ATLANTA β With a screen allowing just enough separation from his defender, Nico Mannion rose up and let the ball go as he drove to the left of the basket during the second half of Wednesdayβs McDonaldβs All-American Game.
There was no doubt where the ball would fly, and it wasnβt to the hoop.
Not when Josh Green was cutting down the baseline.
In a play Mannion and Green can probably run in their sleep by now, Mannion lofted the ball straight into Greenβs hands as the Australian wing drove in for a reverse layup finish.
βI know where heβs going to be at,β Mannion said. βI jumped before I even threw the ball. His guy jumped, and I knew he was going to go back door. Me and him just have a feel for each other. Everything we do is together.β
Although the layup allowed the West team to cut within 10 points of the East with 13:40 left in Wednesdayβs McDonaldβs game, the East won 115-100 behind Cole Anthonyβs MVP performance of 14 points, five rebounds, seven assists and no turnovers β plus a block of Mannionβs first shot.
But the score, of course, meant little. It was an all-star game.
It was that Mannion-Green moment, that visible bond between the two UA signees that was forged years ago, that meant much more for Arizonaβs future.
βItβs just a connection, I guess, me and Nico,β Green said. βThis is kind of hard for us to play in an all-star type of environment. But that was definitely just a little something from what weβre going to do next year at Arizona.β
Mannion and Green had eight points each, with Mannion shooting 3 for 8 from the field, with two assists and one turnover, and Green going 4 for 9.
Five players scored in double figures for the West, with Memphis-bound James Wiseman collecting 13 points and six rebounds, and seven guys had double-figures on the East squad.
Undecided big man Precious Achiuwa of the East led all players in scoring with 22 points while lugging his 6-foot-9-inch frame up and down the court for 17 minutes of what he described as a surprisingly fast-paced game.
βTo be honest, I didnβt think we were gonna run that much,β Achiuwa said. βI thought I was going to come over here and have a chill couple of days. But it wasnβt that.β
Hearing that comment during the postgame press conference, East coach Ed Fritz leaned over and smiled.
βSorry,β Fritz said.
Fatigue was only one of the obstacles Wednesday. A point guard like Mannion, especially, had to somehow try to manufacture cohesion while subbing in and out every four minutes or so, often with different mixes of players to work with.
βItβs just hard to get in the flow,β Mannion said. βThereβs no rhythm, you couldnβt really stop guys. Everyone kind of wants to get theirs, and if youβre not having the ball in your hands and youβre not getting shots, youβre not going to get a feel for the game.β
With Green, though, Mannion had an exception, thanks to years of bonding on and off the court. The two met while playing in Avondale club tournaments when Mannion was in middle school, then played together for West Coast Elite club teams during high school summers.
βWeβre roommates, and travel with each other all summer so we have a really good relationship,β Green said. βWeβre both easygoing people. Weβre cool to talk to, and we both have cool stories with our background and everything like that.β
They also are comfortable talking with each other about things that sometimes arenβt so easy to talk about.
βWe know each other so well, that he can get on me, and I can get on him with us knowing itβs coming from a place of love, that weβre not mad at each other,β Mannion said. βWe can yell at each other and tell each other what to do, or sometimes when we see something we can get on each other.
βNot a lot of people will do that because they donβt have the relationship. When weβre on the floor, weβre obviously close, but weβre gonna let each other know if weβve got to fix something or do something different. When that time comes, we can handle it. And then after that happens, weβre still best friends.β
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Their connection produced only that one moment of visible togetherness on the court Wednesday, when Mannion dished to Green for the second-half layup.
But itβs the sort of thing that might occur over and over again at McKale Center next season.
βThatβs the one play you saw, but thereβs going to be a lot more of that for sure,β Mannion said. βJust because weβll actually be able to actually get a feel for the game when we get to Arizona. Weβll be a lot better.β