2014 FIBA World Cup

[Neon_Chaos]

Didn't see a thread for this.

Philippines made it in after a long long long time gone.

Keeping it competitive with Croatia, down only 37-31 at halftime.

I know we don't stand a chance, but we're a basketball-crazy country! :) as long as we can show that we have heart and we never give up, it'll be a big win for us even if we get destroyed in the group stage.

[Neon_Chaos]

64-64!!!

[Neon_Chaos]

The #34 country in the world just took #16 Croatia to overtime.

[Neon_Chaos]

Fuuuuuck. Croatia beats Philippines 81-78 in OT.

We could have had it in regulation.

Still proud of our boys.

[whomario]

Andray Blatche ! He was born for this sort of role: Get to do whatever the hell he wants, everybody get out of the way aaaaand go :D (Blatche is not a lazy player or a bad player, he simply is an extremely overconfident player that can do a lot of things really well but not well enough to get a big scoring role in the NBA)

All rosters: 2014 FIBA World Cup Rosters - Basketball Wires - MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/08/27/4312128/2014-fiba-world-cup-rosters.html)

- The US group is by far the weakest in the competition, so they will have a very easy time there and be able to experiment with rotations. The 2nd weakest group is Group D, from which the US opponents in round of 16 up to the semis could come. Only team to possibly, maybe offer a challenge would be Lithuania if they catch lightning in a bottle.

- First 4 (of 6) go to the round of 16, single match elimination.

- players to watch for in the US-Finland match tonight besides US born Erik Murphy (Cavs) is Petteri Koponen. Former Mavs draft pick and Hoop Summit participant who had a very gradual rise to where he is now. Moved up the chain on club level (now in the russian league) and has been the PG of the national team for what seems like forever. Very good shooter and passer with great size at the Point. Extremely high Intangibles, does a million things that don´t show in boxscores. Could definitely be a backup PG in the NBA, hope he makes that jump still.

Fins overall are a good shooting and passing team, move the ball a ton and move off the ball.

[nol]

Ukraine started off with a win against the Dominican Republic! This bodes extremely well for making it out of their group (the one with USA). Import Pooh Jeter and the Pistons' Slava Kravstov are their two main guys. They also get to play Finland tomorrow, so hopefully that's a 2-0 start.

[nol]

USA by 42. It's halftime. The 2nd quarter score was 29-2.

[stevew]

What channel is this on?

[nol]

USA will be on ESPN/ESPN2. Some others might be streaming on ESPN3.

http://espn.go.com/extra/fiba/schedule

[nol]

Ukraine had a horrible start to the 3rd quarter and gave up a big run. They made it close at the end but still lost to Finland, ugh. It didn't help that Ukraine's starting SG went out with an injury.

Out of desperation when they fell behind by 15 or so, Ukraine subbed in the tournament's youngest player, Kansas recruit Sviatoslav Mykhaliuk, and he looks like he could be a future lottery pick. He's a legitimately quick and athletic 6'6 SG who just turned 17. He looked jittery shooting the ball in his first minutes competing at the senior level and he's still very raw, but he's already at a different level athletically than the grown men he's up against.

Ukraine still has to play New Zealand, the United States, and Turkey. New Zealand lost to the DR today, so that should be a win. Turkey only beat New Zealand by 3 yesterday and plays USA at 3:30 Eastern today. Ukraine should have a chance there as well, but hopefully winning 2 games will be enough to advance to the elimination round.

[whomario]

Finland is not an easy team to play, i thought the Ukraine looked ok aside from the run in the 3rd you mentioned (where Koponen was amazing distributing the ball).
In general, Ukraine and Finland have been on about the same level for the last few years.

[sterlingice]

Ukraine had a horrible start to the 3rd quarter and gave up a big run. They made it close at the end but still lost to Finland, ugh. It didn't help that Ukraine's starting SG went out with an injury.

