COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 12, 2009) — USA Basketball, Nike and the NBA Portland Trail Blazers today announced the return of the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit to the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore. The Nike Hoop Summit, the country’s premier annual basketball game for high-school age boys, features America’s elite, young athletes playing against a World Select Team comprised of top international players 19-years-old or younger. The 12th Annual Nike Hoop Summit will be played on Saturday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. (PT).

Tickets go on sale Tuesday for the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit, with reserved courtside seats priced $25 and $50 and all other lower bowl tickets are $6 if purchased before April 11, and are $10 day of the game. Tickets can be purchased through the Rose Quarter Ticket Office, by calling 877-789-ROSE (7673) or by visiting www.rosequarter.com.

“USA Basketball is excited to return the Nike Hoop Summit to Portland in 2009,” said USA Basketball executive director Jim Tooley. “We had a great game and a great crowd in 2008, and we know basketball fans in the Portland area enjoyed the chance to see NBA stars of the future in a meaningful game.

“Any fan of basketball will appreciate the competitive spirit that characterizes this event. This is not an all-star game. It’s an opportunity for the world’s best 18 and 19 year-olds to compete at the highest level under international rules in a one-game, crowd-pleasing rivalry,” Tooley added.

The Nike Hoop Summit will make its second consecutive appearance in Portland in 2009. Overall, USA teams have won seven consecutive games and nine of the previous 11 Hoop Summit match-ups.
The 2009 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Select Team roster is expected to be announced in early February, with the 2009 World Select Team announcement to follow in March.

The USA Select Team will consist of 10 players, a head coach and an assistant coach, while the World Select Team will consist of 11 players age 19-years-old or younger from FIBA’s five geographic zones: FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania, with the approved sanctioning of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world governing body of international basketball.