Named as members of the official 2014 USA Basketball World Cup Team were: DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kenneth Faried (Denver Nuggets); Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn Nets); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University Assistant Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University Assistant Coach: Tom Thibodeau, Chicago Bulls Assistant Coach: Monty Williams, New Orleans Pelicans Athletic Trainer: Joe Sharpe, Oklahoma City Thunder Athletic Trainer: Gregg Farnam, Minnesota Timberwolves Team Physician: Dr. Answorth Allen, Hospital for Special Surgery/New York Knicks Team Physician: Dr. Lisa Callahan, Hospital for Special Surgery/New York Knicks Team Physician: Dr. Riley Williams, Hospital for Special Surgery/Brooklyn Nets http://www.usab.com/news-events/new...2-man-roster-for-2014-usa-world-cup-team.aspx
Sucks for Argentina, that means they won't be competitive against the best teams. I don't see them going far in the tournament. Even at his age, Manu is the catalyst for them. And they will also be missing Carlos Delfino, who is key for defense and 3 point shooting. They still have some players with NBA experience in Scola, Nocioni, Prigioni and Hermann. Plus, Facundo Campazzo is a solid PG, although only 5'10". But most of the roster is composed of young kids playing in the Argentine or Brazilian league. Perhaps somebody will surprise, but so far I don't see any new Ginobilis in that group.
Campazzo is gold. Eventually he'll play at the NBA. But yeah, I'm just hoping for a good run for the team now, nothing else.
The relative plateauing of the non-US teams in recent years is interesting...the talent level is certainly higher than it was 20 years ago, but Argentina doesn't have a new Ginobili, Spain doesn't have a new Gasol, France doesn't have a new Parker, Germany doesn't have a new Nowitzki. In a way it mirrors the way that large, prosperous countries like the US and Japan were able to make rapid improvements to become respectable soccer teams, but have struggled to get beyond "respectable". Other than the US and Brazil it's not looking great for the Americas teams.
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Taking this further Yao Ming is in the same age range as the players you've listed, and I'm not aware of any newer Asian-raised players on his level. Mehmet Okur is in the same age range as the players you've listed, and I'm not aware of any newer Middle Eastern-raised players who are on his level Tim Duncan (albeit not international) is slightly older than Ginobili, and I'm not aware of any newer Caribbean-raised players on that level. Steve Nash is a bit older than Duncan, and I'm not aware of any newer Canadian-raised players on his level Way back when, Olajuwon, Mutombo, and Manute Bol all appeared in the span of a few years, and it seemed as though African-raised players might become a trend, but it never materialized. As a whole, international players have clearly been strengthening their place within the NBA, but it seems as though there was a wave of international star talent from many places that has since subsided. Not sure why that would be.
According to wiki (On opening day of the 1991–92 season, NBA rosters included 23 international players from 18 countries.[6] At the start of the 2013–14 season, there were 92 players from 39 countries and territories.), there are more now than ever, just they aren't stars like Olajuwon. Another thing about stardom is, you pretty much gotta be on a contenda to get the hype. You're not hearing as much about Scola and Nene and Varejao and Kirilenko because their teams haven't won their conference. But you DO hear about Ibaka, Sefolosha, the Gasol brothers...
Is it a coincidence that all four of these players are in the same age range as the "wave of stars" referenced above?
That's precisely the point. The general talent level is certainly higher than it was in the old days, but the wave of high-end players born between 1978 and 1984 hasn't been replicated. From a national team standpoint, the best non-US teams in 2014 aren't really any better than they were in 2004, and are unlikely to be better in 2024 either. This mirrors the struggle of soccer teams that made rapid leaps to respectability to take the next step and join the elite. Another sort-of parallel is that while US soccer is benefitting from the German-raised sons of Americans, other countries are benefitting from the sons of American pro basketball players who played overseas and married locals. The Finland team facing the US tomorrow has three players with American fathers. The talented young Australians like Dante Exum and Ben Simmons have American fathers. Both Swedish players in the NBA are the sons of Americans that played in Sweden. OTOH, you see almost none of this in continental Europe, with Tony Parker a rare exception.
The USA is up by 24 in the 2nd quarter against Finland already. No wonder why everyone in the US regards international basketball as a joke.
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Note to New Zealand: When playing the USA, don't do the Hakka. You look like idiots and no one takes you seriously. Save the Hakka for Rugby Union.
The Philippines gave FIBA 3rd ranked Argentina a tough match despite their size and inexperience in this type of competitions. A few breaks here and there and the results could have been different. I know you are missing some of your players, but it seems many players from your golden generation who are in this tournament are getting older and starting to fade.
I will definitely be watching the Philippines-Puerto Rico match tomorrow. It seems that the Philippines, won't be as challenged height wise in this match, as they have been in the other games they have played. It should be an interesting game, as both teams need to win this to have any chance of advancing to the second round.
Of course they're getting older, the Olympic Gold was 10 years ago... And we are missing Ginobili and Delfino. Both super important pieces. In any case, it's true what you said about the game against Philippines, very tough match it was.
FIBA has the 16-team bracket up: http://www.fiba.com/basketballworldc...#|tab=brackets FIBA World Cup Round of 16 (Barcelona Side): USA-Mexico Slovenia-Dominican Republic Lithuania-New Zealand Turkey-Australia FIBA World Cup Round of 16 (Madrid Side): Greece-Serbia Brazil-Argentina Croatia-France Spain-Senegal