Out of desperation when they fell behind by 15 or so, Ukraine subbed in the tournament's youngest player, Kansas recruit Sviatoslav Mykhaliuk, and he looks like he could be a future lottery pick. He's a legitimately quick and athletic 6'6 SG who just turned 17. He looked jittery shooting the ball in his first minutes competing at the senior level and he's still very raw, but he's already at a different level athletically than the grown men he's up against.

Ukraine still has to play New Zealand, the United States, and Turkey. New Zealand lost to the DR today, so that should be a win. Turkey only beat New Zealand by 3 yesterday and plays USA at 3:30 Eastern today. Ukraine should have a chance there as well, but hopefully winning 2 games will be enough to advance to the elimination round.

Music to my ears :D

SI

[nol]

Music to my ears :D

SI

I wouldn't count on him lighting it up right away because he's so young and he'll have missed so much time with the team, but he's not even old enough to be one-and-done. The worst-case scenario for KU would be if he plays just well enough to get a big deal in Europe after the season.

[whomario]

So, anybody on the US team heard of this "ball movement" phenomenon ? I hear it is real helpful trying to score in this basketball thing ;)

[Groundhog]

Although they'll win the tourney undefeated, I still think Team USA should've at least played a friendly or two against a strong European side pre-World Cup.

Aussies bounced back from a disappointing loss to Slovenia (Goran Dragic ate us alive) to handle South Korea last night. Won the rebound count like 44-19. Baynes has continued to look great, Exum showed some confidence when allowed to run the point in the 4th Q but still looks too tentative - ie. he's a pass first, second, and third PG right now, but Joe Ingles seems to be the key man for us on the wing. When he plays well and looks to get points, we are a much better side.

[Neon_Chaos]

Philippines only down by 2 against Argentina, 24 seconds left. PLEASE. PLEASE.

[Neon_Chaos]

FUCK. Lost by 4. Stupid stupid final play.

[whomario]

Philippines only down by 2 against Argentina, 24 seconds left. PLEASE. PLEASE.

Argentina survives... Very impressed by the Philippine team ! Argentina has zero depth and basically all key players are in their mid 30s, not a good thing with this schedule. They can still be dangerous in the KO stages though.

Scola is just awesome offensively at FIBA level.

[whomario]

Gorgui Dieng with a terrific game for the Senegal today, 2nd win in 3 games for them.

[whomario]

Spain not messing about early in a tournament is a pleasant surprise. Pau is in terrific shape, absolutely dominating Brazil´s frontcourt right now, 24 points middle of the 3rd quarter.

[Icy]

3 straight 3 pointers in 3 plays from Pau Gasol vs Brazil, he is on fire today!

[Groundhog]

Philippines play a very unfamiliar style of play compared to the Euro teams, so I think it throws teams and takes them away from what they usually do, especially on defense. I play in a 95% Filipino basketball comp on Saturdays, so it looks very familiar to me. :D

If I'm the T'Wolves I'm trading Pekovic and getting Dieng 32 minutes a night. That team is going to be quick and flashy if nothing else.

[Neon_Chaos]

Gabe Norwood posterizes Luis Scola

Gabe Norwood posterized Luis Scola | Gilas Pilipinas vs Argentina - YouTube (http://youtu.be/hYb7dquSuf0)

Norwood is Filipino-American and was part of the George Mason cinderella team that made it in the NCAA Final Four several years ago.

[nol]

Philippines play a very unfamiliar style of play compared to the Euro teams, so I think it throws teams and takes them away from what they usually do, especially on defense. I play in a 95% Filipino basketball comp on Saturdays, so it looks very familiar to me. :D

If I'm the T'Wolves I'm trading Pekovic and getting Dieng 32 minutes a night. That team is going to be quick and flashy if nothing else.

I'm sure they've looked into it, but Pekovic's contract isn't very tradeable.

