Ryan Harrow and C.J. Leslie may have dropped Team McGladrey’s North Carolina Pro-Am Summer League game, but it wasn’t as though they failed to make noise, especially in the early going Tuesday night.
After a couple of quick, easy baskets on high-flying dunks and lay-ups in transition by Harrow and Leslie, Team McGladrey led 10-0 early and had Pack fans howling their approval.
Harrow, Leslie, fellow freshman Lorenzo Brown and junior forward C.J. Williams eventually lost Tuesday’s rematch with Team Stackhouse by a final score of 59-51. Team Stackhouse and incoming UNC freshmen Tar Heels Reggie Bullock and Harrison Barnes and sophomore John Henson defeated Team McGladrey 82-72 on July 13.
Harrow spoke with the News & Observer after that loss, but one week later, both he and Leslie declined post-game interview requests.
Along with Harrow, Leslie and fellow incoming freshman Lorenzo Brown, high school junior and Wolfpack commit Joseph Uchebo, junior forward C.J. Williams and senior big man Tracy Smith fill out McGladrey’s summer league squad. Smith did not play in Tuesday night’s game.
Harrow’s ball-handling and quickness were on display in the open court early and often, and Leslie’s finishing ability appears to be as advertised in his nearly unavoidable highlight videos – phenomenal. The videos highlighting his dunking ability have gained such popularity that many Pack fans are quickly becoming accustomed to seeing Leslie elevate his head near or above the rim. Fans have speculated that Harrow has a 40-inch vertical leap of his own, and based on some of the dunks he has thrown down throughout summer league play, he certainly seems capable of easily elevating to close to 40 inches off the ground. In addition to feeding Leslie on several no-look passes, the Pack’s point guard of the future did his best to create a debate regarding the best dunker of the Wolfpack’s 2010 freshman class.
As they have in many of their summer league games, Leslie and Harrow once again put on a show in more ways than one, combining impressive point totals with a handful of did-you-see-that moments. Harrow led his team with 17 points, and Leslie was right behind him, finishing with 16. Leslie likely would have led all scorers if not for struggles from the free throw line, where he shot just 4-for-12.
The highlight-reel-type play helped Team McGladrey push that lead to 28-13 at one point in the first half, but Team Stackhouse made a furious rally and took a 34-33 lead into halftime.
Both teams picked up the defensive effort in a second half that saw more steals and errant passes and less of the breathtaking basketball that characterized Tuesday’s first half action. Lorenzo Brown compensated for an otherwise slower-paced half of basketball with what might have been the most impressive dunk of the evening. Late in the third quarter, Brown took possession of the ball on the right elbow outside the three-point line and dribbled inside the perimeter before taking off from outside the paint on a two-handed jam that brought nearly everyone in the gym to their feet.
But despite leading 47-46 in the waning minutes, Leslie and Co. faded down the stretch, falling 59-51. The Pack’s incoming freshmen played with Williams, but without Smith, who took the night off.
With Smith unavailable, Uchebo battled UNC sophomore John Henson in the paint for much of the night. Henson just completed a freshman season during which he averaged just less than 16 minutes per game for the Heels. Uchebo, originally from Nigeria, will play for his third high school team next season after recently enrolling at Raleigh Word of God Christian Academy. At Word of God, he will follow in the footsteps of Leslie and John Wall, who was recently taken with the first pick of the 2010 NBA Draft after playing one season for the Kentucky Wildcats. It remains uncertain whether Uchebo will come to Raleigh in 2011 or 2012.
