Those losses didn't get a lot of attention because the teams weren't very good.
On June 28, 2018, Team USA lost 70-78 to Mexico in Mexico City. Here's the roster from that night:
- Marcus Thornton
- David Stockton
- Alex Caruso
- Nicholas Johnson
- Rashawn Thomas
- Xavier Munford
- Reggie Hearn
- Trey McKinney
- Kevin Jones
- Jonathan Holmes
- Amile Jefferson
- Taylor Braun
Other than Amile, I think most of us (aside from awhom) would be hard pressed to recognize more than half of these names.
On November 29, 2018, Team USA suffered a second loss, 80-63 playing in La Roja, Argentina. Here's the illustrious roster from that night:
- Julian Williams-Washburn
- Joel Berry
- Scotty Hopson
- Chasson Randle
- Travis Trice
- Deandre Liggins
- Reggie Hearn
- Eric Moreland
- Richard Solomon III
- John Jenkins
- Cameron Reynolds
- Tyler Zeller
Way too many Tar Heels, no wonder we lost. Argentina was led by a 38-year old Luis Scola, which I believe makes him the only person to beat Team USA three times (2002, 2004, 2018). And there are only a handful of people who have beaten Team USA twice: Argentines who were on the 2002 & 2004 teams, and Lithuanians on the 1998 & 2004 Teams.
But the takeaway is: even as badly as Team USA has been hit by defections for the 2019 tournament, the guys suiting up this summer are in a different stratosphere than the ones who lost last year. Hence why it really flew under the radar.
P.s.
If I told you a made up a name and inserted it into one of the rosters above, could you spot it?