USA wins pool B, enters elimination “Sweet 16″

ALL TIMES EDT

Complete World Championship Schedule/Standings

Saturday, August 28th – 12 PM – USA vs. Croatia – Win, 106-78

Sunday, August 29 – 9:30 AM – USA vs. Slovenia – Win, 99-77

Monday, August 30 – 2:30 PM – USA vs. Brazil – Win, 70-68

Wednesday, September 1st – 12 PM – USA vs. Iran – Win, 88-51

Thursday, September 2nd – 9:30 AM – USA vs. Tunisia – Win, 92-57

Elimination round game begins – September 5th/6th – TBD
Top four teams in each six-team pool advance to elimination round

Durant leads USA to 86-85 exhibition win over Spaniards

Coach K and the U.S. National Team decided to take on an extremely tough exhibition schedule prior to beginning play in the World Championship in Turkey in September, and the decision paid off over the weekend in Madrid.  The Spanish national team, the silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics and a favorite at this year’s World Championship, hosted the Americans in an exhibition game that added another exciting chapter to the growing USA/Spain basketball rivalry.

Team USA led for the entire game until Spain grabbed its first lead of the night at 82-80 with under two minutes to go.  Facing tough game pressure and a hostile crowd, the Americans rose to the occasion.  Kevin Durant scored two of his 25 points 17 seconds later and Derrick Rose gave the USA the lead again on a driving layup with 33 seconds left.  Spain then jumped back on top with a bucket and a foul before Rose again took it hard to the rack and drew a foul.   The speedy PG hit both free throws — saying the clutch shots were “something I’m never going to forget” — and Spain called timeout.

“We’ve practiced a lot with the zone and we used zone on all under out of bounds which were good.  Then from the timeout Jim Boeheim said let’s go Orange,” said Coach K on the USA’s strategy in the timeout.  “We call it Orange with respect for Jim, he said he doesn’t have any buildings named after him in Syracuse so we’ll name the zone after him.  I agreed with him, but it was his suggestion and the guys did a good job with it.”

Spain had 17 seconds to run their offense, but the zone defense caused some confusion.  Durant got a hand on a pair of three-point attempts, including one right before the buzzer, and the USA improved to 3-0 in exhibition games this summer with an 86-85 win.

“I just wanted to cover a much ground as I could and help my teammates out,” said Durant about the game’s last possession.  “I saw Ricky Rubio open in the corner and I just wanted to use my length to get out there and tip the shot.  I was able to get a finger on it and I had the ball and it kind of slipped out of my hand and Rubio got it back and threw it to Fernandez and I just didn’t want to jump and get a foul on a three-point shot so I stayed down and kind of timed it pretty well and I was fortunate enough to get a block and the game was over.  I just wanted to do something to help my team win.”

The win was a major confidence builder and great learning experience for the USA team and also left the group more prepared to handle tight games decided in the final few possessions.  After the contest, the Americans headed to Greece for more training and an exhibition game tomorrow against a tough and together Greek team.

Highlights — USA vs. Spain

Nike Basketball video feature on “blue-collar” U.S. National Team

Nike and USA Basketball are partners and the sportswear giant has helped spread the word on the National Team since Coach K and USAB Director Jerry Colangelo took over in 2005.  The video below from Nike Basketball’s YouTube channel gives an update on Team USA’s progress heading into this week’s training and preparation in NYC.

Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith headed to NYC to work with National Team

Kyle and Nolan gave their coach a hand last month at the USA Basketball training camp and will be heading to the Big Apple to do the same next week.  The Duke captains are among 10 top NCAA seniors and juniors on the USA Select Team that will train against the National Team in New York City from August 10th to the 13th.

Joining Nolan and Kyle on the Select Team will be JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Jon Leuer (Wisconsin), Shelvin Mack (Butler), Howard Thompkins (Georgia), Mike Tisdale (Illinois), Kemba Walker (Connecticut) and Chris Wright (Dayton).  Villanova coach Jay Wright will return to direct the USA Select Team in NYC.

“One of the great developments of our Las Vegas camp was the USA Select Team which consisted of juniors and seniors out of the college ranks that we brought in to scrimmage against the USA National Team,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement.  “Lorenzo Romar and Jay Wright did a terrific job of coaching the select players in Las Vegas.  It worked so well we’ve decided to bring to New York a smaller group of players from that Select Team to do the same thing.  They were very valuable to us, and it’s a great experience for them.”

