Lance Thomas Selected to the 2011 Pan-Am Games Team USA Roster

[Bluedog]

Congrats Lance! The entire team is composed of NBDL players. It's nice to see Lance being able to represent the U.S. in competition.

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2011/10/20/2502301/2011-pan-am-games-team-usa-roster

[hq2]

Yeah, he keeps playing. Hard to see him ever making an NBA roster without significantly better offense, but he might get a decent contract
overseas. Good luck to him!

[ThePublisher]

Anyone know if any of these games are scheduled to air on tv?

[JasonEvans]

Yeah, he keeps playing. Hard to see him ever making an NBA roster without significantly better offense, but he might get a decent contract
overseas. Good luck to him!

Hey, LT averaged 12+ ppg last year in the NBDL. His offense has clearly improved a bit.

-Jason

[hq2]

Yes, but when he left Duke, he had a long ways to go. He basically had only an open jump shot and garbage put back offense at Duke, and the
latter was often swattable. He needs to really work on his dribble penetration and his stop-and-pop to be a legitimate pro player. I haven't seen
him lately, but hopefully, he's gotten better at both.

[Deb4Duke4Ever]

Anyone know if any of these games are scheduled to air on tv?

You can watch the Pan Am Games at http://deportesus.terra.com/road-to-2012/2011-pan-American-Guadalajara/live/3. They live stream the more popular sports.

[Lennies]

I'm psyched to see Curtis Sumpter make the squad. He was a great player at Villanova who got screwed by two nasty knee injuries.

[basket1544]

I saw Lance play in the D-League and he was their offensive weapon. He had range enough to hit a couple of NBA 3-pointers and was 3 out of 4 from the line. I want to say he had 20+ points that night but I don't remember exactly.

[Lauty Da]

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/panamerican/11_mpag_thomas_feature.html

[ChillinDuke]

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/panamerican/11_mpag_thomas_feature.html

What a great interview. Thanks for linking!

Lance is so well-spoken and so focused. I can't help but root for this guy both on and off the court. Just so likeable.

Best of luck in Guadalajara, Lance!

- Chillin

[Lauty Da]

Currently at the end of Q3: http://deportesus.terra.com/road-to-2012/2011-pan-american-guadalajara/live/9/#9

[Acymetric]

How is Lance doing?

[SilkyJ]

Game currently being broadcast on ESPN2

[Bluedog]

USA defeated Dominican Republic by a point with a block at the buzzer! Game against tournament favorite Brazil tomorrow night. I only saw the second half, but LT was his old self by all accounts. Nothing flashy, but at crunch time made winning plays. It didn't sound like he played that much at the beginning, but when it was time to pull out the win, LT was one of the five guys on the floor. USA was down 7 or 8 at the half and only had something like 9 points in the second quarter. They chipped away eventually taking the lead and it was back and forth from there. Dyson for the USA had some great driving layups and Lance had a key 3-point play down the wire. He also had a great offensive rebound and kickout, which certainly reminded me of the amazing offensive rebounding prowess LT and Zoubek exhibited in the 2010 tourny. Dominican Republic had one post player, Martinez, that the US couldn't stop and he ended up with 31 points, but was blocked at the buzzer by #13...forget who it was. #13 also had another key block the possession before. Could have iced the game with two free throws but missed one to put the USA up by 3 with about 5 seconds left. DR missed a chippy but got offensive rebound and putback and the foul to get within one. Missed the free throw, but DR got the offensive rebound and the ball went out of bounds on the USA with 1.6 remaining, so DR had one last chance to set up the winning play. Went to the guy everybody knew it was going to (Martinez) since he dominated the US team all night, but the key block sealed the win.

[Bob Green]

According to this box score, Lance Thomas recorded a 15 points, 16 rebounds double-double:

http://www.fibaamericas.com/en/fnabox.asp?g=B&n=2&r=8617

I didn't watch the game and have no idea how accurate is the box score. USA Basketball website does not have a box score or game recap posted.

[nmduke2001]

I watched most of the second half. Lance played really well. Doug Gottlieb even said something like, "Lance only makes winning plays. He did it at Duke to win a championship and he's doing it here."

[Bluedog]

According to this box score, Lance Thomas recorded a 15 points, 16 rebounds double-double:

http://www.fibaamericas.com/en/fnabox.asp?g=B&n=2&r=8617

I didn't watch the game and have no idea how accurate is the box score. USA Basketball website does not have a box score or game recap posted.

Wow! Well, I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention, haha. Didn't seem like Lance pulled down 10 offensive rebounds or led the team in scoring based on what I saw, but who knows. I suppose it's possible. Also played the most minutes on the team apparently. But he did certainly look involved in winning plays. Also had a nice looking dunk off a rebound while the ball was still in the cylinder thanks to FIBA rules that allow that.

