Although it was just an exhibition game, a face-saving Barkley still admonished Pippen, "What the hell are you doing, tighten up on defense!"
Pippen, unconcerned, said, "I'll shut this kid down in the second half for sure."
As a result, Nowitzki erupted for 52 points for the entire game.
That's right, 52 points.
But no matter what, it was just an exhibition game. Pippen was playing with a casual attitude, and no one truly believed that a German high schooler could blow Pippen away.
So, Nowitzki remained largely invisible.
What really garnered some attention for Nowitzki in the American basketball scene was at this year's Nike Hoop Summit, where Nowitzki scored 31 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, leading Team World to a comeback victory over the United States team.
However, that game only made the U.S. college basketball scene notice Nowitzki.
After the game, Dirk received invitations from 10 Division I universities.
