Leunen makes cut, but Taylor does not.

Byline: Bob Clark The Register-Guard

Never one to get overly excited, Maarty Leunen kept up that calm demeanor Tuesday when he was named as one of the 12 men's basketball players who will represent the United States at the Pan American Games later this month in Rio de Janeiro.

`It's a long process, so it was mostly a big relief,' the University of Oregon senior said in a telephone interview. `It was six days, two practices a day ... but now I'm excited that we've got our team situated and we can start looking forward to going down to Brazil.'

Leunen's reaction was somewhat tempered by the fact that UO teammate Bryce Taylor was one of the final two players cut Tuesday. The other player from the 14 finalists not included on the 12-player roster that will be submitted to Pan Am officials was Josh Carter of Texas A&M.

`It was so close,' Leunen said. `I feel bad for Bryce.'

`This was as difficult of a decision as any I've been involved in with USA basketball,' said Villanova's Jay Wright, the head coach for the squad who made the final choices for his roster. `Every kid could play on this team, and we would be proud to take them to Brazil.'

The only other Oregon player ever selected for a U.S. team that was playing in the Pan Am Games was Luke Jackson in 2003.

Leunen showed well in his all-around game as one of the five post players selected, and was also listed as one of the top rebounders during scrimmages.

`I just tried to play the best I could and do what I'm best at,' Leunen said. `It's hard because you only play in five or six-minute spurts during the tryouts, because there were so many guys (30) there at the start, and (the selection committee and coaches) need to see everybody.

`Mostly, I tried to make sure I wasn't trying to do anything out of the ordinary.'

Leunen said the offense being played by the team was a motion that is `primarily the same' as what the Ducks did, with the `four out, one in' alignment. That will often put him at the high post or on the perimeter, where his three-point shooting is an added asset for a post player.

The U.S. team will be in Group A at the eight-team competition, along with Argentina, Panama and Uruguay. The first game for the Americans will be July 25 against Uruguay, with games on the next two days against Panama and Argentina. The semifinals are July 28 and the medal games July 29.

`Hopefully, we can go down there and make a run at the gold,' Leunen said. `We know we're going to be playing teams with a lot of older players who are professionals.'

Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver of Washington State were also named to the team. The remainder of the roster is Wayne Ellington of North Carolina, Eric Maynor of Virginia Commonwealth, Drew Neitzel of Michigan State, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, Joey Dorsey of Memphis, Shan Foster of Vanderbilt, James Gist of Maryland, D.J. White of Indiana and Roy Hibbert of Georgetown.

The tryouts and training will end at Haverford College in Pennsylvania today, with the team moving Thursday to Washington, D.C., for three days of scrimmages and workouts at the Verizon Center.

Porter aids in win

Oregon's Tajuan Porter scored 11 points in 15 minutes as the U.S.A. team defeated Brazil, 104-65, on Tuesday at the U-19 world championships in Serbia.

Porter, who will be a sophomore for the Ducks, made 2-of-4 three-point shots as one of the eight American players to score in double figures.

Michael Beasley led the U.S.A. team with 16 points and nine rebounds. The unbeaten Americans (5-0) conclude second-round play today against France (4-1), which lost to Serbia (4-1) on Tuesday.