Michigan sophomore guard Tim Hardaway Jr. has been working hard on improving his game since the Wolverines NCAA tournament run ended in the second round with a nail-biting 73-71 loss to the Duke Blue Devils.
Last Thursday afternoon, Hardaway Jr. found out all of his hard work paid off when he was named to USA basketball’s under-19 world championship team. Hardaway Jr. told The Detroit Free Press the tryouts were difficult due to the high altitude in Colorado Springs, Colo.
“It’s very hard because of the altitude and getting used to it was tiring,” Hardaway Jr. said. “Everybody is getting winded real quickly, and the hardest thing is keeping your breath. Nothing you do can prepare you for it, even if you’re running, trying to stay in shape. Up here, it’s a totally different ballgame. It’s almost like you’re out of shape.”
Hardaway Jr. took a week off from basketball activities and then began working out with his father, former NBA player Tim Hardaway, at the South Miami Youth Center every morning. The Hardaway family lives in Miami, Florida.
“We’re working on ball-handling drills, ball-screen situations, a lot of the similar things that people saw me do last year, scoring from the wing,” Hardaway Jr. told the Free Press on June 16th. “But it’s mainly ball handling. I kind of realized that myself. I felt I wasn’t aggressive enough, and I could have helped out in the late run and more in a lot of those games we lost in the six-game losing streak.”
Strength coach Ed Downs is also working with Hardaway Jr. this offseason to increase his strength and stamina.
“His advice is to stay in shape, that’s the key thing they’re looking at,” Hardaway Jr, said. “You’re all in shape and running, and their gyms are hot.”
Hardaway Jr. averaged 14.9 points per game in Big Ten play and shot 37 percent form three-point land for the Wolverines in the 2010-11 season.
Hardaway Jr. scored 20 or more points in five of Michigan’s last 16 games and was not held below 10 points during that stretch. Hardaway Jr. scored a career high of 30 points on February 19 at Iowa when he went 5-for-7 from behind the arc.
His stellar play helped lift the Wolverines to an 8-3 finish to the regular season, a victory over Illinois in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, and a first round NCAA tournament romp of the Tennessee Volunteers.
The offense of the Team USA U19 team should suit Hardaway Jr. well, because he says its main focus is similar to John Beilein’s offense at Michigan.
“We try to get wide-open shots, and we’re running the court,” he said. “We still have a big man coming down and setting screens and there’s a lot of offensive movement, trying to move to keep the floor spaced-out. There’s a lot of slips and ball reversal. It’s no different from what we do.”
The eleven other players on the U19 team are: James Bell (Villanova); Anthony Brown (Stanford); Joe Jackson (Memphis); Keith Appling (Michigan State); Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut); Meyers Leonard (Illinois); Khyle Marshall (Butler); Doug McDermott (Creighton); Tony Mitchell (North Texas); Patric Young (Florida); and Mesa, Arizona prep Jahii Carson (Mesa High).
The USA U19 Team lost 101-72 to the Lithuania U19 Team in its first exhibition game Sunday night. Hardaway Jr. scored a team high 18 points in the loss. FIBA U19 World Championship play will begin Thursday in Valmiera, Liepaja and Riga, Latvia.
Team USA will be back in action Tuesday night against the Lithuania U19 team for another exhibition game.
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