OT: 2018-2020 USA Basketball Men's National Team - 2020 (2021) Tokyo Olympics Updated Schedule, Page 13

Post #141 » by **G R E Y** » Thu Aug 29, 2019 7:38 pm

Prior to the game, TAPS kids were invited to participate on the court.

Everyone had a TAPS buddy for the anthem. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE/Getty Images)

https://www.usab.com/basketball/media/galleries/2019/08/mnt-exh-1-v-esp.aspx

Post #142 » by **G R E Y** » Thu Aug 29, 2019 8:10 pm

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Box Score - https://www.usab.com/usavesp2019

After the game, Donovan Mitchell gave his shoes to a fan.

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The kid looks mesmerized. So cute!

More game photos here - https://www.usab.com/basketball/media/galleries/2019/08/mnt-exh-1-v-esp.aspx

Post #143 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 8:18 am

Video summaries

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Game summary

There wasn't a lot on the line Friday night for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team. After all, it was just an exhibition game for the world’s top-ranked team. Still, it was a pretty good litmus test to see what this group of players – including some of the NBA’s better youngsters – could do against second-ranked Spain as it prepares for the FIBA World Cup that begins in two weeks. With a mix of early determination, good ball movement and excellent defense, the U.S. toppled Spain 90-81 at the Honda Center.

“The wins and losses are pretty unimportant at this time. It's more about getting better, getting together, a group learning to execute together,” USA coach Gregg Popovich said. “I thought the Spanish team was just astounding with all the offense that they ran the way they execute. The way they read each other, you can really see the experience. We hope to get close to something like that offensively. And it's going to be difficult in this short time. But it was a great example for us to see that.”

The U.S. had a balanced scoring attack, with Donovan Mitchell leading Americans in double figures with 13 points. Khris Middleton had 12 points, while Kemba Walker (eight assists) and Jayson Tatum had 11 each.... While offense shouldn’t be a problem with the wealth of talent the U.S. possesses, it was the defense and rebounding that overcame the small hiccups in the Americans’ play. The U.S. – while shooting 54.8 percent (34 of 62), including a scorching 57.9 percent from 3-point range (11 of 19) – held Spain to 40.8 percent (29 of 71). The U.S. also limited Spain’s second chances by holding a 42-20 rebounding advantage, 33 of which came on the defensive end.

“I was most pleased with us defensively,” Popovich said. “I thought we did a good job for a new group communicating with each other. We rebounded well. We haven't done that to date, consistently. I thought we had a good effort from everybody on board tonight.”

What might have been the most impressive for the U.S. is the balance the team showed. On offense, the ball moved to find the open player and the better shot. Of 13 players who dressed for the U.S., 12 had a rebound, but no one more than six.

“I think a lot of guys are willing to sacrifice for one another,” Mitchell said. “I think that's the biggest thing. You want to be on a team like that. You want to be around guys that want to be around each other....”

The final Spanish push came when Sergio Llull (11 points, six assists) drained a 3-pointer to trim the U.S. advantage to 80-72 with 4:13 left in the game. But Joe Harris made his lone basket of the night, a 3-pointer from the corner, and following a Rubio turnover, Derrick White put in a short-range floater from the lane. The U.S. was back up by 13 with 3:32 left and doused any further challenges.

“We need that,” Middleton said. “It's not a 48-minute game where you can have a couple of lapses when you know you can bounce back. In this tournament, it's a shortened game. So we have to be on top of it for those 40 minutes and execute and no mental lapses or anything like that.”

https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2019/08/mnt-vs-spain-story.aspx

Post #144 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 2:44 pm

Post-game quotes

Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)
What have you learned about this team since the beginning of camp?
Just how hungry we are. From top to bottom, everybody is hungry and just wants to prove something and get this job done.

How much of an adjustment is it playing an international team like Spain? Pop pointed out how well they moved the ball and how well they played offensively but he also complimented your guys defense. Just your thoughts on playing against Spain.
Spain is a great team, they are an experienced team. We are going to have to run against that in this tournament. So, tonight was a great test against an experience team that has been running their stuff for a while, who know each other well, who have played in a tournament before. So, I think the guys did a great job of pulling it together as quick as possible knowing that we are going to be tested tough like we were tonight.

Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics)
This is a young team and you are definitely a leader on this team. So how do you go about accepting that role?
Just by being myself. I’m not really a big talking guy. So, I just try to lead by example, set the tone early and do what I can to help this team. That’s it.

What is the main difference between playing here and in the NBA?
It’s just different rules. The three-point line is a little bit closer. The basketball is different. You can stay in the paint. There are just a few different rules that we have to adjust to, but we are getting there.

How do you feel about competing with NBA players that you have played against on the court?
I love it. I love it. These guys man are great. Very high character guys, very fun to be around. I’m having the time of my life.

What expectation do you have of going to China?
I’ve been to China plenty of times so I guess you could say I’m used to it. But we’re just going there with one goal, one mindset. We want to win. We want to go out there and do what we can to compete at the highest level.

https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2019/08/mnt-vs-spain-quotes.aspx

Post #145 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 2:47 pm

Full Team USA vs. Spain game

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Post-game press conference

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Post #146 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 4:22 pm

Photo shoot prior to leaving for Australia (17-8-2019):

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Post #147 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 4:33 pm

Leaving for Australia (18-8-2019):

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Arrival

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Summary video of the team's journey from Los Angeles to Australia

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Post #148 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:11 pm

Practice 1, Melbourne, Australia (19-8-2019):

Photos

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More photos here - https://www.usab.com/basketball/media/galleries/2019/08/mnt-aug-19-practice.aspx

Video sneak peak of Pop's basketball moves, courtesy of Donovan

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Post #149 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:16 pm

Practice 1, Melbourne, Australia:

Interviews

Nice and organized and respectful

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Post #150 » by **G R E Y** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:28 pm

Practice 1, Melbourne, Australia:

Quotes

Gregg Popovich (USA and San Antonio Spurs head coach)
How valuable can a travel experience like this be in terms of rounding out a player?
Well, that’s the essence of understanding player to player, especially from different countries. In Patty’s (Mills) case for instance, when we celebrate Mabo day, and everybody in the room, initially they look at each other, and they say, ‘What? What is that?’ And then they find out, and it moves you. It makes you feel closer to somebody. And as we all know in team sports, when you feel responsible to somebody, when you care about somebody, when you love somebody, when you have empathy for somebody, things go better. So, different experiences, different cultures has always been really important, and it makes for a better team.

On this team’s chemistry:
Well, you know, all we’ve really been able to do is go to dinner. We haven’t had that much time. Practices are pretty important, because they are so few. But, going to dinner and spending time off the court and just learning about them and their families. We don’t know their wives and girlfriends and children like we do our own teams back in the NBA. So, it’s a slow process, but we try to get a little bit more familiar every day.

It’s great. We go to dinner without phones, people actually talk to each other, ask questions and learn about how each other grew up, that sort of thing. Because it is a brand new basketball team, you have to start not skipping steps and trying to learn about people, and you get as far as you can in a short period of time.

How has it been for you having a brand new team?
We start at the beginning and try to figure out as quickly as we can what suits this particular group of players. Who are your go-to guys? Who understands this offense or that offense? What kind of defensive team can we be? You look at the players and figure that out as soon as you can, and then work at it. It’s kind of a quick study in a sense, because you don’t have a whole training camp and season, you just have a training camp. But the challenge is exciting, to tell you the truth. It’s a lot of fun, because you know you have to really concentrate and get things done quickly.

Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks/Charleston, S.C.)
On the game on Thursday versus Australia:
We definitely will get tested against a great Australia team, so it will be a good game for us to learn, see what we need to get better at as far as going forward.

Have you played in a soccer stadium, or in front of 50,000 people?
No, never. This definitely will be the most amount of people I’ve ever played in front of it. So, I’m excited about it. I’ve seen (the stadium) on TV. We are the road team, which is always fun to be playing on the road like that, with a crowd like it is going to be.

