The Nike Hoop Summit practices have continued all week here in Portland, OR and, already, a few players are beginning to noticeably stand out.

On Tuesday, I had the chance to talk with two players from the World Team -- specifically Lucas Nogueira and Bismack Biyombo, and both have garnered quite a buzz.

While Nogueira, or “Bebe,” impressed because of his measurements and extreme upside, his teammate Biyombo has dominated the talk of the town thus far due to his outstanding athleticism and NBA readiness.  Entering the week as a probable mid to late first round pick, he’s now improved his draft stock enough to likely be selected in the lottery stage.

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress even posted the following message to Twitter: “If ESPN had a camera at this scrimmage, Bismack Biyombo's blocks and dunks would make up half of Sportcenter's Top-10 plays tonight.”

But yesterday at the Blazers practice facility, it was all about the US Team players.  Looking over ESPN’s  top 100 recruit rankings, seven of the top nine prospects listed were all in the gym.  Some local college players from the University of Portland and Portland State University also helped participate in the scrimmage in order to provide enough healthy bodies for a 5-on-5 game.

Right from the start, it was evident that the players weren’t very comfortable playing alongside each other just yet. In fact, most probably aren’t even used to competing in a game where there are so many other players with near equal abilities as themselves.

There were still oohs and aahs aplenty, however, as the scrimmage went on.  These players have elite talent and there’s a reason they’re considered the best in the country.

Afterwards, I had the opportunity to speak with both Anthony Davis and Tony Wroten Jr.

Coming off a disappointing loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Portland Trail Blazers received superb efforts from forwards Nicolas Batum and Gerald Wallace to bounce back and dispose of the Utah Jazz, 98-87.

Batum, Roy aggressive as Miller’s bounce-passes pick Jazz apart

Batum, inserted in the starting lineup for the injured Marcus Camby, was very aggressive offensively, especially early in the shot-clock. He scored 13 points in the first half, with three of his five field goals coming in transition on passes from Andre Miller.

The best high school basketball players in the world are all in Portland this week to participate in the annual Nike Hoop Summit, which will take place on Saturday at the Rose Garden at 7pm.  The game pits the best U.S. high school seniors against the best international players, aged 19 and under.

An astonishing number of premier NBA players have previously participated in the Nike Hoop Summit, such as Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzski, Baron Davis, Tony Parker, the Blazers’ own Nicolas Batum, and many others.

While the next step for the majority of these athletes (primarily the U.S players) is freshman year of college, this year’s roster features two players who have already entered themselves into the 2011 NBA Draft: Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira from Brazil and Bismack Biyombo from the Congo.  Both players are projected to be first-round selections if they choose to stay in the draft.

Most college players have to decide whether or not to withdraw by May 8th in order to retain eligibility, but international players have until June 13th to make that decision.

Last night, I was able to attend one of the international team practices and had the opportunity to talk to both Lucas Noguiera and Bismack Biyombo afterwards.

The Nike Hoop Summit is a huge opportunity for these kids.  It’s a chance to compete against peers of equal talent, to potentially raise their future draft stocks, and to showcase their abilities on a national level.

About two hours before tipoff, Nate McMillan sat in his office and was asked about how he prepares Portland for the NBA postseason knowing how the last two first round playoff exits against Houston and Phoenix have gone.

“We have to have a calm state of mind,” McMillan explained after throwing out words like “hungry” and “mental challenge”.

Yet as the Blazers clinched another postseason run as the Sacramento Kings beat down the Houston Rockets, Portland did very little to prepare themselves mentally or even physically for the playoffs as the Golden State Warriors came out to play.

Calm state of mind, huh?

More like a complete mental lapse by a team poised for the first round.

“Tonight was bad,” McMillan started. “This is one of those games where we’ve got to put this behind us and get ourselves ready for Utah.”

Keith Smart has not been a head coach a full season yet with the Golden State Warriors, but he's been around the game long enough to know not to drink the Kool Aid when it comes to Brandon Roy's game dropping off.

“He’s not Brandon Roy of last year yet, but he’s still a threat on the floor and he can create a mismatch," Smart told Beyond the Beat before Portland hosts the Warriors at the Rose Garden.