National Team preparing for World Championship in August
USA Basketball’s National Team gathered in Las Vegas on Monday night prior to tipping off a week-long training camp in preparation for August’s World Championship in Turkey. Coach K is once again leading the team along with assistants Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan and Jim Boeheim. Coach Collins, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith are also out in Vegas helping the U.S. team get ready to again compete for the gold.
The new-look U.S. squad entered training camp with 21 players who will practice through Friday, working some of the time against a group of 20 talented and experienced college players (including Kyle and Nolan). The week ends with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The USA minicamp roster of 21 doesn’t include any 2008 Olympians so the Americans will have a different identity when they arrive on the international stage for their first game on August 28th against Croatia. The list of 21 includes Chauncey Billups, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Tyreke Evans, Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Rajon Rondo, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay, Gerald Wallace, Lamar Odom, David Lee, Kevin Love, Danny Granger, Jeff Green, Andre Igoudala, Brook Lopez, Tyson Chandler, Robin Lopez and JaVale McGee. That group is expected to be trimmed to 15 or so before the team reconvenes in New York for training camp on August 9th, and eventually will be whittled down to a 12-man group. Before opening play in the World Championship, the team will play an exhibition schedule against France in NYC, Lithuania and Spain in Madrid (August 21-22), and Greece in Athens (August 25).
At the team’s first meeting on Monday night, Coach K emphasized the importance of playing well together and the honor of playing for the USA. “When we are flying back on September 13th,” said the Duke Hall of Famer, “we are all going to be better, we are going to be proud, and we are going to have formed relationships with each other that will last forever.”
Coach K also told the group a story about the 1992 U.S. Olympic squad when he was an assistant coach with the “Dream Team.” After a practice, Michael Jordan approached the Blue Devil leader and asked if he could get some extra work in. The UNC superstar and Duke coach worked together for awhile and Jordan ended the session by shaking Coach K’s hand and thanking him for his time. You had one of the world’s best putting in extra time and showing that he wasn’t above any player or coach. The message, Coach K said, was that Team USA’s “totem pole” is horizontal, not vertical.
Also in the meeting, the players were shown a highlight video of the 2008 Olympic champions to inspire the group to bring another gold medal home. However, the team won’t spend much more time looking back.
“I’m not going to talk about Beijing at all, and I wasn’t going to talk about Japan any more than in the context that we haven’t won [the world championship] since ’94. But other than that, I don’t think there’s any need,” Coach K said. “It’s kind of like my Duke team this past year: Those kids can’t play to help me win my fourth national championship, but I can be the coach of their first national championship. They can identify with what they are doing.”
With the next wave of U.S. talent working hard in Las Vegas, a new group will have a chance to leave their mark under the guidance of Coach K. The World Championship presents a big challenge to a young American team.
“We’re excited about a new group,” said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. “We’ve got some veterans, but we have a number of young, aggressive, hungry guys who are excited about the opportunity. So on one hand, that may sound more challenging, but there’s also an excitement about doing it again with this other group.”
2010 National Team Schedule
July 19-23… Training Camp in Las Vegas
July 24… USA Basketball Showcase in Las Vegas (10 PM EST, ESPN2)
August 9-16… Training Camp in NYC
August 15… Exhibition v. France in NYC (1 PM EST, ESPN2)
August 17-20… Training Camp in Madrid
August 21… Exhibition v. Lithuania in Madrid (3 PM EST, NBA TV)
August 22… Exhibition vs. Spain in Madrid (3 PM EST, NBA TV)
August 24… Training Camp in Athens
August 25… Exhibition vs. Greece in Athens (Noon EST, ESPN)
August 28… September 12 – FIBA World Championship in Istanbul
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