Bronny James, Ron Holland help make for memorable night at Nike Hoop Summit: ‘The future of basketball is bright in these young men’s hands’

“These guys were amazing all week. They competed every day, did everything we asked them to do.”

By René Ferrán | Photos by Taylor Balkom 

PORTLAND, Ore. — No one player starred for Team USA in Saturday night’s 24th edition of the Nike Hoop Summit. 

Instead, they were all stars in the all-star basketball extravaganza. 

Six players scored in double figures, with two more scoring eight points apiece, as Team USA rallied for a 90-84 victory over the World team at the Moda Center, home to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers.

“We’ve got 13 guys that can go, and I’m just trying to come to the court and just be me,” said Ron Holland, a University of Texas signee from Duncanville, Texas, who led the balanced attack with 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and six steals. “That’s what they were stressing to us. They’re telling us, there’s people watching, it’s on TV. We’ve got NBA players here, vets here. Just be the best you.

“And that’s what I was stressing about the whole game. Knowing me, I’m an energetic guy. I’m just trying to do everything I can to be able to put my team in the best position to win. So, if that’s scoring, that’s scoring. Getting boards, getting on the floor, getting into dirty positions, that’s what I’m here for.”

Bronny James scored seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to help Team USA rally after the World team erased a 14-point deficit to take a 67-66 lead to the final 10 minutes.

He scored off a nifty backdoor cut with 3:30 left to push the USA lead to 84-79, and his two free throws with 5.4 seconds left iced the hard-fought victory.

“I just always try to stay confident with myself,” said James, who came up big with dad LeBron sitting courtside. “Even if I’m missing shots from the beginning of the game like I was, I just try to keep my head up and keep playing my game because I know good things are going to come.”

“For a young man like that, there’s so much pressure on him because of who he is and his family,” added USA coach Steve Turner. “He handles it like a pro, and I can say I’m blessed to have had the opportunity to coach him.” 

Isaiah Collier (USC), the nation’s No. 1 recruit according to 247Sports, also scored 11 points for Team USA. Two Kentucky recruits — Justin Edwards and DaJuan Wagner Jr., the top two recruits in the 2023 ESPN 100 — and Jared McCain (Duke) all had 10 points.

“I feel like this class is kind of looked down upon sometimes,” McCain said. “So, I think coming in, we all just had a chip on our shoulder. We come in to play in these all-star games and just play as hard as you can to win.”

Two Pacific Northwest standouts — SBLive Idaho player of the year Blake Buchanan (Virginia) of Lake City in Couer d’Alene and hometown favorite Jackson Shelstad (Oregon) of nearby West Linn — scored eight points apiece.

Shelstad drew the loudest ovation during introductions and again when he entered the game midway through the first quarter.

“I just tried to come out here and have fun and compete with these guys,” Shelstad said. “I mean, they’re all the most elite players in the country, so I just tried to come out here and play my game, try to do whatever I can to help the team.”

Mackenzie Mgbako (Duke), a Gladstone, N.J., native who played for Nigeria on the World team, scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, winning a personal tete-a-tete with future Blue Devils teammates McCain and Sean Stewart.

“We’ve been chirping back and forth most of the game, so it was good to have that kind of chemistry,” Mgbako said. “Really, we’ve been talking a little bit before the game, so it was good to go out there and compete.”

Michael Nwoko (Miami) played only four minutes in the first half for the World team, but the Canadian product who played for Prolific Prep in California this season gave his team a lift in the second half. He scored 13 of his 17 points after halftime as World battled back from a 26-12 deficit after the opening 10 minutes. 

“I just felt that we needed a spark in the second half, and his energy, his vibe, was just positive,” said World coach Kaleb Canales, a former NBA coach who served as the Blazers’ interim coach at the end of the 2011-12 season.

“These guys were amazing all week. They competed every day, did everything we asked them to do. I’m disappointed with the outcome, but 20 turnovers are too many turnovers for a great team. But you know, the future of basketball is bright in these young men’s hands.”

The victory improved Team USA’s record in the event to 17-7 and was the program’s third in a row in the series, which resumed last spring after being canceled for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Photo by Taylor Balkom

Photo by Taylor Balkom