Team USA won the gold medal at the FIBA World Cup of Basketball last weekend, easily defeating the Serbian national team, 129-92. It brought an end to a saga which saw Paul George suffer a horrific injury, Kevin Durant pull out of participation over fatigue, and forced the basketball community to ponder the value of international play.
bluntly arguedUSA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo has set it up for Krzyzewski to have a free run, and he's been strategic and shrewd in its use. NBA commissioner Adam Silver gave Krzyzewski a big hug on the floor Sunday night here ? another Dukie thrilled about how this partnership has closed the gap on Calipari and Kentucky, and gone a long way toward burying the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Krzyzewski never violated an NCAA rule when he climbed aboard a flight, flew cross-country and addressed the 2013 under-19 USA Basketball national team at its Colorado Springs training camp. He addressed players in a group, and talked to them individually, sources told Yahoo Sports. For the record, Krzyzewski is USA Basketball's senior national coach and the visit gave him an opportunity to personally welcome those young men into the program's feeder system.
This, Wojnarowski claims, allowed Krzyzewski to land high-profile recruits like Jabari Parker last year, and now Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow. Krzyzewski defended himself, reminding everyone that Duke "recruited a lot of really good guys" prior to his USA Basketball involvement, though his level of access certainly didn?t hurt when it came to gathering?a top recruiting class?like he has this year.
On top of that, his USA Basketball success simply amounts to more accolades for one of the most celebrated coaches in basketball history to add to an already lengthy resume. Winning gold medals with professional players allows him to claim success in the professional realm without coaching in the NBA.
World Basketball Festival in Chicago last month
Names like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and now even Kevin Durant were visibly absent from the Team USA roster this year. At this point, they?ve literally been there and done that, even Durant, who doesn?t turn 26 until later this month. At 28, Rudy Gay was the oldest person on the roster, and he was Durant?s replacement. What?s more, over half of the team is under the age of 25. Why impose an age restriction when the older veterans will already back out and the pool of available young talent will self-regulate the demographic makeup of the team?
Let?s also consider that Team USA still wants to win the tournament. The program should take this as seriously as other countries do, because we remember what happened when they didn?t. The result of sending a horribly-assembled team to represent the country at the last minute was the catalyst for Colangelo and Krzyzewski signing on to save the program in the first place. Forcing it to be a younger man?s game when it?s already going to be is pointless.
Speaking of younger talent, the World Basketball Festival also featured the Global Challenge, where under-19 talent from around the world get a feel for international play. In talking to some of the American-born players, I learned that they have tremendous respect for it.
"I think pretty soon, the league is going to be filled with a lot more players from other countries because of how fundamentally sound they are," said USC commit Chimezie Metu. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt commit Joseph Toye said that seeing other young players from around the world competing for the same things as he and his peers in the U.S. "[inspires him] to go harder." Growing up watching professional basketball in an era when the influx of overseas talent is common has shaped their views on international basketball.
Finally, there?s George?s injury, which Wojnarowski said was "in vain." It?s unfortunate that he?s going to lose an entire year of his career, but it was a freak accident that could?ve happened during a summer league game or a workout. As bad as it looked (literally, and in the grand scheme), what happened to Paul George can?t be blamed on USA Basketball.
Team USA may be a bit of a Duke circle jerk (two members of the roster played for Coach K; one, Kyrie Irving, was named tournament MVP), but the World Cup of Basketball isn?t a waste of time. It gives basketball-deprived fans a taste of the sport prior to the season?s return, and though it helps younger players take the next leap in their careers, it shouldn?t be reserved for them. Also, while the United States may have established a gap between itself and other countries, it?s pretty hard to deny the impact of the European style of play on the NBA today. (We?re looking at you, Chris Bosh.) This is something that high school players in the U.S. have both taken note of and appreciate. Lastly, Paul George?s injury may have cost him and the Pacers a season, but it isn?t anyone?s fault.
None of the aforementioned reasons would justify pulling the NBA?s elite from the USA Basketball program, which is unlikely to happen anyway.
Follow Julian Kimble on Twitter?@JRK316