Turkey can essentially wrap up 2nd place in Group C with a win over Ukraine tomorrow. Based on the triangle of results involving USA, Finland, and Turkey, I'll be glad if Ukraine manages to lose this one without totally submarining their point differential. I was going to add something about hoping USA thrashes New Zealand badly enough to totally destroy the Tall Blacks' confidence heading into Wednesday's matchup with Ukraine, but that didn't work against Finland.

[nol]

Wow, Ukraine pulled it off! That's just about going to guarantee they advance to the next round.

[whomario]

Go Suomi ! Their fans are the bomb :)

[Groundhog]

I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise given the lack of Rugby fans in the US, but still pretty funny seeing the reactions to the haka against Team USA. I'd just assumed everybody knew about it, but with the "synchronized dance to intimidate the Americans" comments, I guess not.

[kingfc22]

Gabe Norwood posterizes Luis Scola

Gabe Norwood posterized Luis Scola | Gilas Pilipinas vs Argentina - YouTube (http://youtu.be/hYb7dquSuf0)

Norwood is Filipino-American and was part of the George Mason cinderella team that made it in the NCAA Final Four several years ago.

I would hardly characterize this dunk as "posterizing" someone. Scola doesn't even challenge the dunk as his momentum carries him backwards away from the offensive player.

[Neon_Chaos]

Well, Scola's face will be on a lot of Filipino posters. :)

Here's another dunk from that game. This time with a challenging defender.

Gabe Norwood Strong Left Handed Slam Dunk | FIBA | PH vs ARG | 9/1/2014 - YouTube (http://youtu.be/bA-uK4Ru4QI)

[whomario]

but Joe Ingles seems to be the key man for us on the wing. When he plays well and looks to get points, we are a much better side.

Australia just beat Mexico with him taking 1 shot in 32 minutes btw :D (Which is not to take away from your statement, just found it interesting enough to note ;) )
Actually saw the game, although admittedly with half an eye while working on research on a paper, and from what i saw he has a great feel for the game in terms of when to pass, cut or do other things. And let´s face it, nowadays those things are the main reason NBA executives and coaches look abroad in an attempt to strike a balance in their roster and get guys for rotation spots that actually learned how to play within a system rather than have a system built around them.

I also liked what i saw from Broekhoff. Good shooter, know what he´s doing out there, good size, fundamentally sound passer. In College he was also a good rebounder (which he is not asked to do in his role on the Aussies or at Besiktas). Would think he could get a shot at the NBA a little down the road.

Philippines with another close loss, this time to Puerto Rico who were led by JJ Bareas 30 points. Philippines seem like they are trapped between their natural style of play and revolving around Blatche, leading to lots of tightening up for long stretches.

[Neon_Chaos]

Ah well. Out of contention, with Senegal left tomorrow.

Three close games that were very much winnable. Very proud of our boys showing up on the World Stage and showing guts despite being the shortest and oldest team in the entire World Cup.

[Groundhog]

Australia just beat Mexico with him taking 1 shot in 32 minutes btw :D (Which is not to take away from your statement, just found it interesting enough to note ;) )
Actually saw the game, although admittedly with half an eye while working on research on a paper, and from what i saw he has a great feel for the game in terms of when to pass, cut or do other things. And let´s face it, nowadays those things are the main reason NBA executives and coaches look abroad in an attempt to strike a balance in their roster and get guys for rotation spots that actually learned how to play within a system rather than have a system built around them.

I also liked what i saw from Broekhoff. Good shooter, know what he´s doing out there, good size, fundamentally sound passer. In College he was also a good rebounder (which he is not asked to do in his role on the Aussies or at Besiktas). Would think he could get a shot at the NBA a little down the road.

Mexico made Ingles a focus - I think the double-tech and a few other fouls showed that more than anything, they were really coming after him. He's one of those guys that can be unselfishto a fault, and as soon as a D starts keying on him, he turns into a passer. That was a real problem in prior years, but with Baynes improving about 200% from last time he wore an Australia jersey we are in a position to get away with it now and then. Against Mexico, at least.

