NEW YORK– Under the circumtances, with so many withdrawals, Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff appear to have done a thoughtful job of selecting the 12 players they feel have the best chance of helping this country win a gold medal in the upcoming World Cup competition which begins Aug. 30 in Spain and it appears he chose wisely.
The roster includes three traditional centers DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento, Andre Drummond of Detroit and Mason Plumlee of Brooklyn, one power forward Anthony Davis of New Orleans and Kenneth Faried of Denver, one small forward Rudy Gay of Sacramento, point guards Kyrie Irving of Cleveland and Derrick Rose of Chicago and four versatile guards Steph Curry and Klay Thompson of Golden State, DeMar DeRozan of Toronto and James Harden of Houston.
The four players who were cut include forwards Kyle Korver of Atlanta, Gordon Hayward of Utah, Chandler Parsons of Dallas and Portland All Star point guard Damian Lillard.
Team USA technically doesn’t have to submit a final roster and there was some thought Kryzewski might take 14 to the Canary Islands for two days of training an an Aug. 26 exhibition against Slovenia before making the final cut..
But Krzyzewski did not want to make two players go through the pain of traveling to Spain and then send them home.
‘ “If there is a late injury, we can always call one of them to fly over,” he said.
Right now, it appears the starting lineup will include Davis, Faried, Harden, Curry and Irving, with Rose coming off the bench.
The Chicago Bulls star, playing only his second game in nine months, came off the bench and made an impact, contributing six points and four assists in 13 minutes during a 112-86 victory over Puerto Rico before a sellout crowd at the Garden Friday night.
Rose had sat out of several practices earlier in the week and missed Wednesday’s exhibition game versus the Dominican Republic. But he answered some questions on the court, getting to the lane at will and making creative passes to the wing. “Derrick brings something that we don’t have as far as being able to push the ball so fast and get into the paint, and (he’s) so athletic,” Harden said. “He made a couple cross-court passes for open threes. He looked phenomenal.”
Krzyzewski would not commit to a starter for the team’s tournament opener Aug. 30 against Finland. “That’s going to be one of our big meetings on the plane [to Spain],” Krzyzewski said. “My feeling is that Kyrie — we’ve got to see how Derrick reacts to tonight. I thought both those guys were really good. And then we played them together too. And (Stephen Curry has played well at point too. We have a little bit of depth on that.
All three will likely get some run at that position during the pre-Olympic torunament. “Me and Rose could be playing together, especially in the fourth fourth like we did in Chicago,” Irving said. “I know coach K likes that look so we’re see what happens. I thought he looked great.”
Krzyzewski seems to have no qualms about Rose’s role.
“I feel very confident about Derrick. I think Derrick feels very confident,” Krzyzewski said. “I thought he played great tonight. These guys want to play with him. It’s part of getting back is to be around a group of peers. These guys are his peers who want you to be really good. You’re already really good but if James Harden wants (Curry) to be really good and (Curry) wants Derrick Rose to be really good and Kyrie, it’s a different thing. That’s what we’ve seen over the years and that’s where the brotherhood develops. It’s one of the cool things about
To his credit, Krzyzewski gave all 16 players a fair shot to make the final roster during the team’s two exhibition blowout victories over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico at the Garden. And it appears Drummond and DeRozan, who were thought to be on the bubble, made the most of a final audition in extended playing time against the Dominicans.
Drummond scored 12 points,grabbed 5 rebounds and had a block and a steal, dominating the low post during a 105-62 victory over the Dominican Republic. DeRozan scored 13 points, demonstarting an explosive energy off the bounce against the Dominicans. The 11th hour addition of Gay, who was added after Kevin Durant withdrew two weeks ago and can play both the small forward and slide over to a stretch four, appears to have doomed Parsons’ chances.
