GREENSBORO, N.C.—The USA World Cup qualifying team has turned into a pathway to the NBA for the 57 G-League players and four NBA 50-50 players who participated in the six windows leading up to the field of 32 countries that will participate in FIBA’s ultimate event next fall in China.
Former NBA coach and current NBC analyst Jeff Van Gundy, who coached this team as a favor to a friend, Olympic coach Gregg Popovich, had little time to transform different sets of players into a cohesive team for games against Latin American and South American competition.
But he managed to squeeze the most out of the players he had at his disposal and pieced together an 10-2 record and a spot in China, defeating Argentina, 84-83, to finish first in the E Division when guard Reggie Hearn of the Stockton Kings drained an off balance jump shot from the left baseline as time ran out at the Greensboro Coliseum complex.
The shot shocked the Argentine fans and set off a chant of “USA, USA” from delirious Americans in the stands.
Hearn got an opportunity to be a hero after guard Josh Adams missed a floater and the ball went out of bounds off a Spanish player with what looked like 0.4 seconds to play. Van Gundy immediately called timeout. When officials went over to the scorer’s table to check the video, they added six tenths of a second, giving Hearn a full second to create a miracle.
Van Gundy originally drew up a play that was designed to get the ball to Adams on a lop but changed his mind when he saw the Argentine’s 6-11 center Marcos Delia clogging the middle, he changed his strategy. When time was added to the clock, he had Adams curl and Hearn pop to the corner.
“Reggie has the quickest release on our team and (point guard) Travis Trice put the ball right in the shooting pocket,” Van Gundy said. “I didn’t know if it was good or not. If they waved it off, it would have been a brutal way to lose.’’
Instead it was a fitting ending for Hearn, the former Northwestern star who played in nine of 12 games in this tournament, more than any player on the American team.
“To be honest, I was calm,’’ Hearn said. “I saw the ball coming my way, I just rose up. I was thinking about my mechanics. I was calm going into the shot. Then, things got crazy, hectic. I once made a game winner in a G-League game, but it was nothing like this.’’
“As soon as I coach drew up the play and I saw it was going to Reggie, I knew he would make it. Everybody on the team calls him, ‘Captain America,’’’said guard Michael Frazier II from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, who led the Americans with 23 points. “I’ll be telling my grandchildren about that shot.” “My grandchildren will know your name,’’ he added, giving Hearn a hug.
Hearn brought the game ball with him to the press conference. “This goes to my mom.’’ This was a high- level, intense game and could be the start of a new rivalry. Argentina, which physically manhandled the U.S., 80-68, in Buenos Aires in November, played well enough to win this game.
They took an 82-77 lead when Facundo Pinero made a jumper with 1:33 to play. But the Americans never panicked, pulling within 83-82 when Trice hit a three with 33.3 seconds, then getting the ball back when Argentina’s clever guard Ludo Redivo, who led his team with 18 points and four threes, missed a driving layup with 15 second left to set the wheels in motion for a dramatic finish.
Both the U.S. and Argentina had qualified for the World Championships. They could have gone through the motions.
“But they fought with every once they had,’’ Van Gundy said. “I hope they take the passion they showed here back to their G-League teams. There’s a big economic disparity between the last player on an NBA roster and the best players in the G-League. When (senior team manager) Sean Ford and Gregg approached me about this, I was an absolute novice about FIBA basketball. I’ve been learning day by day how good these teams are, how hard they play, how physical they play. Tonight’s game was like the NBA in the 90’s Hand on the face, fist in the chest. It’s fascinating to see how the level of coaching and play around the world has improved and how hard it is to win.’’
The experience has helped a lot of players who chose to play in this atmosphere. Almost half of Van Gundy’s players, who volunteered to leave their G-League team for one of the two-game windows, signed some form of NBA contract and a half dozen will be invited to participate along with NBA stars in the August mini-camp to pick the team in Las Vegas, even though they have no chance to make the roster.
For Van Gundy, this was a labor of love. Spots on the Olympic coaching staff are reserved for current NBA coaches and one selected college coach, Jay Wright of Villanova. But Van Gundy most likely will be with the team in the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo in some capacity.
Provided, of course, he can recover from this nearly two-year marathon of qualifying windows FIBA has put together to give as many countries as possible a chance to showcase basketball. There needs to be a better way.
As things stand now, senior team manager Sean Ford has been forced to scramble, constantly knocking on doors to fill rosters with NBA minor league players for windows that have occurred in November of 2017, February, June, September and November of 2018 and February of 2019.
But the players like Cam Reynolds, Xavier Mumford, Frazier and Hearn who deserve credit for playing in multiple windows deserve credit.
“I kept coming back because of the experience,’’ Hearn said. “It’s incredible to represent your country.’’