Broekhoff went from a guy who barely made the roster - I believe he was the final cut decision - to a vital starter. Unbelievable shooter with that mentality to keep firing even after missing his first 5 shots. Pre-tournament no one had heard of him, but I think he's made himself a lot of money this tourney. I don't know if he's NBA bound, but I don't see why he couldn't be a Belinelli type of guy there. He actually reminds me a lot of Anatoly Bose, an Aussie/Kazakhstani who tore it up at Nichols State, but a touch more athletic.

[Groundhog]

Ah well. Out of contention, with Senegal left tomorrow.

Three close games that were very much winnable. Very proud of our boys showing up on the World Stage and showing guts despite being the shortest and oldest team in the entire World Cup.

Blatche is a talented guy, but you can't help but feel his presence on the team is a bit..... cancerous?

Seems to just do whatever he feels like out there.

[whomario]

Pre-tournament no one had heard of him, but I think he's made himself a lot of money this tourney.

Surprised to hear he didn´t get more "press" in australia, a player should not fly that far under the radar playing for a decent club like Besiktas straight out of college (where he was oustanding for a pretty good team at Valparaiso) :confused: But i guess that comes with more players having success, even at NBA level, good for you guys :)

(disclaimer: I did look all of that info up on wikipedia ;) )

[Groundhog]

Basketball is like 5th or 6th most popular sport in Australia, so unless it's Patty Mills knocking down 3s in an NBA finals series, we just don't hear about it via our usual press agencies. I was shocked this morning to see the Aussie-Lithuania game as a feature news story, but with Exum and guys like Ben Simmons and Thon Maker, I expect things will improve.

[Alf]

Well, Scola's face will be on a lot of Filipino posters. :)

Here's another dunk from that game. This time with a challenging defender.

Gabe Norwood Strong Left Handed Slam Dunk | FIBA | PH vs ARG | 9/1/2014 - YouTube (http://youtu.be/bA-uK4Ru4QI)

There are two guys travelling for Philippines in this drive

[albionmoonlight]

I know it won't happen, but I wish that basketball was eliminated from the Olympics and that the FIBA World Cup became the premiere international basketball showcase.

Make room in the Olympics for another sport and try to create a FIBA tournament that aspires to the FIFA tournament.

[Neon_Chaos]

Blatche is a talented guy, but you can't help but feel his presence on the team is a bit..... cancerous?

Seems to just do whatever he feels like out there.

He's definitely been given the green light by Chot Reyes.

I think it's just the fact that this would be his very first International competition with the country, and he hasn't had enough time to really learn the strengths and weaknesses of each and every member of the team.

At the same time, everyone in the team defers to Blatche... why wouldn't they? He's an NBA center and is probably the closest anyone in the team has come to the NBA. When Blatche has the ball in the wing, everyone else expects him to create for himself off the dribble. Once he gets more games in, it will allow the coaching staff to really design plays for him outside of the 1-on-1 that he's doing.

Hopefully, he is allowed to play in FIBA Asia and the Asian Games (which, for some reason, have different residency requirements for players), in order

As for being a cancer, I have actually liked what I've seen with him these past four games. He has fought with the same amount of intensity that any Filipino local would have.

Rafe Bartholomew summed it up nicely in his article from yesterday.

Team Philippines at the FIBA World Cup: Always Bet on Blatche « (http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2014-fiba-world-cup-spain-philippines-andray-blatche-nba/)

[whomario]

Is there any guarantee that Blatche would play in the asian torunaments ? Not saying he thinks that way, but i could see him seeing those tournaments as far inferior. (then again, qualification for Rio 2016 is on the line, so i guess that is some sort of guarantee)

I know it won't happen, but I wish that basketball was eliminated from the Olympics and that the FIBA World Cup became the premiere international basketball showcase.

Make room in the Olympics for another sport and try to create a FIBA tournament that aspires to the FIFA tournament.

