LAS VEGAS — University of Kentucky coach John Calipari made a guest appearance at Team USA’s mini-camp here Wednesday at UNLV to hang out with former players centers Anthony Davis and Demarcus Cousins, point guard John Wall and 6-9 forward Terrance Jones who were among the 34 players invited to this three day light workout.
He was talking with the bulked up 6-10, 242 pound Davis when the subject of the Wildcats’ newest 6-11 freshman Skal Labissiere, a star in the Nike Hoop Summit, came up. “Better watch it,” Calipari said. “AD will want to play him one on one.” Davis, who is entering his fourth season in the NBA, looks like he is ready take on all comers and devour them.
He has rapidly emerged as one of the Top 5 players in the NBA, going from an after thought 12th man on the 2012 Olympic gold medal team in London who only made the team after Blake Griffin suffered an injury. Davis had just led Kentucky to a national championship and was a 19-year old one and done who was the first pick in the 2012 NBA draft. He has since become a dominant force in the 2014 World Cup in Spain and appears ready to become Team USA’s best center since Tim Duncan on the dysfunctional, ill faded 2004 Olympic team that earned a bronze medal in Athens.
Davis is only 22-years old but he appears destined to be one of the cornerstones of the national program, along with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Cousins and Kyrie Irving after iconic 31-year old LeBron James, who will likely play in his fourth and final Olympics, moves on.
Davis had a breakout tournament in Spain where he averaged 12.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game for the United States in the FIBA tournament, starting all nine games while averaging 19.7 minutes per game on the floor. Davis converted 56 percent of his shots for the Americans last year on 45 of 82 shots, deferring part of the rebounding duties to Kenneth Faried. What made his performance so special was that it was accomplished with a front court that was decimated after forward Paul George suffered a gruesome injury in an exhibition game here. Both Durant and Love, two of the young stars for the U.S. in London, pulled out because of contract negotiations with teams and shoe companies and LeMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin informed US basketball they were unavailable before the tryouts.
“It meant a lot for us to win the win,” Davis said. “Everybody had us down. We were big underdogs. They were saying Spain was going to beat us. We didn’t have bigs and all this. But it wasn’t about that. We just had to go out there and be the best we could be.”
As it turned out, the U.S. and Spain, the host country, didn’t even get to play. France upset Spain in the quarters and the U.S. defeated Serbia, 129-92 in the finals when MVP Kyrie Irving made all six of his three point attempts and scored 26 points as the U.S. repeated as world champion for the first time. Davis, Harden and Curry and possibly Irving and Klay Thompson from that team should make the 2016 squad.
Davis, who is one of seven players here from the 2012 London games, is expected to play the post for the Americans on a block buster front court that could also include James and Kevin Durant. He participated in light workouts Tuesday, then sat out Wednesday with a rolled ankle.
“You can’t just put a team together in two weeks, pick 12 guys and have a coaching staff that doesn’t really know each other,” national team coach Mike Krzyzewski said. As much as you might like the players, you never give them time to trust. So continuity is important and it’s turned out well for us to have the continuity of commitment of players.”
The world is changing and teams like Spain, Brazil, France and even Canada are catching up. Talent alone is not enough to win a gold medal any more especially since many of the players on international teams have been playing together since they were 14, 15 years old. Of the 34 players at this camp, 33 have won a gold medal for the U.S. in either youth or senior men’s international competition. James Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony are all going for a third Olympic gold.
“This is my third time here and coach K wants me to be a leader, feeding my knowledge that I have. Whatever it takes to win I’m definitely win it,” he said.
USABMNT NOTES: Team USA finished its minicamp with a exhibition game at Thomas and Mack Arena Thursday night. Most of the established stars did not participate although forwards Kawhi Leonard and Blake Griffin, Thompson and the 6-11 Cousins appear to have the best chance to making the roster. Right now, the pool is 36 players, if you include forward Andre Inguodala, who got married last Saturday and received an excuse; and Derrick Rose, who was a no show at the camp. Jerry Colangelo and Krzyzewski will cut down the pool in the winter and then select the final roster after the NBA playoffs.
