This year's USA Basketball Camp was filled with a bunch of new faces. Of the group of 28 that participated at this camp, only 1 had Olympic experience, big man Anthony Davis. This year's camp was to examine a field of 28 players to select to compete at next year's Inaugural FIBA World Cup of Basketball. The big names that represented this group was Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, and the rising star Paul George. The Bay Area added some hometown flavor with Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes representing the Warriors. Tonight was the traditional Blue vs White game where the field of 28 was split into two teams. Team Blue was coached by Chicago Bulls' Head Coach Tom Thibodeau while the White squad was being coached by Monty Williams.
This year's camp was to build for the future. Jerry Colangelo and Coach Mike Krzyzewski know that the superstars in the NBA today are aging and they need to start developing a new nucleus to represent our country. There was never a better place to start than tonight. Team White and Blue put on an electrifying performance. This makes me excited for the future brand of USA Basketball. The players that Colangelo picked for the camp fit the FIBA system perfectly. Those who aren't very familiar, in FIBA play, the ball can still be touched if it is making contact with the rim. Whereas in the NBA that would be considered goaltending or offensive interference. Also, the three point line is only 19 feet from the bucket, while the NBA three point line is 22 feet. That three feet difference can play a very large advantage to the Americans as that's an average jump shot for most NBA shooters.
With all that being said, tonight showed the fans that we have nothing to worry about. We've got young electrifying big men to replace Tyson Chandler, consisting of DeAndre Jordan, Kenneth Fareid, and Anthony Davis. Greg Monroe impressed me tonight as well making smart plays on Defense. There's the lock-in guards of Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard to get to the bucket at will. But FIBA is also about spreading the floor rather than driving to the hoop. We've got perfect fits for that with Klay Thompson, Ryan Anderson, Chandler Parsons, and Paul George. There are also a bunch of role players to choose from as well. Among them are Demarcus Cousins, Harrison Barnes, Dion Waiters, John Wall, and Ty Lawson.
Of course there will be players from the 2012 Olympic Team that will join in for the FIBA World Cup next summer. There have already been two former Olympians committing to the team for next summer in Kevin Love and Kevin Durant. There's also news of Russell Westbrook and James Harden wanting back in as well. Colangelo said we should expect to see about six players from the 2012 team back for next year's tournament. Leaving only six spots to fill for the roster. So this means everything is still up in the air to who will make the final roster. But one thing is for sure, the future is looking bright for the men in Stars and Stripes.
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