Why exactly would that improve things for you as a viewer ? :confused:
Outside of the US, i don´t think the World Cup is seen as 2nd tier to the olympics, at all btw. Both are on the same level if i don´t totally misread things.

But you might be happy to here that FIBA is going to make the next world cup much closer to the football version in that there will be a seperate qualification rather thank taking the best-X teams from the continental tournaments. Which to me is an absolutely shitty idea, since the schedule is full enough without extra qualification and with the way it is set up and the way the international schedule is set for clubs, this all but guarantees that teams will play the qualifying games without their best players (and certainly without any NBA/NCAA guys), while it also devalues the continental tournaments.

Not everything that works in one sport works in another.

[albionmoonlight]

Why exactly would that improve things for you as a viewer ? :confused:
Outside of the US, i don´t think the World Cup is seen as 2nd tier to the olympics, at all btw. Both are on the same level if i don´t totally misread things.

But you might be happy to here that FIBA is going to make the next world cup much closer to the football version in that there will be a seperate qualification rather thank taking the best-X teams from the continental tournaments. Which to me is an absolutely shitty idea, since the schedule is full enough without extra qualification and with the way it is set up and the way the international schedule is set for clubs, this all but guarantees that teams will play the qualifying games without their best players (and certainly without any NBA/NCAA guys), while it also devalues the continental tournaments.

Not everything that works in one sport works in another.

I think that the Olympics are best used for sports where there is not another outlet. I would also remove soccer and tennis from the olympics. Make more space for other sports.

[whomario]

I think that the Olympics are best used for sports where there is not another outlet. I would also remove soccer and tennis from the olympics. Make more space for other sports.

On the other hand, those sports and the stars they bring also help sell those sports without another outlet. (even if the olympics are not as important to them, they still are more important for sponsors and media than, say, a 3pm badminton match)

If you strike those sports (and where stop ? There is plenty of sports with big mediarized events outside the olympics. Heck, the corner stone of track and field certainly has them), that hurts everybody involved in the Olympics. Soccer is actually sth i agree with, since the best players don´t play and everybody involved treats it as a secondary event (including media and sponsors even in soccer countries).
But Basketball missing (or the US fielding NCAA players) would certainly not be good for business and thus not-so-indirectly hurt everybody involved.

[whomario]

Finland up 11 against Turkey middle of the 4th, but lots of foul trouble. I want them (and those fans) to stay in the tournament

And their shooters still can´t hit anything, damn ... Koponen creates like half a dozen wide open looks each quarter and maybe 1 goes in. Seriously, no way Koponen would not be a rotation player for pretty good NBA teams. If the Mavs don´t want him, tons of teams will come calling next summer (when Koponen´s contract in Russia is up, he allready said his plan is to sign in the NBA then)

[whomario]

Fuck ... Koponen chokes at the line, missing both FTs up 3 with 15 seconds left, then a turkey 3 to tie it ...

[nol]

Ukraine could have clinched advancing today but lost to previously winless New Zealand. Now the main things to hope for will be the DR to lose and lose big versus USA today and Turkey tomorrow, along with Finland beating New Zealand in a close one tomorrow.

[whomario]

US vs Dom Rep was a glorified pickup game...

[Groundhog]

Aussies resting Ingles/Baynes against Angola and giving Exum more time tonight. Exum looking more confident when he gets to handle the ball and run things and has had a few nice baskets in the first half, looking to finish strong and draw contact which has been his biggest issue so far.

Still need an ideal outcome from the Lithuania-Slovenia game tonight to make us finish 3rd and avoid a pre-medal game vs Team USA.

[Neon_Chaos]

Is there any guarantee that Blatche would play in the asian torunaments ? Not saying he thinks that way, but i could see him seeing those tournaments as far inferior. (then again, qualification for Rio 2016 is on the line, so i guess that is some sort of guarantee)

Word around here is that we are paying Blatche $1,000,000 to play for the Philippines all the way to the Asian Games.

