Tag: USA Basketball

Colangelo is still powerful in the NBA …

Colangelo is still powerful in the NBA as the director of USA basketball and chairman of the Basketball Hall of Fame. On Friday, he endorsed two Team USA coaches — Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau — for the Knicks job. “Those are great basketball guys. They’re terrific coaches. I have great respect for both of them,” Colangelo said. “They’re different. They’re alike in some ways. But they’re born to coach. And the fact that they’re not — there are teams out there that could use those guys, for sure.”

Confirmed for the team are: Jaylen …

Confirmed for the team are: Jaylen Adams (Wisconsin Herd/St. Bonaventure); Justin Anderson (Long Island Nets/Virginia); Cody Demps (Stockton Kings/ Sacramento State); Kyle Fogg (Beijing Royal Fighters, China/Arizona); Abdul Gaddy (Oklahoma City Blue/Washington); Devon Hall (Oklahoma City Blue/Virginia); Jalen Jones (Capital City Go-Go/Texas A&M); J.P. Macura (Canton Charge/Xavier); Eric Mika (Stockton Kings/Brigham Young); Ivan Rabb(Westchester Knicks/California) Levi Randolph (Canton Charge/Alabama); and James Webb (Iowa Wolves/Boise State).

Former Ohio State guard Mike Conley on list of 44 finalists for USA Olympic team

Former Ohio State and current Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley, Jr is 1 of 44 finalists to make the Team USA Basketball roster for the Olympics.

It may be February, but the Summer Olympics in Tokyo will be here before the Michigan football team gets overhyped yet again — or heck, who knows, maybe around the same time.

In that vein, the folks that run these sorts of things are starting to put together the USA Basketball Team. USA Basketball announced the 44 finalists that will compete for a spot on the team vying for gold in Japan, and there’s a former Ohio State player on the list.

That player is none other than Mike Conley, Jr who is now with the Utah Jazz after spending almost his entire career with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Conley, left Ohio State after one season in Columbus and was drafted as the fourth overall pick of the NBA Draft in 2007. He quickly became one of the better point guards in the league and has had a long and distinguished twelve-year career. He will have his number retired by the Grizzlies after being traded away to Utah last summer.

The former Buckeye guard has done some pretty cool things in his career. He has won an Indiana state basketball championship with another former OSU teammate, Greg Oden. He’s also appeared in a Final Four and national title game with Ohio State in 2007. Now, he has a shot to do something not many have an opportunity for, and that’s to play on the USA Basketball team in the Olympics.

Only twelve players will make the final roster, so the competition and decisions head coach Gregg Popovich has to make will be brutal.

Good luck to Conley as he tries for a very, very cool accomplishment and experience.

LeBron ‘needs to see how body feels’ before committing to Tokyo 2020

The Los Angeles Lakers star told reporters that his priority right now is a long playoff run for his team and hopefully a championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business last night as they thumped the Phoenix Suns in a 25-point victory and a rare huge night from their bench. But before the game, the Lakers had already received a major victory in terms of recognition as five members of the team, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis, were included on USA Basketball’s 44-man player pool for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

However, LeBron James himself remains non-committal about playing in the tournament. Although James has been open to playing in the Olympics, he’s made it abundantly clear that his first priority is leading the Lakers in the NBA playoffs later this spring, according to USA TODAY’s Mark Medina.

“It’s always predicated on my body, and how my body is feeling at the end of the season,” said James, who his in his 17th NBA season. “I hope to make a long playoff run. And then see where my mind is and then where my family’s head is. So, it’s a lot of factors.”

Another factor that James didn’t mention is that he’s the NBA’s All-Time leader in minutes played in the NBA playoffs. He will add to that total later this year and after a season in which LeBron has led the NBA in assists, he may need the period between late July and early August to recover from what they hope will be a long playoff run.

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Trio of former Longhorns among finalists for 2020 Olympic roster

USA Basketball recently announced the 44 finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball roster which includes three former Longhorns.

Three former Longhorns were announced as finalists for the 2020 U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team roster today.

This particular list of 44 athletes is the first step to compiling the overall 12-man roster that will represent the United States in the Olympics. Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, center Myles Turner, and small forward/power forward Kevin Durant all have a chance to compete in Tokyo. As the NBA season progresses, these former Texas stars will be monitored closely by USA Basketball to ultimately determine whether or not they will be among the final roster.

The 2020 Summer Olympic Games will be held July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo, Japan.

Aldridge is averaging 18.7 points per game with the San Antonio Spurs this season. His 7.5 rebounds per game is ranked 30th-best in the NBA.

With the Indiana Pacers, Turner’s best game thus far came against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 10, scoring 27 points and securing 14 rebounds.

After suffering a torn achilles tendon roughly eight months ago, Durant is finally beginning to show progress. Although the New York Nets have essentially ruled out Durant for the entire season, his rehab seems to be going well.

 

USA Basketball announced the …

USA Basketball announced the preliminary roster for the 2020 Olympics which consists of 44 names. The list is as follows: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat); LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs); Harrison Barnes (Sacramento Kings); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns); Malcolm Brogdon (Indiana Pacers); Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics); Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat); Mike Conley (Utah Jazz); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers); DeMar DeRozan (San Antonio Spurs); Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers); Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets); Paul George (L.A. Clippers); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors); James Harden (Houston Rockets); Montrezl Harrell (L.A. Clippers); Joe Harris (Brooklyn Nets); Tobias Harris (Philadelphia 76ers); Gordon Hayward (Boston Celtics); Dwight Howard (Los Angeles Lakers); Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans); Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets); LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers); Kyle Kuzma (Los Angeles Lakers); (cont.).