How has it been for you to be one of the leaders on this team?
It’s cool. There are a lot of great players. We all lean on each other for advice, how to play with one another, since we have never played on the same team before. But, it’s been great.

Kemba Walker (Boston Celtics)
What does it mean to represent the United States?
It means the world to me. This is an honor for me to be a part of this USA team. I’ve always wanted to participate in this on this level of USA Basketball, and now I’m getting my opportunity, as well as these other guys especially the younger guys. We know a lot of the big-name guys pulled out, but it’s given the younger guys an opportunity to kind of showcase what they have. We’re all so excited to be here. This is something that we’ve all grew up watching, and we all grew up wanting to be a part of. It’s a blessing for us.

How important is it to get a win against Australia even though it’s only an exhibition game?
Right now, we are just focused on getting our stuff down pat: the things we work on in practice, our plays, our defensive schemes, rotations, things like that. We’re trying to clean those things up, get better with those things. Of course, we want to win. Both teams want to win, I’m sure. We’ll go out there and battle as much as we can, but the main goal right now is to get better game-by-game, day-by-day, practice-by-practice, leading up to China.

https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2019/08/mnt-quotes-aug-19.aspx

Post #151 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 1:05 am

Practice 2, Melbourne, Australia (20-8-2019):

Photos

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More photos here - https://www.usab.com/basketball/media/galleries/2019/08/mnt-aug-20-practice.aspx

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Video snippet

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Post #152 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 2:10 am

Practice 2, Melbourne, Australia:

Interviews

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Good article about Khris's confidence boost - The Conversation That Assured Khris Middleton He Belonged

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Quotes

Gregg Popovich (USA and San Antonio Spurs head coach)
Did you foresee the growth Derrick White has made?
No. He’s had steady progress, but he is one of those guys, he started out in Division II and ended up playing on our G League team for a couple of years, and he just seemed to get better year-by-year, week-by-week. We brought him on the Select Team, just to scrimmage against the main team, and he played so well, that we moved him up. So, he’s a heck of a story.

Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics)
What’s it like wearing this USA colors and playing with a lot of Boston guys?
It feels good. It’s a blessing. It’s an opportunity that a lot of people wish they could have. To be amongst those 12 or 13 guys out here is a good feeling. And to do it with some of my fellow teammates is even better....

How has it been playing for Coach Popovich, and has he taught you anything in particular yet?
Yeah. Pop is a great guy. He’s hilarious. He does a lot of things to really get you focused and plays with your mind to really get you ready. But for us, the things we are learning is unbelievable, because all our years we played for a certain coach. We not only have Pop here, but we have Steve Kerr, we got Jay Wright. We got all these guys out here, and we get to learn from each and every last one of them.

https://www.usab.com/news-events/news/2019/08/mnt-quotes-aug-20.aspx

Post #153 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 2:58 am

Later that evening after the second practice, Team USA and the Aussie Boomers visited the National Gallery of Victoria.

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ngvmelbourne
Tonight we welcomed @usabasketball to Australia with a special event at NGV hosted by @visitmelbourne. Team USA and the @australianboomers enjoyed a tour of the Terracotta Warriors & Cai Guo-Qiang exhibition ahead of their Melbourne match this Thursday.

Post #154 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 4:53 am

Practice 3, Melbourne, Australia (21-8-2019):

Photos

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Videos

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Post #155 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 5:19 am

Practice 3, Melbourne, Australia:

Interviews

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Post #156 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 6:05 am

Practice 3, Melbourne, Australia:

The Australian Indigenous All-Stars took in this practice during which Pop was honoured with a basketball painted with an Aboriginal design.

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Ahead of the Team USA-Team Australia exhibition game, San Antonio spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was given a special basketball designed by Australian Aboriginal artist Trent Duffy. The basketball reflects Australia's passion for basketball.

Popovich was honored with the gift for his work on and off the basketball court as well as for his coaching of Spurs guard Patty Mills.