[Groundhog]

Angola's Moreira dropped 38 points on us, 22 in the 3rd Q alone, as Aussies fall in a game that didn't end up mattering. Moreira looked really, really good, better than a backup C from SMU, at least.

[Neon_Chaos]

Philippines finally wins! After so many close calls! With the right bounce we could have finished 4-1 in yhe group. Alas, we will have to bow out 1-4 with several heartbreaking losses. Very very proud of the effort. Puso!

[nol]

Ukraine had a nice first quarter against the US, but it's going to get out of hand soon. I was wrong about the tiebreakers from yesterday: apparently what they will use for three teams with identical records who all went 1-1 against each other (like Ukraine, New Zealand and the loser of Turkey/DR) is points scored/points allowed in the head to head matchups. If that's the case, Ukraine will come up short. That's what losing to the two weakest teams in the group will do.

[stevew]

Oh Jesus, if Irving even misses one regular season game I'm going to be pissed.

[Groundhog]

Dragic not happy with Australia's tank job vs Angola to avoid Team USA. I think they need to randomise the knockout round matchups if they want to cut that out. Lithuania beat Slovenia to give us the Turkey matchup.

[BishopMVP]

Just found this linked by Zach Lowe - Angry Birds maker basically bribed FIBA to put Finland in the Basketball World Cup - SBNation.com (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/2/1/5367564/fiba-world-cup-2014-canada-finland-basketball-angry-birds)

At least they're more transparent in their corruption than FIFA!

[whomario]

There's no situation in which you are reasonably assured of getting a better tournament by including Finland

Unless 10000 crazy fins show up and basically take over Bilbao for a week and create a whole wave of "wait, why the hell is the camera shaking" posts in the US game.

(i agree the selection was outrageous, just saying that Finland ended up adding quite a bit to the torunament off the court and put up a nice effort on it)

[another aside: I recently heard a report that the game makers are in deep financial trouble, so that decicion looks weird from their POV, even if 6 months are a lot in that business)

[whomario]

Slovenia "only" needed to win their own game, a fact i think too little is talked about. Sitting down starters when qualification is assured is done all the time and in every sport. I was totally weirded out that a ton of news articles described it as a "fix" rather than a "tank" which it really was.

The US has had a ton of luck with their draw, even more so after looking at the tournament so far. They actually struggle against the Pick and Roll and from big men scoring in general, no team they´ll face until the final posesses either of those qualities aside from Lithuania. And they lost their starting PG early in the tournament. Ayon just scored 25 on them (Ayon is pretty good in general, guy deserves a shot with a decent team)

I think Spain definitely has a shot, and it would not have shocked me if a team like Greece would have at least a prayer. Spain is playing very near to their best level, they´ve looked spectacular at times. Rubio is directing play masterfully and has absolutely learned to be a factor without shooting much (it helps that he is not asked to go stand in the corner every posession anymore), Fernandez/Navarro look really solid and Marc (awesome) and Pau (ridicolous) look really, really good. Ibaka embraces his role as well. Calderon and Llull have been ice cold from deep so far though.

The thing that frustrates me is that Team USA is like the physichally dominant HS center who never learns to use post moves. Only the difference is that those Space Jam Aliens ain´t coming down to challenge them, so as long as they still are able to beat everybody relying on pressure defense, fastbreaks and 1:1 isos, it won´t really change. (i realize that there were steps in the other direction on some of the past teams)

And i think it would be really good for the NBA if other continue to catch up, i desperately want to see more teams like the Spurs win titles. And the more Team USA is challenged, the easier it is to make that argument internally within teams.