[ChillinDuke]

Wow! Well, I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention, haha. Didn't seem like Lance pulled down 10 offensive rebounds or led the team in scoring based on what I saw, but who knows. I suppose it's possible. Also played the most minutes on the team apparently. But he did certainly look involved in winning plays. Also had a nice looking dunk off a rebound while the ball was still in the cylinder thanks to FIBA rules that allow that.

I watched the last 3 quarters. Lance was superb. He was rebounding above the rim and taking the ball out of bigger players' hands. His court savvy looked noticeably improved, and that's saying something as it was already quite good his senior year. He knocked down free throws, guarded very well, got up and down the court quickly, and overall energized the team when they needed it (USA was down 8 going into the half and looked flat). At one point Lance almost threw down an offensive rebound-dunk in traffic, but it rimmed out, and he still got his own offensive board off that miss (Gottlieb said you can touch the ball above the cylinder in the international game?). Lance was setting high screens for guards, played a few times as the entryman on the elbow, kicked out offensive boards, showed excellent touch around the basket, finished through contact (had at least two and-1's that I saw and hit both free throws), and had a beautiful pump fake-and-drive which he converted (might have been one of his and-1's). I didn't check the box score, but seemed like he had at least 3 assists.

To be clear, Lance was not given the defensive assignment to guard the big guy on DR who went for 31 (Yack - "Jack" - Martinez, I think his name was).

It looked to me like he was one of the, if not the, most comfortable player out there on the court for USA. And I believe he was left in the game with 4 fouls and about 3 mins to play showing they had faith in his ability to play without fouling (fourth foul was called on what looked like a clean block).

Very impressed with his play. Keep it up, Lance! Go USA!

- Chillin

PS - #13 was Marcus Lewis, who made two key blocks in the final minute to seal the game. USA roster says he played for Oral Roberts in college.

[hq2]

showed excellent touch around the basket, finished through contact (had at least two and-1's that I saw and hit both free throws), and had a beautiful pump fake-and-drive which he converted (might have been one of his and-1's)

Now, the other stuff from earlier he did at Duke, but the above he did not. If he can do that kind of stuff on a consistent basis, then he's improved a lot. Way to go Lance!

[SilkyJ]

According to this box score, Lance Thomas recorded a 15 points, 16 rebounds double-double:

http://www.fibaamericas.com/en/fnabox.asp?g=B&n=2&r=8617

I didn't watch the game and have no idea how accurate is the box score. USA Basketball website does not have a box score or game recap posted.

USA basketball Box Score (http://www.usabasketball.com//mens/panamerican/11_mpag_game_03_box.html) agrees. I saw some pieces. He was playing PF/C most of the time, and just outworking guys, as we know he is apt to do. Keep bringing it Lance!

[Billy Dat]

At one point Lance almost threw down an offensive rebound-dunk in traffic, but it rimmed out, and he still got his own offensive board off that miss (Gottlieb said you can touch the ball above the cylinder in the international game?).

That made me think of this Lance gem from the Baylor game...good times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg9dQOKNYc4

Yes, in FIBA ball, the ball is fair game once it has touched the rim. USA players are getting better and better at poking it off the rim on defense and positively interfering on offense.

[nmduke2001]

Lance and Team USA are playing Brazil right now. Lance came in with the USA down 16, now they are down 4 about to start the 4th quarter.

[ArkieDukie]

I watched most of the second half. Lance played really well. Doug Gottlieb even said something like, "Lance only makes winning plays. He did it at Duke to win a championship and he's doing it here."

Wow - I agree with Doug Gottlieb. I think that may be one of the signs that the Apocalypse is upon us.

Great to hear that Lance is playing well.

[Bluedog]

US wins! Beat Brazil by 11 and thus clinch a spot in the medal round. Ahearn paced the team with 21 points and Lance had yet another solid outing with 8 points and 12 rebounds. Brazil was the tournament favorite so this was a big win. Brazil plays the Dominican Republic next and the loser will be eliminated from contention.

[Bluedog]

Well, the U.S. ended up with a bronze medal - based on expectations, that's a solid effort. First medal since 1999. Brazil, the favorites of the tournament, followed up their loss to the US with a loss to Dominican Republic and thus didn't make the medal stages. (The U.S. somehow lost to lowly Uruguay by two in the final stage game, but it didn't make a difference as to their seeding.) The U.S. lost to Mexico in the semifinals by 16 with Lance not playing very much for some reason - he scored no points and got one rebound in 13 minutes of play. The U.S. then rebounded for the bronze medal and defeated DR for the second time in the tournament - this time by two points instead of 1. DR had a 3-pointer to win it at the buzzer, but it was off target. Lance got 14 points and 4 rebounds in 20 minutes of play. Puerto Rico ended up defeating host Mexico by 2 for the gold.

[SilkyJ]

Pretty good overall performance for Lance. Didn't start any of the games but played 20mpg, averaging 8pt/7.5rebs and was by far the leading rebounder on the team.

Stats (http://www.usabasketball.com/misc/11_mpag_usa_stats.pdf)