USA Basketball wraps up week of training camp

USA Basketball concluded a productive week of training camp in Las Vegas with a scrimmage last night televised live on ESPN2.  The White squad took out the Blue team by a 114-96 score.  The staff and players will head home for a couple of weeks before packing their bags and heading to New York City.

“We had a terrific week,” said USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo.  “We had a great response from our players, they really worked hard.  They were aggressive, and we really got a lot out of this week . (There’s) tough decisions for us going forward for us, but the plan is to bring 15 players to New York and we advised everyone that we’ll be making those decisions over the next 24-36 hours and players will be advised Monday at the latest.”

Coach K added, “As a coaching staff we thought it was a really good week.   As always, coming to Las Vegas for USA Basketball was terrific.  We want to thank the fans, so many people coming out for an intra-squad game, and it being on ESPN, it was a good showcase event for these guys.  They’ve done a really good job this week and we’re getting to have a personality for our basketball team right now and anxious to get down to 15 and go to New York and try and personalize the team a little bit more.  For us, nobody was on the fence.   We said we were going to look at this for a week and that’s what we are going to do.  At different times, different guys distinguished themselves but overall the unit has distinguished themselves.  Just hearing what these guys are saying makes me feel good as a coach because they have the right attitude.  They have to build a brotherhood, build a team, being blue collar and trying to win.”

While in New York from August 9-16, the team will continue with practice and preparation, which also participating in the World Basketball Festival.  After that, the group will make stops in Spain and Greece before reaching Turkey for the World Championship.  Check out USABasketball.com for the latest coverage and info as Coach K continues to lead the National Team in pursuit of gold and the world’s respect.

More Comments from Coach K

On Tyson Chandler’s shooting:
I would look at his stats … take a look at what he was from the field. We’ll take that shooting percentage and factor it into his free throw percentage and he’ll be alright.

How much zone do you expect to see?
We will always be prepared for the zone. Internationally, there is really good teams. They like to play man but they’ll pack it in. I think we’ll see more man with zone principles. That’s what our NBA players learning to be international players have got to learn … that help side comes over and it stays there. I like the way we tried to distribute the ball today though. We have a couple of things against the zone that I think we’ll be good. I would expect more of sluffing, pack it in man to man against us. We can really change ends well and that’s got to one of the strengths, before they ever set up the defense.

On Andre Iguodala:
I think Andre has had a great week. I think any of these guys would tell you that he’s an easy guy to play with. He doesn’t need the ball. I told him right after the ballgame out on the court that he was beautifully efficient. I’m not sure anyone has ever called him beautiful before … I know no one has ever called me beautiful. I was looking actually for a return of him saying, ‘well coach you look beautiful too’ … maybe as we get to know each other more, he’ll do that. Andre, yeah he can defend. You need guys out there who don’t have to touch the ball long. He’s a fun guy to play … he’ll be one of the key guys for our basketball team.

On the personality of the group:
They’re really good guys. They have listened. Whatever we have asked them to do, they have done it enthusiastically and worked really hard. I think we really have come together even more than I thought we could in this five days while you’re trying to do a selection process also. I think the attitudes that they display shows great respect for the game, great respect for playing for our country and as a result of that, I think they’ll do anything that they can … which we gotta make sure we ask them to do the best things to use their talents. I think there is a great spirit of cooperation.

On Eric Gordon:
He’s was real easy to play with because the amount of time he had the ball and the amount of points that came from him was great. And part of it, I thought Derrick just played a beautiful game. Part of it is that I thought Derrick just played a beautiful game. I don’t think he had a turnover. Did you have one? I was just testing him to see if he was honest. He’s a South Side Chicago guy so I’m just trying to get to know him better. That was good. But it was easy playing with him tonight because he gave you the ball in rhythm. Getting you the ball is one thing … that is great but if you can get it to really good players in rhythm, that’s the best. And those rhythm shots are the thing that is so beautiful about the game. And, I thought he did that and Eric came through hitting like that.

On choosing the 12-man roster:
I am unbelievably impressed with all of them not knowing if they’re going to make the team. So, what we tell them throughout the week is ‘look being a part of this system will make you better … we’re going to be honest with you … we’re going to tell you the truth and you’ll always be part of our family whether you make this team or not. I mean, Tyson didn’t make the Olympic team but he’s back. They’re part of the family. It’s not an easy thing to do but as long as you’re honest about it and try to make the decisions are in the best interest of the team, just like trying to choose the Olympic team. It wasn’t the necessarily the best 12 players. It was how we see them coming together as a unit. That’s how this team will be chosen also. But, again, the players should be given immense credit for coming here like this.