USA Basketball minicamp

[Class of '94]

I saw on the front page of DBR that Kyrie along with Tyler Zeller and Dion Waiters were invited to the USAB minicamp this summer, I wanted to get anyone's thoughts on whether or not you think Harrison Barnes will be invited to the minicamp and how realistic are his chances of eventually making either the 2014 or 2016 team given his relationship (or lack thereof) with Coach K. I don't think K is petty; and I strongly believe he'd make decisions that he thinks would be best for Team USA, and not factor any personal differences with a particular play into those decisions. I think Barnes should be considered (if players like Waiters and Zeller were invited) given his performance in the playoffs as well as the fact that Zeller was selected (and I believe Barnes is more talented than Zeller although Zeller is a mobile 7 footer).

That being said, given the reports on this site in how he apparently mislead the Duke coaching staff in regards to his skyped decision as well as his disrespect of Coach K (Barnes never called K before or after his decision to let K know that he wasn't coming to Duke), I personally wouldn't blame K for not adding him to the Team USA basketball pool. I wonder if Barnes will finally make the call to K to smooth things now that K has agreed to continue to be Team USA HC.

Who knows, depending on how Mason does over the next year or two, he may have a chance to be on the 2016 team to provide size and athleticism....

[Billy Dat]

There were reports that Barnes was invited to play this summer. According to this article, the following have received invites:
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/2...wall-mini-camp

Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Ty Lawson, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Larry Sanders, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Brad Beal. I am sure more invites have been leaked since then, and more will come once the finals are over.

I think Barnes' chances of making a team are probably best in 2014 as USA Basketball, in the last cycle, used the World Championships as a proving ground for the Olympics, which this country seems to hold in higher esteem - while the rest of the world seems to consider the Worlds, now the World Cup of Basketball, to be the more prestigious tournament. The Worlds are definitely a better pool of teams. The 2014 World Championships team will likely be 100% newbies, with maybe some more experienced Team USA leaders - Stephen Curry, maybe, Anthony Davis?

The 2016 Olympic team will have many fewer available spots depending on who is healthy and interested. You'd assume that guys who won't play in 2014 but will be interested in 2016 include Lebron, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Love, and maybe Deron Williams. That leaves 6-7 slots and you have to figure they may get filled by other guys like Curry or those not listed above, like Paul George, etc .

I think Barnes, unless he really approaches All Star level next season, is a long shot to make either team. I don't think his past interactions with Coach K will matter at all. If they did, he wouldn't have gotten a camp invite. K has way bigger fish to fry then to worry about getting dissed by the Pigeon, dirt off his shoulder.

[camion]

I remember that Duke (and maybe K) didn't think much of Chris Paul during his collegiate career (talented, yes; jerk, yes). That relationship seems to have evolved. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things Barnes situation goes.

[jipops]

I saw on the front page of DBR that Kyrie along with Tyler Zeller and Dion Waiters were invited to the USAB minicamp this summer, I wanted to get anyone's thoughts on whether or not you think Harrison Barnes will be invited to the minicamp and how realistic are his chances of eventually making either the 2014 or 2016 team given his relationship (or lack thereof) with Coach K. I don't think K is petty; and I strongly believe he'd make decisions that he thinks would be best for Team USA, and not factor any personal differences with a particular play into those decisions. I think Barnes should be considered (if players like Waiters and Zeller were invited) given his performance in the playoffs as well as the fact that Zeller was selected (and I believe Barnes is more talented than Zeller although Zeller is a mobile 7 footer).

That being said, given the reports on this site in how he apparently mislead the Duke coaching staff in regards to his skyped decision as well as his disrespect of Coach K (Barnes never called K before or after his decision to let K know that he wasn't coming to Duke), I personally wouldn't blame K for not adding him to the Team USA basketball pool. I wonder if Barnes will finally make the call to K to smooth things now that K has agreed to continue to be Team USA HC.

Who knows, depending on how Mason does over the next year or two, he may have a chance to be on the 2016 team to provide size and athleticism....

If K comes out with another book, I seriously doubt he'll dedicate a chapter or even a sentence to the topic.

[roywhite]

There were reports that Barnes was invited to play this summer. According to this article, the following have received invites:
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/2...wall-mini-camp

Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Ty Lawson, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Larry Sanders, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Brad Beal. I am sure more invites have been leaked since then, and more will come once the finals are over.

I think Barnes' chances of making a team are probably best in 2014 as USA Basketball, in the last cycle, used the World Championships as a proving ground for the Olympics, which this country seems to hold in higher esteem - while the rest of the world seems to consider the Worlds, now the World Cup of Basketball, to be the more prestigious tournament. The Worlds are definitely a better pool of teams. The 2014 World Championships team will likely be 100% newbies, with maybe some more experienced Team USA leaders - Stephen Curry, maybe, Anthony Davis?

