Scoop Shines In Team USA Exhibition, Fab Melo Joins Him In China

Scoop Jardine had a team-high seven assists and helped the USA Men’s World University Games Team get off to a great start with a 88-61 exhibition win over Chinese professional team New Century on Thursday.

Scoop scored one point and went 0-for-4 from the floor. He also had one turnover, but I'll take that against seven assists any day. Vanderbilt's John Jenkins led the team with 24 points.

Scoop was very happy with his performance and is well on his way to reaching one of his stated goals...

That is one of my goals, to lead the tournament in assists. If I can get seven or eight assist in a night, that means we are playing well. Our guys are going to make shots, and I am going to find my teammates.

Meanwhile, one of Scoop's Syracuse teammates will be joining him in China, though not on the same squad. Fab Melo will be a part of the Brazilian Brazilian National Team. He recently finished a four-game exhibition tour of Germany with the squad, so he's racking up some really solid frequent flier miles.

Brazil and the US are not slated to play one another in the opening rounds. Brazil is in Group A with China, the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania and the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile the US is in Group D with Finland, Hungary, Israel, Mexico and South Korea.

If both teams are among the top two in their group, they could meet in the quarterfinals or beyond. Play begins today and the quarterfinals begin on the 20th.