Nike Hoops Summit: Comparing Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson

The Nike Hoops Summit went to the World All-Stars 84-75 Saturday night in Portland. The World team was led by 17-year-old Andrew Wiggins of Canada, with 20 points, and China's Wang Zhelin, with 19 points and eight rebounds.

The US team struggled to break the tough defense played by the World team and was never able to get a run going until late. The US team was led by Shabazz Muhammad, who set a record for the Nike Hoops Summit with 35 points. 

Overall, it was a disappointing game for fans who are hoping for a strong freshman class to give a boost to college basketball.

The Nike Hoops Summit has been dominated by the US team over the years. The US held an 11-3 edge going in and had won nine of the last 10 with an average point differential of over 10. The losing teams of ’96 and ’98 featured just 2 and 3 players, respectively, who went on to long, successful NBA careers. The typical Nike Hoops Summit produces 4 or 5.

Saturday night’s loss means we could be looking at another weak class. That would make 3 consecutive classes after what had been a very strong decade for US hoops prospects.

The 2012 recruiting class is supposed to be a great one for big men, and it may still turn out that way. Five of the top eight prospects are centers, and there is no player under 6’6” in the top nine. But that didn’t appear to be the case in this game as China’s Wang Zhelin outplayed all of the American big men.

Kaleb Tarczewski, Tony Parker and Mitch McGary were all non-factors as the World team out-rebounded the US team 57-34. Nerlens Noel showed some flashes of greatness with 4 blocks and 4 steals, but he struggled on the boards with only 4 rebounds in 24 minutes.

With the American big men floundering, there wasn’t much to see for prospect watchers like myself. Outside of Wiggins, who won’t be in the draft discussion until 2014, and possibly Zhelin, the best prospects on the floor were Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson. Both are listed as guards/forwards, but Anderson looks like a point guard and Muhammad a small forward.

While there was definitely some other potential draft-worthy talent on display for both teams, I feel Muhammad and Anderson will be the two immediate stars from this group, and the two names that will headline early 2013 draft talk. For that reason I’ll be focusing on those two players here.

Shabazz Muhammad: 6’6” 215 G-F

Muhammad scored a Nike Hoops Summit record 35 of the US team’s 75 points. He was the go-to scorer who kept the team close when the World Select were threatening to turn the game into a blowout. He got to the line early and often for easy points.

Most importantly, he showed an ability to carry a team on a rough night, which is big deal for him as a prospect.

The downside is that he didn’t show a lot outside of scoring. He’s something of a black hole when he gets the ball. Between the Nike Hoops Summit and the McDonald’s game a week earlier, he had 3 assists, 1 steal, no blocks and 9 turnovers in 61 total minutes.

It has never been a good thing for a small forward to be so one dimensional. In Muhammad’s case it’s especially important because at 6’6” there isn’t much chance he’ll transition to power forward in the pros. To become a top NBA prospect it will be essential that he develop a game that’s more diverse than what he has shown so far on the All-Star circuit.

Right now I’ll call him a work in progress. He looks like a promising, possibly dominant scorer, but he needs work on the other parts of his game before he will be a great prospect. I do feel good about his chances of getting there, though. 

Reading some quotes from Muhammad, a common theme he mentions is the amount of work he needs to do in order to become a player at the next level. Not only does he need the work, he enjoys it.

This is an obviously good sign as no player is a finished product coming out of high school. Any prospect who not only realizes he needs a lot of work, but also seems to welcome it, as Muhammad does, is always a player worth watching. 

Kyle Anderson: 6’8” 225 G-F

Kyle Anderson was the leader of the US team whether he had the ball in his hands or not. His point guard-like passing skills were apparent as he found many open teammates during the night, only to have them fail to finish.

He was the high assist man on the US team with 4, as he was in the McDonald’s game with 8. He also led the team in rebounds with 10 and was the only player other than Muhammad to score in double figures with 12.

In the two All-Star games, Anderson has averaged 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 3.5 steals and 3.5 turnovers in 29.5 minutes. If he can do something similar to that in his freshman year, he will have a good chance of becoming the top pick in the 2013 draft.

The downside is his offensive efficiency. He hit less than 40% from the field in the two games and that has to improve.

While this is a situation to watch, I’m not going to get too concerned about it just yet. Even the greatest players can have off nights from the field. It is possible that Anderson was suffering from a case of the All-Star game jitters, and this affected his touch. The fact that he was able to affect the game positively in other ways is a good sign for him.

I feel Anderson will do well at UCLA, where he is headed. The Bruins have been a very good school for point guards under Ben Howland, with Jordan Farmar, Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison all having made the jump to the NBA in recent years. Anderson has said this factored into his decision to head west and this suggests that, like Muhammad, he is young player with a good head on his shoulders.

Based solely on these two games I would have to say I like Anderson as a prospect better than Muhammad. I prefer a player with the diverse skill set Anderson has shown. I like that he appears able to play either guard or forward.

At 6’6”, Muhammad is going to have to develop some perimeter skills in order to make a big impact at the next level. Anderson won’t have to deal with such issues.

While only a third of the US players in the Hoops Summit have made an impact in the NBA, players who lead in scoring and other statistics generally fare pretty well. This suggests Muhammad, Anderson and Noel will all have at least solid NBA careers. While the World team members have historically had much less of an impact in the NBA, it was hard to watch the game and not be impressed with Zhelin as an NBA prospect.

It’s also important to know that this analysis is based solely on two All-Star games in unfamiliar situations for all of these players. One was played under international rules and the other was played at a typical, hectic All-Star pace. These players have yet to practice with their college teams.

For that reason not much should be read into this. It’s my take on a group of very talented players at a very early stage in their careers.

As for Muhammad and Anderson, I like both players. Both seem smart and focused, qualities that go a long way.

When great players come into college ball together, the hope is that a rivalry of sorts develops and continues into the NBA. While it remains to be seen if that happens with these two players, it's safe to say that they will be a big part of the 2013 NCAA basketball season.