The gift was presented to him by Joel Khalu, CEO of Australian Indigenous Basketball, where he also thanks Popovich for his continued support of the Australian Aboriginal community.

"Patty wouldn't be where Patty is without you. What he tells us about you, the cultural support as part of the Spurs. That means a lot to us."

https://news4sanantonio.com/sports/content/watch-popovich-presented-with-special-basketball-created-by-australian-aboriginal-artist#/gallery/

Some photos of the event and of the basketball art from different angles

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156813819787852&set=pcb.10156813826507852&type=3&theater

Post #157 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 6:43 am

Video summarizing how the players have been bonding and the progress they've made leading up to the back-to-back games versus the Boomers in front of huge Australian crowds.

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Part of what has facilitated a strong team bond in a short time are the now legendary team dinners.

‘It's not about the Spurs or Lakers... it's about the USA’: How culture and pride is guiding Team USA ahead of the 2019 FIBA World Cup

Gregg Popovich is a large proponent of team dinners. That, we know. He’s done it for years with his San Antonio Spurs, and the success the franchise has achieved during his time at the helm is evident. Nowadays, there’s a “no phones” rule in place, too.

“People actually talk to each other; ask questions,” Popovich said. “Learn about how each other grew up. That sort of thing....”

“Because it’s a brand new basketball team, you have to start, not skipping steps, and just try to learn about people,” Popovich said. “You get as far as you can in a short period of time....”

“We’re doing everything together,” Walker said. “Wherever we go, we’re trying our best to be together as much as possible...."

“To me, it feels like we’ve been together for a while. We gel so well together. We understand the importance of having USA across our chest. We don’t care who scored the most points, or who shoots the basketball. We’re together. It’s been so much fun being a part of this team.”

Those dinners aren’t just for the players, either.

Meals among the coaching staff in San Antonio are those of legend; an opportunity for all to bond, absent a filter. The effectiveness of that sort of gathering is only amplified when taking into account the who’s who of the coaching community on Popovich’s Team USA staff, from eight-time NBA Champion (five as a player with the Chicago Bulls; three as head coach of the Golden State Warriors), Steve Kerr; Villanova’s Jay Wright, a two-time NCAA Champion; and current Atlanta Hawks head coach, Lloyd Pierce.

“When you start drinking wine together and sharing meals, inevitably there’s all kinds of conversations that come out of it,” Kerr told foxsports.com.au . “Those conversations, you tend to reveal your deepest thoughts, secrets, experiences, and that’s how we all learn.”

“Just from the time we’ve had in training camp, the way Pop runs his team. To have great players like this being selfless. You’ve got starters in the NBA coming off the bench, no complaints, and playing a role. I can explain all of this.

“These are great NBA players that are understanding that their way to be the best they can be is to be part of a team. It’s a great example to give to our guys.”

Popovich began the entire campaign trying to drive forward that mindset.

“’It’s not about the Spurs; it’s not about the Lakers’,” Wright recalls his head coach saying. “’It’s about the USA’.

“He demands that of them, and they respond, which is pretty cool.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/basketball/fiba-world-cup/its-not-about-the-spurs-or-lakers-its-about-the-usa-how-culture-and-pride-is-guiding-team-usa-ahead-of-the-2019-fiba-world-cup/news-story/8c8477660cf6ba6b02287fe6c415a332

It has all been leading to more challenging opportunities that show how far they've progressed and where they need to be.

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Post #158 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 6:56 am

Exhibition Game 2 - Team USA vs. Australia, Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia (22-8-2019):

Patty has been championing his culture with pride and grace, and is magnifying his message on this stage.

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Donovan is also using his position to bring attention to an important issue.

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Post #159 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 7:24 am

Exhibition Game 2 - Team USA vs. Australia:

For perspective, this is what a 51K+ stadium looks like.

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Getting ready

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Post #160 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Sep 1, 2019 7:31 am

Exhibition Game 2 - Team USA vs. Australia:

Only Donovan and Kemba remain from the previous game's starters. Seeing which guys play best together is a work in progress.

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Box Score - https://www.usab.com/usavaus