LOUISVILLE- The practices for the McDonald's All American Game ended on Tuesday with the two teams taking different approaches. The West squad took it easy while the East squad engaged in a competitive 30 minute scrimmage. Afterward practice West point guard Jai Lucas addressed the rampant talk of Billy Donovan heading to Kentucky.
"If he were to go to Kentucky, it really doesn't affect my situation," said Lucas. "It really stays the same because Coach Donovan has been recruiting me at Florida. I'm going to look at Kentucky regardless who the coach is because Kentucky is a great basketball school.
"Florida hasn't been on my school list because they took a commitment from a small guard in the '08 class."
The East scrimmage
If the East scrimmage is any indication of what will transpire Wednesday night, expect O.J. Mayo to get up a whole lot of shots in the game. The physical and talented guard went through his repertoire of scoring moves, with a large amount of success, during the scrimmage. And once again, the one defender from the East who can hang with him is Jonny Flynn.
Also impressive for the East was Kosta Koufos. The big man consistently knocked down jumpers from the mid-range.
Nick Calathes had a number of positive plays in the scrimmage, coming up with steals from the weakside, making assist passes on the break and knocking down jumpers.
Post players J.J. Hickson, Patrick Patterson and Gani Lawal made their usual impact around the basket with their aggressive play.
Donte Green and Corey Stokes both shot the ball well from the outside.
The Rotations
Both teams have consistently used two six player rotations in practice. For the West, one group is Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Kyle Singler, Michael Beasley, Kevin Love and Taylor King.
The other rotation for the West includes Jai Lucas, Jerryd Bayless, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Cole Aldrich and James Anderson.
For the East, one group is O.J. Mayo, Austin Freeman, Donte Green, Patrick Patterson, Kosta Koufos and Nolan Smith.
The other rotation is Jonny Flynn, Nick Calathes, Corey Stokes, J.J. Hickson, Gani Lawal and Chris Wright.