TORONTO- – The United States’ Pan American men’s basketball team is finally starting to find out who they can be.
The team that looked lethargic and at times dysfunctional in the first half of its first pool game against Venezuela Tuesday night has a completely different look to it during a 102-70 blowout of over matched winless Puerto Rico Wednesday night., completely destroying Rick Pitino’s matchup zone in the first half when it wracked up 69 points.
Six USA players combined to make 11 threes and put the game away with a 20-0 midway through the second quarter. as the Americans improved their record to 2-0. The real litmus test starts Thursday night when the USA plays undefeated Brazil in the late game of a sold out doubleheader at the Ryerson Centre that will determine first place in the pool.
“I think they’ve (Brazil) been playing as good or better than anybody in this tournament,” USA and Gonzaga University head coach Mark Few said. “They’ve just been rock solid. They don’t beat themselves. They are an excellent defensive team. They are an excellent offensive team the way they move the ball and pass it is really, really impressive. And they’ve got good size, and they are very physical around the rim. So, this will be our biggest test yet. You are going to have to beat this team. They are not going to beat themselves.”
The USA owns a 13-4 all-time win-loss record against Brazil in Pan American Games competitions, but is just 3-3 vs Brazil since 1995.
Anytime you hold a team to 30.0 percent shooting and you shoot 50.0 percent, you blast them on the boards by 14 or 15 like we did, you’re going to win, as long as you take care of the ball,” said Few of his team’s showing Wednesday. “I thought the guys did a great job. We were a little bit worried about the press and that interim phase of our early offense where we weren’t very smooth last night. We were much, much better tonight.”
Guard Bobby Brown, a former Cal State Fullerton star who plays professionally in China, led the USA with 16 points, making 5 of 6 three ty tie a USA sigle game Pan Am record for made threes that was accomplished twice by Carl Thomas during the 1995 games.
“Guys came in the game and stepped in and made shots,” Brown said. “We had a lot of easy looks. Guys created for their teammates and made the extra pass. Coach has been harping on making the extra pass. And that’s what we did today. Guys just came in and stepped up and made shots, and that was real positive for us.”
Brown is a well traveled 30 year old point guard who currently plays for the Dongguan Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Associatiio. After gradauteinf rom Fullerton, he entered the 2007 BA draft. In his first two seasons, he played overseas with the German League team Alba Berlin and in 2008 he returned to the states where he played for several NBA teams, including the Sacramento Kings, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Hornets and L.A. Clippers.
While playing for Montepaschi Siena of the Italian League in the 2012-13 season, Brown tied a Euroleague post year 2000 single-game scoring record with 41 points (the all-time single-game scoring record is 99 points, held by Radovij Korac. Brown won the Euroleague Alphoso Ford Trophy.
He found his way to China two years ago and is one of two Americans on the Dogguan Tigers. On Dec. 27, 2013 he scored 74 points in a 137-135 overtime victory over the Sichuan Blue Whales. That is the second most points scored I the China Basketball Association history, one point shy of the record help by former Rutgers star Quincy Douby, which has since been eclipses by Errick McCollum’s 82 point performance Jan. 30, 2105.
Brown has played two years in the league, which also includes ex pats like Ron Artest, Sabastian Telfiar and Steph Marbury. Most of the CBA coaches expect their players to be big scorers, but Brown’s role has changed on his young team.
The coaches expect me to be a leader, to mentor their younger players,” he said. “It’s kind of what I am doig here with guys like Melo Trimble. Denzel Valentine and Ron Baker on this team, trying to be a big brother.”
One of the rewarding things about this hybrid USA team which is made up of five pros and seven college playrs is the fact players like Damien Wilkins and Brown has been more than happy to share their international experiences with the younger players and offer them advice on how to succeed in what is a completely different game.
Brown and Wilkins both want to be here. “When I got a call from my agent saying USA basketball wanted to now if I would be interesting in playing with the Pan Am team this summer, I jumped at the chance,” he said. “It’s a huge honor. I was just getting over a foot issue, but I remember watching a friend of mine Po Jeter play for the Ukraine last fall in the World Championships and I was a little envious.”
Team USA only had two weeks to prepare for this tournament and it took a while for the chemistry to kick in. But once the electricity came on, the US blew out to a 85-52 lead at the end of three quarters and coasted the rest of the way. Although the veterans are leading the way, some of the college players are starting to make their presence felt offensively. Forward Denzel Valentine of Michigan State had 15 points and 4 rebounds while Baylor forward Tavrean Prince added 10 points and 7-0 center Kaleb Tarczewski added a high team seven rebounds.
The US, which only had five assists in a win over Venezuela, had 20 in their blowout of Puruerto Rico and their shot selection looks much improved..
That was because we were making the extra pass, and there weren’t any tough shots,” Valentine said of the USA’s improved shot selection. “I thought I our first game we tried to take some tough shots and got out of our rhythm. But once we get easy shots, then our 3-ball starts to fall.”