The 2016 Olympic team will have many fewer available spots depending on who is healthy and interested. You'd assume that guys who won't play in 2014 but will be interested in 2016 include Lebron, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Love, and maybe Deron Williams. That leaves 6-7 slots and you have to figure they may get filled by other guys like Curry or those not listed above, like Paul George, etc .

I think Barnes, unless he really approaches All Star level next season, is a long shot to make either team. I don't think his past interactions with Coach K will matter at all. If they did, he wouldn't have gotten a camp invite. K has way bigger fish to fry then to worry about getting dissed by the Pigeon, dirt off his shoulder.

Thanks for the info on other invitees and I agree with your assessment, that Barnes deserves the invite, but is a longshot to make the World team and even more of a longshot to make the 2016 Olympic team. But who knows for sure at this point.

I do see Kyrie as being a key player on the 2014 team and likely 2016 teams. As always, we hope Kyrie is healthy enough to participate for a full NBA season and also to do the Team USA stuff. Players should be encouraged by the past performance of the USA team members, in overall improvement in their games and stamina through the following season.

[Class of '94]

There were reports that Barnes was invited to play this summer. According to this article, the following have received invites:
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/2...wall-mini-camp

Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Ty Lawson, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Larry Sanders, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Brad Beal. I am sure more invites have been leaked since then, and more will come once the finals are over.

I think Barnes' chances of making a team are probably best in 2014 as USA Basketball, in the last cycle, used the World Championships as a proving ground for the Olympics, which this country seems to hold in higher esteem - while the rest of the world seems to consider the Worlds, now the World Cup of Basketball, to be the more prestigious tournament. The Worlds are definitely a better pool of teams. The 2014 World Championships team will likely be 100% newbies, with maybe some more experienced Team USA leaders - Stephen Curry, maybe, Anthony Davis?

The 2016 Olympic team will have many fewer available spots depending on who is healthy and interested. You'd assume that guys who won't play in 2014 but will be interested in 2016 include Lebron, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Love, and maybe Deron Williams. That leaves 6-7 slots and you have to figure they may get filled by other guys like Curry or those not listed above, like Paul George, etc .

I think Barnes, unless he really approaches All Star level next season, is a long shot to make either team. I don't think his past interactions with Coach K will matter at all. If they did, he wouldn't have gotten a camp invite. K has way bigger fish to fry then to worry about getting dissed by the Pigeon, dirt off his shoulder.

Thanks for that link. I'd agree that K won't put too much thought into his past dealings with Barnes; but I sure would love to see the dynamics at practice between Barnes and K. I could see it being awkward imo at first for Barnes considering the strong relationship he initially developed with K and then handling his "decision" so badly in light of that relationship.

[Billy Dat]

If K comes out with another book, I seriously doubt he'll dedicate a chapter or even a sentence to the topic.

I disagree...

Chapter 7 - Staying Young
"Even as the age gap between my players and me widens with each passing year, I have found ways to stay connected to youth culture. My oldest grandson is now a teenager and he tips me off to the latest pop and hip hop stars so that I can say to a player, "Hey, you listening to this new joint from Maybach Music Group...Meek Mill crushes his 8 bars!" Stuff like that shows the kids my fun side, even if it's really Motown that I have in my iPhone. Social media can be another way to stay current. We've experimented with Blue Planet YouTube videos and Twitter contests. I've been burned by Skype, though. I like to look at a kid in the eye, and I never quite know where to look depending on where the camera is located."

[arnie]

There were reports that Barnes was invited to play this summer. According to this article, the following have received invites:
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/5/2...wall-mini-camp

Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Ty Lawson, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Larry Sanders, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Brad Beal. I am sure more invites have been leaked since then, and more will come once the finals are over.

I think Barnes' chances of making a team are probably best in 2014 as USA Basketball, in the last cycle, used the World Championships as a proving ground for the Olympics, which this country seems to hold in higher esteem - while the rest of the world seems to consider the Worlds, now the World Cup of Basketball, to be the more prestigious tournament. The Worlds are definitely a better pool of teams. The 2014 World Championships team will likely be 100% newbies, with maybe some more experienced Team USA leaders - Stephen Curry, maybe, Anthony Davis?

The 2016 Olympic team will have many fewer available spots depending on who is healthy and interested. You'd assume that guys who won't play in 2014 but will be interested in 2016 include Lebron, Durant, Westbrook, Harden, Love, and maybe Deron Williams. That leaves 6-7 slots and you have to figure they may get filled by other guys like Curry or those not listed above, like Paul George, etc .

I think Barnes, unless he really approaches All Star level next season, is a long shot to make either team. I don't think his past interactions with Coach K will matter at all. If they did, he wouldn't have gotten a camp invite. K has way bigger fish to fry then to worry about getting dissed by the Pigeon, dirt off his shoulder.

