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USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

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Draft Notes: Clingan, Edey, Top Tiers, Sleepers, Positional Breakdown, Bannan

June 25th, 2024 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has gone away from traditional big men like UConn’s Donovan Clingan and Purdue’s Zach Edey. Yet Clingan is expected to be a top-five pick and Edey could sneak into the lottery. They matched up in the national championship game and Purdue coach Matt Painter was impressed by Clingan’s ability as a help defender.

“The No. 1 thing for us wasn’t Clingan’s defense on Zach, it was Clingan’s defense in help,” Painter told ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. “We thought he was a really good post defender, but also thought Zach would have that advantage. I thought Zach had more success in that game, but where Clingan does his work and where he’s special is on the weak side coming over, helping out on drives, having that timing and the discipline to stay down. To be the second jumper, block or change shots.”

Painter believes Edey will silence the critics who don’t feel his game translates to the NBA level.

“A lot of people will say, professionally, no, you can’t do more than what you’ve done [in college]. I think that’s a fair statement most of the time,” Painter said. “But for Zach, he still was going into his sixth, seventh year of basketball … he did improve and make big strides into this last year, and he’s just going to keep doing that. I don’t think he’s going to stop. He’s kind of defied the odds already, and I think he’s going to keep defying the odds.”

Woo also spoke with UConn coach Dan Hurley to get his thoughts on what Clingan and Edey bring to the table.

We have more draft-related tidbits:

  • Clingan, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard, UConn swingman Stephon Castle and G League Ignite forward Ron Holland rank as tier-one prospects, otherwise labeled “best bets in a bad class,” according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Overall, Hollinger ranks 75 prospects via a 15-tier system, with the last tier being two-way contract candidates.
  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony offers up his top sleeper prospects at each position. Among that group are UCLA center Adem Bona and Arizona power forward Keshad Johnson.
  • Another veteran NBA reporter, The Athletic’s David Aldridge, solicits opinions from coaches,  executives and scouts to evaluate the guard, forward and big men prospects expected to come off the board.
  • Australian forward Josh Bannan, who played three seasons at Montana before joining the Brisbane Bullets this past season, has worked out for approximately 10 NBA teams, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc tweets. The Suns, Magic, Lakers, Clippers and Warriors are among the teams who brought him in for a workout.
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Team USA Finalizes Select Team Roster

July 25th, 2023 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has officially announced its Select Team roster, announcing in a press release that 14 players will get the opportunity to train with and scrimmage against the primary 12-man national team roster as it prepares for the 2023 World Cup.

Those 14 players, most of whom have been previous reported, are as follows:

As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press notes (via Twitter), Galloway, Jenkins, and Mika aren’t currently in the NBA but were among the players who suited up for Team USA during the qualifying games for the World Cup, ensuring that the U.S. earned a spot in the tournament. They’ll be rewarded for their contributions by getting spots on the select team and taking part in the lead-up to the World Cup.

“We are confident that our USA Men’s Select Team will do a great job helping prepare the men’s national team for the 2023 Men’s FIBA World Cup,” national team managing director Grant Hill said in a statement. “We have a good mix of young NBA players and those who helped us qualify for the World Cup, all of who will play a huge role in our success in Manila, as we continue to develop the national team pipeline for years to come.”

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

As we’ve previously noted, members of the U.S. select team would be candidates for promotion if any players from the national team roster have to withdraw from the World Cup for any reason.

Even if no substitutions are necessary, the players on the select team could eventually be called upon by USA Basketball to join future Olympic or World Cup teams. Brandon Ingram, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Mikal Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jalen Brunson are among those on this year’s World Cup roster who were members of the U.S. select teams for the 2016 Olympics, 2019 World Cup, or 2021 Olympics.

In addition to Ingram, Edwards, Haliburton, Bridges, Jackson, and Brunson, the U.S. World Cup roster consists of Cameron Johnson, Austin Reaves, Paolo Banchero, Bobby Portis, Josh Hart, and Walker Kessler.

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