Team USA Trims the Fat
As anticipated, Coach Mike Krzyzewski, also known as Coach K, and the Team USA coaching staff have trimmed the practice roster down to just 15 players on Wednesday.
The casualties of the cuts were Sacramento guard Tyreke Evans and Memphis guard O.J. Mayo. Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace was expected to be cut, as was Washington center JaVale McGee.
The start of last week’s training camp had 19 players and the roster had to be trimmed down to 15 for the Aug. 10-16 training camp in New York. After that camp, the team will be reduced even further to a 12-man squad by the 26th of August. This deadline comes two days before the United States team departs for Turkey to partake in the World Championship, which is set to run August 28th through September 12th.
Cutting elite players from a squad of other elite players is never an easy decision. "Our group of 19 did a terrific job,'' said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, who spent Monday and Tuesday calling all of the players who made it as well as those who were cut. "We really did have some difficult decisions. ... [The players not selected], each and every one handled that with dignity and class.''
Perhaps the only easy decision was the departure of rookie of the year Tyreke Evans. The 18 year-old sprained his ankle on July 20th, the first day of the Team USA camp in Las Vegas. He went on to miss the final three practice sessions as well as last Saturday's USA Basketball Showcase intra-squad game. Evans recognized the situation and told reporters he expected to be cut due to his injury.
The decision to let Wallace go was most likely due to his poor showing at the Showcase. Wallace went 2-for-6 from the field, with zero three-pointers on four attempts. The 6ft 7in forward also did not manage to grab a single rebound in his 12 minutes of play.
Mayo played extremely well in the Showcase and scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Unfortunately, Mayo was unable to overcome the poor showings he had earlier that week in practice.
McGee had a relatively solid seven points and three rebounds in the game, but he is far more of a raw talent rather than an international level player at this point in his two-season career.
These cuts leave Team USA with the following 15 player roster for the New York camp: Denver guard Chauncey Billups, Dallas center Tyson Chandler, Golden State guard Stephen Curry, Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, Memphis forward Rudy g*y, Clippers guard Eric Gordon, Indiana forward Danny Granger, Oklahoma City forward Jeff Green, Philadelphia swingman Andre Iguodala, New Jersey center Brook Lopez, Minnesota forward Kevin Love, the Lakers forward-center Lamar Odom, Boston guard Rajon Rondo, Chicago guard Derrick Rose, and Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook.
According to Colangelo, eight or nine of the listed players are guaranteed to make the final roster based on current standings. This means that about half a dozen spots are to be filled with the other role players. According to Colangelo: “Certain players were told they're right on the bubble and that New York is really very critical and important in terms of making the final roster.”
The USA roster looks poised to be relatively focused on small-ball, as they cut McGee and the centre-candidate Brook Lopez has had poor showings due to overcoming a bout of mono. Krzyzewski has stated that he would even be playing three guards simultaneously at certain points.
Regardless of what roster is chosen, Team USA enters the World Championship event as favourites to win. The team may not be as star-studded as it has been historically, but with a squad of extremely young talent, Krzyzewski should be able to put together a serious contending force.
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