Of course HB should be invited or even better named to the team now! After all he was preseason all-American as a freshman - an honor that even the great Lebron did not "earn".

[roywhite]

I disagree...

Chapter 7 - Staying Young
"Even as the age gap between my players and me widens with each passing year, I have found ways to stay connected to youth culture. My oldest grandson is now a teenager and he tips me off to the latest pop and hip hop stars so that I can say to a player, "Hey, you listening to this new joint from Maybach Music Group...Meek Mill crushes his 8 bars!" Stuff like that shows the kids my fun side, even if it's really Motown that I have in my iPhone. Social media can be another way to stay current. We've experimented with Blue Planet YouTube videos and Twitter contests. I've been burned by Skype, though. I like to look at a kid in the eye, and I never quite know where to look depending on where the camera is located."

Agree with you there, Billy. One of K's traits is the ability not just to move on from a defeat, but to use it as an extra motivator.

Example: the 43-point loss to Ralph Sampson's UVa team in the ACC Tournament. To a toast of "here's to forgetting this", K responded "No; here's to never forgetting this".
The Barnes recruitment and the way it went down was a big event, and a big motivator for our Hall of Fame coach.

[jipops]

I disagree...

Chapter 7 - Staying Young
"Even as the age gap between my players and me widens with each passing year, I have found ways to stay connected to youth culture. My oldest grandson is now a teenager and he tips me off to the latest pop and hip hop stars so that I can say to a player, "Hey, you listening to this new joint from Maybach Music Group...Meek Mill crushes his 8 bars!" Stuff like that shows the kids my fun side, even if it's really Motown that I have in my iPhone. Social media can be another way to stay current. We've experimented with Blue Planet YouTube videos and Twitter contests. I've been burned by Skype, though. I like to look at a kid in the eye, and I never quite know where to look depending on where the camera is located."

ohhh nice. I sit corrected.

[BD80]

Of course HB should be invited or even better named to the team now! After all he was preseason all-American as a freshman - an honor that even the great Lebron did not "earn".

Yeah, but Lebron was as close to making 1st team AA at the end of his freshman year as hb was

[Billy Dat]

The coaching staff has been announced...Boeheim, Thibs and Monty Williams. Nice staff!

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/na...ssistants.html

[Troublemaker]

The coaching staff has been announced...Boeheim, Thibs and Monty Williams. Nice staff!

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/na...ssistants.html

It's an interesting staff - pretty much everyone from Coach K on down is defensive-minded. No D'antoni-esque offensive coach this time around, although I do believe Coach K and Thibs are underrated offensive coaches.

2014 FiBA World Cup will be a killer test. Can't really expect any of the A-list superstars like Lebron and Paul to be there. Hopefully Durant will join up because he's such a basketball junkie and still so young. Spain for sure will bring their A-team because they're hosting, and the rest of Europe will probably follow suit and also be healthier this time around as opposed to 2010 when many countries were hampered by injuries to major stars. In 2014, USA might be facing its toughest test wrt "talent relative to field" since pre-K era.

[Billy Dat]

2014 FiBA World Cup will be a killer test. Can't really expect any of the A-list superstars like Lebron and Paul to be there. Hopefully Durant will join up because he's such a basketball junkie and still so young. Spain for sure will bring their A-team because they're hosting, and the rest of Europe will probably follow suit and also be healthier this time around as opposed to 2010 when many countries were hampered by injuries to major stars. In 2014, USA might be facing its toughest test wrt "talent relative to field" since pre-K era.

2014 will be tough, and I think we can say that 2006 was tough because we failed to win gold! Granted, Greece basically had a divine intervention game and we had no Kobe. I do think Kobe would have been the difference between winning and losing that year.

I think there is zero percent chance Durant will play in 2014. I think, having played the last two big tournaments (2010 and 2012), he's now in the Olympics-only veteran pool and will spend the majority of his mental and physical energy moving forward in pursuit of NBA titles.

I think the most likely candidates are guys on this year's All NBA teams (including honorable mention) and All Star teams who have never played on a Team USA squad, or have been named but then were injured including:
Paul George, Jrue Holiday, Kyrie Irving, Brook Lopez, Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, David Lee and ZBo. All of these guys, save for ZBo, have been to Team USA minicamps.

Other guys that I am sure will get a look as long as they have solid 2013-14 seasons include:
Roy Hibbert, Ty Lawson, Kawhi Leonard and Mike Conley

Finally, to anchor the team, maybe Steph Curry or James Harden, guys who are young but have won gold in either the Worlds or the Olympics, will be willing to play.

There's enough talent in that mix to bring home gold, the question is who would emerge as team leaders, and who emerges as the primary scoring threats?