[whomario]

Croatia looses to France despite another really good effort by Bojan Bogdanovic* who has 27 and 22 ppg for the tournament on 50% shooting (who´ll be on the Nets next year and could be one of the better SGs in the league in a year or two imo. Not saying much anymore with the lack of quality at the position, but still ;) )

*not to be confused with Phoenix draft pick Bogdan Bogdanovic. Those guys on the same team would be fun for announcers ;)

Slovenia just beat DomRep, both Dragices with good game. Zoran Dragic should be firmly on the radar of NBA teams.


Next up is Senegal (Gorgui !) against Spain.

[whomario]

Not that Spain does not run the break, mind you ;) Pau "Forrest" Gasol has 12 points and 10 of those coming on the break.

[nol]

Unless 10000 crazy fins show up and basically take over Bilbao for a week and create a whole wave of "wait, why the hell is the camera shaking" posts in the US game.

(i agree the selection was outrageous, just saying that Finland ended up adding quite a bit to the torunament off the court and put up a nice effort on it)

People were mad that Canada didn't make it in over Finland, but Canada probably would have been underwhelming. Guys like Wiggins and Tristan Thompson wouldn't have suited up because of the trade uncertainty, and the team is too inexperienced to have been guaranteed to advance from the group stage.

[BishopMVP]

People were mad that Canada didn't make it in over Finland, but Canada probably would have been underwhelming. Guys like Wiggins and Tristan Thompson wouldn't have suited up because of the trade uncertainty, and the team is too inexperienced to have been guaranteed to advance from the group stage.Canada could've been fun, but I was thinking #8 in the world rankings Russia.

[Groundhog]

Aussies lose to Turkey in heart-breaking fashion early yesterday AU time, up by 5 with just over a minute remaining... We did everything we could to throw that one away. Still, a good tourney for us, even with no Bogut/Mills. Future looks bright for Aussie basketball.

[nol]

This is why I thought America would still be heavy favorites to win. A matchup vs. Spain would've been close to a 50-50, but Spain had a tougher bracket and just lost to France in the quarterfinals.

[korme]

Whoa! Upset alert.. wish I would have watched.

[Groundhog]

Happy for France, but I was really hoping for Spain-USA.

[Alf]

:happy:

Still a bit in shock about France beating Spain. I have to find a way to watch a replay of that game

[Alf]

dola

all games replays can be viewed directly on Fiba World Cup web site (what a surprise)

Live | fibaworldcup.livebasketball.tv (http://www.fibaworldcup.livebasketball.tv/live/clip/979340/title/France_v_Spain_-_Full_Game_-2014_FIBA_Basketball_World_Cup)

[whomario]

absolutely bummed about the spanish loss, but they were off on that day and France took advantage and never wavered late. And yesterday they almost pulled off a comeback for the ages, scoring 39 and hitting a flurry of 3s in the 4th quarter to almost erase a huge deficit.

[nol]

USA is hitting its threes like it hasn't all tournament. Serbia started out ahead 15-7 and is now down 67-41 at halftime.

[Groundhog]

IMO Team USA are so dominant that they should go back to sending college players. Not to make it fair on the rest of the world, but because it's a waste of time for NBA players and too great an injury risk.

[nol]

that's way too big of a drop off. College kids (who'd have the same cohesiveness issues as the pros) wouldn't even make it out of the group stage. Without even putting patriotism into the equation, the competition is leaps and bounds ahead of what you'd find anywhere else in the world, and for plenty of players who aren't established superstars that opportunity will be always be worth the injury risk.

[gstelmack]

Heck, wouldn't like half this USA team have been college kids before the advent of drafting high schoolers?

The early drafting is what killed our pool of college kids for basketball. I bet if we fielded a team of players 4 years or less removed from high school graduation we'd do okay.

[nol]

I'd be fine with the training camp starting earlier and limiting the pool to players whose teams didn't make the playoffs. Having it be U-23 would be alright but I could see it pretty much requiring the Davis/Irving-caliber players to play every single summer.

[JPhillips]

Changing FIBA or the Olympics to a U23 would be fun.

[Groundhog]

I think Olympics, ala soccer, is a no-brainer.