With Coach Jamie Dixon along with Ashton Gibbs down in New Zealand for the U-19 games, the theme is apparently a rerun.

Let’s call them the Junior Redeem Team. The USA Under-19s, much like Kobe Bryant and co at last year’s Olympics, say they’re in New Zealand for the world championships on a mission to restore some honour for the home of hoops.

Somehow, I don’t think it’s quite the same thing, but hey if it works for motivation.

Team USA, coached by former New Zealand NBL star Jamie Dixon, haven’t won the world under-19 title since 1991 – and where they come from that’s simply not good enough. So the gold medal is their singular focus at this Auckland event which tips off on Thursday and runs through until July 12.

“We have a good group,” said Dixon who was a standout guard for Hawkes Bay in the NBL in 1989-90. “All of our guys have played one year of college so far, so they have some experience playing at the college level. I think we’re really coming together.

“It’s a very unselfish group, we shoot the ball well, and again, I think they’re taking pride in it. We know we haven’t won this tournament since 1991 and so we’ve made that a goal for us. We understand what we’re up against.”

Dixon said the fact that the USA had been denied for so long at these championships made this a “special” tournament for his players.

“When you haven’t won something in 20 years or so, then that means it’s special. Our guys understand that this is something we haven’t done in a while, so we have a goal set.

“This is a tough tournament,” added Dixon, who is now head coach of the University of Pittsburgh. “You’ve got the best teams in the world, the best players. This is important to other teams, and they’ve been together longer than we have.”

New Zealand is not exactly hopeful for their team called — and (with all apologies to Dave Barry) I swear I am not making this up — the Junior Tall Blacks. The name is apparently rugby related.

Not sure on what airline the team flew to get there, but if they did take Air New Zealand I hope they did not get this crew.

I find myself pondering the question that if Sam Young had gone pro after his junior year and been drafted in the same spot he was this year, everyone would have said he made a mistake by going pro early. That he fell for some mocks and pundits that had him listed late in the first round (like he was last year).

There would have been talk about how he needed another year to refine his game further. Show he could consistently hit from the perimeter. That if he came back and led Pitt to a great season, then his stock would have risen.  Of course he did all that, and then got slammed for being a 24-year old senior.

If DeJuan Blair had stayed another year or even all four and was still subsequently drafted in the second. There would be the observation of how he was listed in the teens of the mock drafts this year and should have gone when he was hotter and had less wear on his knees. That surely he would have gone higher because teams and scouts would have had less chance to pick apart his game.

Ultimately, no matter how many whispers there are in the ear. It is still the person’s decision. I hope DeJuan Blair still takes advantage of Pitt’s policies and at some point in the future finishes his education.

Even though Sam Young was taken one spot ahead of DeJuan Blair, there is not a lot of ink about him. Part of that stems from his being a senior so there is no “should he have stayed or gone” debate. Also, his slide out of the first round was really not as precipitous. He was holding steady in the twenties, so a slide to the early second round is not nearly as vast.

Also, since Sam went into a brief seclusion away from family and Pittsburgh, there was no media to really sit with him.

The other reason stems from the team that drafted him. They had the 2nd pick of the draft so that’s where the attention goes. Finally, it is Memphis. A wasteland of a franchise so there just isn’t going to be a lot on a bad team’s second round pick.

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