[Dev11]

Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Damian Lillard, Ty Lawson, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Larry Sanders, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Brad Beal.

Not to stray too far from your intended topic, but wow, US has a lot of point guards. That position was filled most recently by Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Jason Kidd, all of whom I would presume will not return or, in the case of Paul or Williams, would only be in supporting 'veteran' roles.

[Billy Dat]

Not to stray too far from your intended topic, but wow, US has a lot of point guards. That position was filled most recently by Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Jason Kidd, all of whom I would presume will not return or, in the case of Paul or Williams, would only be in supporting 'veteran' roles.

Yeah, Paul and Williams will not play in 2014. It's just how the process has evolved. Our guys consider the Olympics to be the prime time event. I'd assume that, barring injury, K will want Chris Paul in 2016, and Paul will play the Jason Kidd roll. Deron Williams, like Paul, will be 32 in 2016, but he is considered an inferior player and leader and his game kind of went south this year - but he payed well in the playoffs. That leaves 2 PG spots open and, as you say, lots of guys battling. Whomever makes the 2014 team, as long as that team performs well, will have an inside track on 2016.

Now that you have me talking about point guards, I have missed a really obvious name - because we haven't seen him for a year - Mr. Derrick Rose. If he can return to form, he'd be another veteran that might opt to sign up to be a leader in 2014 - especially now that Thibs is involved.

So much can change year to year - but its fun to prognosticate.

[CDu]

Yeah, Paul and Williams will not play in 2014. It's just how the process has evolved. Our guys consider the Olympics to be the prime time event. I'd assume that, barring injury, K will want Chris Paul in 2016, and Paul will play the Jason Kidd roll. Deron Williams, like Paul, will be 32 in 2016, but he is considered an inferior player and leader and his game kind of went south this year - but he payed well in the playoffs. That leaves 2 PG spots open and, as you say, lots of guys battling. Whomever makes the 2014 team, as long as that team performs well, will have an inside track on 2016.

Now that you have me talking about point guards, I have missed a really obvious name - because we haven't seen him for a year - Mr. Derrick Rose. If he can return to form, he'd be another veteran that might opt to sign up to be a leader in 2014 - especially now that Thibs is involved.

So much can change year to year - but its fun to prognosticate.

I suspect that Rose and Irving will be the main PGs on the 2014 team... assuming Rose decides to play. As an MVP of the league and a member of the 2010 championship team (and a guy who would have played on the 2012 Olympic team if not for his ACL injury), he may have bumped himself into the "Olympics only" group. Of course, he may also still be scrambling from his PR nightmare of 2013, so maybe he'll want to participate. You never know.

I tend to agree that the team will most likely include guys like Lopez, Lee, George, Curry (if he's willing), Aldridge, maybe Monroe. The key will be infusing a few international game veterans with the squad. But I don't think we'll see many of our best-of-the-best players compete in 2014.

[Billy Dat]

I suspect that Rose and Irving will be the main PGs on the 2014 team... assuming Rose decides to play. As an MVP of the league and a member of the 2010 championship team (and a guy who would have played on the 2012 Olympic team if not for his ACL injury), he may have bumped himself into the "Olympics only" group. Of course, he may also still be scrambling from his PR nightmare of 2013, so maybe he'll want to participate. You never know.

Agree with everything about Rose, and wonder if the ultimate decision will be "no 2014" simple to keep additional miles off of that knee. CDu - you have to be pretty excited to see Thibs and K mind melding for the next 3 years. As a Duke fan, I don't care how much K knows about defense, I'm pumped because he's gonna learn some stuff from Thibs.

[BD80]

... I have missed a really obvious name - because we haven't seen him for a year - Mr. Derrick Rose. If he can return to form, he'd be another veteran that might opt to sign up to be a leader in 2014 - ...

Come on! Don't rush the guy! He had surgery just over a year ago that others have recovered from months ago. He might not be mentally ready by the summer of 2014!

[CDu]

Agree with everything about Rose, and wonder if the ultimate decision will be "no 2014" simple to keep additional miles off of that knee. CDu - you have to be pretty excited to see Thibs and K mind melding for the next 3 years. As a Duke fan, I don't care how much K knows about defense, I'm pumped because he's gonna learn some stuff from Thibs.

Yeah, the more I think about it, the less likely I think it would be that Rose plays in 2014. Which is too bad, because when healthy he's a fantastic option on both ends of the floor.

But yeah, Thibs is as good a defensive mind as there is in basketball. There are gains to be had from both guys (Coach K can learn from Thibs, and vice versa) that will help both of my two favorite basketball teams.

It is interesting that the coaching staff will be so defense-oriented and with so little offensive tendencies. While I think that Thibs is certainly a capable offensive coach, it isn't his forte for sure.