Kentucky coach John Calipari has been a frequent visitor to the Olympic mini-camps in Las Vegas and even was a guest of Team USA when his former coach Larry Brown coached the 2004 Olympics.
But he had always wanted to coach a USA basketball team. Calipari got his chance when he accepted the challenge of coaching the 19-and-under team that will participate in the FIBA World Cup in Cairo from July 1 through 9. This is a huge opportunity– it not only could give him the likely chance to coach three of his incoming freshmen– 6-5 guard Hamidou Diallo, 6-10 forward P.J. Washington and 6-8 guard Kevin Knox II– but also give him close contact for a three- week period with potential UK recruiting targets– 7-1 Bol Bol of Santa Ana, Calif. Mater Dei, forward Cam Reddish of The Westtown, Pa. School; guard Romeo Langford of New Albany, Ind. High and guard Immanuel Quickley of John Carroll High in Bel Air. Md.– if they make the team.
Just as importantly, Calipari, who once coached the Dominican Republic in an 2014 Olympic qualifying tournament, is excited about the idea of wearing a Team USA logo on his chest and the idea it could eventually open the door for him to be part of the Olympic coaching pipe line.
Calipari has paid his dues. He built a Naismith Hall of Fame resume at UMass, Memphis and Kentucky that includes one national championship in 2012 and six trips to the NCAA Final Four in 1996, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 as well as producing an assembly line of players who have been NBA first round draft picks.
And he was willing to step up under adverse conditions, taking his team into an seemingly unstable situation in a Middle East country that has experienced its share of violence recently.
Calipari spoke recently with parents who had legitimate concerns about the safety of their 12 teenage sons. He told them he felt better after consulting with Gen. Martin Dempsey, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and newly named USA Basketball chairman.
Dempsey told him the players will have the same level of security as NBA All-Stars have on Olympic teams, with more staff on the ground and greater intelligence sharing. “Three or four weeks ago, I was like, ”Come on now, talk to me, how are we going to do this?” Calipari said. “And after talking with Gen. Dempsey, I knew at the end of the end either he was going to feel comfortable with what was going on or we wouldn’t go.”
USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley and other federations raised concerns with FIBA when it selected Cairo as the first African country to host a World Championship event. Those fears were heightened last month when more than 100 people were killed since December in four separate attacks targeting Christians claimed by the Islamic State group.
But Dempsey stressed that most of the danger is beyond Cairo, indicating the capital city is well protected. FIBA has also stated that security for the event has now been taken over by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, rather than the office of sports ministry. Dempsey said the venue– where the games will be played, the hotel and transit zones– will be adequately secured.
Though the Americans have won two straight gold medals in the 16-nation tournament, U19 has been the most difficult team for USA Basketball to put together. Many of the best freshman who are age qualified have already declared for the NBA draft. And a growing number of college coaches from marquis programs want their best recruits on campus for summer school and many potential players have taken a pass over security and three key players– Harry Giles, Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum– played up two years when the Americans won the 2015 gold medal in Crete.
USA Basketball wound up with 27 players accepting invitations to these tryouts.
They include Diallo, Washington and Knox– who are likely to make the team; Bol, Langford, Reddish and Quickley; high school senior center Jordan Brown of Roseville, Calif. Woodcreek; TCU sophomore guard Desmond Bane; Duke sophomore center Marques Bolden; Wake Forest freshman guard Chaundee Brown, NC State sophomore guard Devon Daniels; Georgia Tech sophomore guard Josh Okogie; Washington State sophomore guard Malachi Flynn; Maryland sophomore guard Kevin Huerter of Maryland; high school senior forward Louis King of Hudson Catholic, N.J. High; UNLV freshman center Brandon McCoy; sophomore guard De’Anthony Melton of USC; sophomore guard Charlie Moore of Kansas; Auburn freshman forward Chuma Okeke; St. John’s sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds; Purdue sophomore guard Carsen Edwards of Purdue; Oregon sophomore guard Payton Pritchard; Western Kentucky freshman center Mitchell Robinson; Auburn center Austin Wiley of Auburn; Temple sophomore guard Quinton Rose; and UCLA 6-8 freshman forward Kris Wilkes.
The team will be cut down to 16 finalists Tuesday.
Despite missing several invitees, USA Basketball is still the favorite in this tournament, which is missing perennial contenders Croatia, Serbia and Australia.
