Hello Duke fans! I hope you guys are doing well. Everything has gone great here in Las Vegas. The Olympic Team has looked good and everyone is healthy except for Lebron’s minor ankle tweak. The first two days have been three-hour practices that have been very tough. The format looks a little bit like a Duke practice. In a few of the drills we’ve run that our Duke guys are familiar with, Coach Collins takes it out and I run the point. A Jason Kidd and Lebron James trap is not an easy thing to get out of!
We have practiced against a select team each day made up of younger guys who want to be a part of USA Basketball’s future. The group has some great talent and it has been fun to see how excited they are to practice with the National Team.
All the guys have been impressive with their work ethic, competitiveness, and understanding of the game. Lebron is an amazing talker on the floor and he is incredible physically. Dwyane Wade looks like he is fully recovered from his injuries and has played with an edge.
Creating a three-year National Team program has been terrific for Coach K and the coaching staff, allowing for great relationships to be built and a team culture to be established. We had a meeting the first day and Coach K asked if anyone had anything to say, and half the team stepped up with amazing things to say. The guys are incredibly honored to wear that USA jersey on the world’s biggest stage.
I have been asked on multiple occasions about our team at Duke. It is cool to see how closely they have followed our program.
I am off to a team meeting now but I will send more updates as we progress on our Olympic journey. Go USA!
-Coach Wojo
