference the homerism and lack of objectivity."

…which I personally find funny since Trey was projected to be drafted ahead of MCW in like every mock draft, and then actually picked ahead of him…so I guess Chad Ford and Utah’s GM, among several others, are Michigan homers that lack objectivity.

Then he later said:

"Why am I guilty of trashing simply because I think Burke's ceiling is that of a good backup and simply pointing out the statistics to back up my contention."

(Emphasis mine). If only that were true. And then my favorite line:

"let's be mindful of the opinions of others"

Oh, MattD. You silly goose, you.

Voltron - you win once again. I’m done with the Burke discussion in this thread.

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Don’t forget another point - Shabazz Napier is far more “pro ready” than Burke and better at every facet of the game.

Napier’s summer league stats so far: 9.6 points, 3.7 assists, 4.2 TOs, .274% from the floor, .195% from three. Of course the summer league is moderately relevant at best, completely irrelevant at worst, but thus far he’s not exactly making you look like a genius.

Matt, you are entitled to your opinion about Burke, and it’s entirely possible you will eventually turn out to be correct. It would be no different than me, sitting here today, saying “Johnny Manziel doesn’t have the maturity to be an NFL quarterback.” I might be right, I might not be right. It’s something that may not get decided today, or even in 2-3 years.

My issue with your Burke comments was that I think it’s nearly impossible to conclude, after a rookie season in which Trey posted pretty decent numbers, that he’s nothing more than a bench guy for a good team. It’s just way too early to make that call, especially given the work ethic Trey has demonstrated during his career thus far. You may turn out to be right, but my issue is with your reasoning, which I think is wrong.

I think two things: (1) your basketball frame of reference is that you love athleticism - I sometimes think you would be ecstatic if we recruited a team full of Brent Petway and Corey Sanders types; and (2) you like to make snap judgments about Michigan players, often tinged with a bit of controversy, to get a rise out of the board - like your long diatribe about how DJ Wilson is not athletic. Or the “Battle isn’t coming here” stuff. Again, you may turn out to be right - since there are like 10 schools chasing him, the odds that he picks one school are indeed pretty low. But unless you’re an insider with respect to his recruitment, you simply don’t know anything more than the rest of us. Three years ago, when we were fighting Duke, Kentucky and Florida for McGary, I’ll bet you would have said then, “He isn’t coming here.”

Look, I think you’re knowledgeable about basketball, and I generally enjoy the discussions that you participate in, but I think you enjoy starting controversial discussions. And I’m not even saying there’s a problem with that, as long as the insults don’t get too personal, but just own it.

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To put THJs finishing ability in context, he finished at a higher rate than James Harden last year from 0-3 feet while coming in a tad lower than Wade. Caveats regarding sample size are applicable obviously. That being said THJ is a great transition player as a slasher or catch and shoot player. If that guy could add a floater he could be a consistent 16-20 ppg scorer.