Crew USA fell to 0-4 in males’s basketball pool play on the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 20-18 loss to Lithuania adopted by a 21-19 loss to Latvia on Thursday. It definitely hasn’t been the displaying the Individuals have been in search of of their first Olympic competitors.
The staff’s biggest-name participant by far is Jimmer Fredette. The previous BYU star performed six seasons within the NBA however hasn’t been within the league since 2019. Becoming a member of him in France are …
- Dylan Travis, who performed NAIA, junior faculty and received a Division II nationwide title at Florida Southern earlier than taking part in abroad in Germany and Australia. His final of 5 skilled seasons was in 2019.
- Canyon Barry, who began his faculty profession at School of Charleston and completed it at Florida. He has performed in Finland, the Czech Republic and, most lately, within the G League for the Iowa Wolves. He is the son of Basketball Corridor of Famer Rick Barry and shoots underhand free throws similar to his dad did, too.
- Kareem Maddox, who performed at Princeton after which the Netherlands, Nice Britain and Poland. He has not performed conventional five-on-five basketball professionally since 2017.
How did this group come collectively? Properly, so as to even be eligible to play for the U.S., you need to play in sanctioned 3×3 occasions. You earn factors for enjoying (and taking part in properly) in additional occasions, and USA Basketball selects a staff from coaching camp. That is why these guys have not performed skilled five-on-five basketball lately; they must be 3×3 gamers. At this 12 months’s coaching camp, Fredette, Travis, Barry and Maddox have been chosen over a plethora of different names who can be most acknowledged by solely essentially the most die-hard faculty basketball (and, in some instances, NBA) followers.
The 3×3 sport could be very fast-paced, because it’s performed on half of a court docket with a 12-second shot clock and steady motion except there is a foul, a violation or the ball goes out of bounds. As such, you search for a gaggle with the athleticism and flexibility to defend and rating in opposition to a number of positions but in addition need to fill a number of conventional wants of any 5×5 staff, particularly ball dealing with, capturing, scoring and on-ball defending.
The CBS Sports activities consultants recognized the prime faculty groups that might produce three gamers who might win a gold medal in 3×3 basketball, CBS Sports activities’ Sam Quinn took a have a look at 4 NBA gamers who might enhance the 3×3 staff, and right here we’re doing the identical for males’s faculty basketball.
Sure, we’re counting Flagg as a university basketball participant although he is but to play in a Division I sport. The Duke freshman has already impressed taking part in in opposition to the perfect gamers on the earth as a member of the Crew USA Choose Crew and is the shoo-in projected No. 1 decide within the 2025 NBA Draft.
Adam Finkelstein, the director of scouting for 247Sports, had this to say about one of many prime recruit within the class:
Cooper Flagg is an elite two-way prospect. His instincts are off the charts on each ends of the ground and he competes with a quiet kind of killer intuition. He is a defensive standout and notably dominant as an off-ball defender. In truth, he is pretty much as good of an underclassman shot-blocker as I’ve seen at his measurement. Offensively, he is a wonderful passer with a great basis of early ability and growing playmaking capability. His footwork is great. His capturing and dealing with are each good and repeatedly enhancing. He would not essentially should be the point of interest on that finish of the ground, however he is proven he is lots able to it. Bodily, Flagg’s body is strong sufficient to soak up contact now and can solely add extra muscle mass within the coming years.
Flagg’s measurement, athleticism, protection, competitiveness and well-rounded offensive sport make him a simple decide to be on this hypothetical staff.
Mark Sears, Alabama
Sears can do a little bit of all the pieces. He is a robust driver of the ball, wonderful shooter and superb passer who has grown leaps and bounds in his time at Alabama. Sears can also be a dogged competitor who would slot in rather well as a man who can rating however would not have to attain to play at a excessive stage.
Sears shot a red-hot 43.6% from 3-point vary final 12 months, and he additionally shot 85.7% on free throws, a key facet in 3×3 play. Plus, the quickness of the sport would not trouble him as he already leads the cost for a staff that performs on the nation’s quickest tempo. Sears can be a pure match who can catch and shoot, drive, create his personal shot and dish off to teammates.
Alex Karaban, UConn
If we’re in search of a championship, we have now to carry alongside a champion, proper? Karaban is the one returning starter from two-time reigning champion UConn, and he’d be a robust match on 3×3, simply as he’s in five-on-five basketball.
Karaban stands 6-foot-8 and weighs a sturdy 225 kilos, however he combines that measurement with wonderful capturing — 38.9% from 3-point vary and 85.2% from the free-throw line in his profession — and an improved inside sport. Karaban shot 64% on 2-pointers final 12 months after capturing 58.7% contained in the arc in 2022-23. Karaban can also be a strong rebounder and defender. Plus, having performed below Dan Hurley, Karaban has the creativity, consideration to element and depth to be an awesome addition right here. He can be an absolute nightmare for opponents to defend as a ground spacer and within the pick-and-pop sport.
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
This was a very robust name — I am going to clarify for a bit — however for the staff’s main massive man, we go together with the offensive-minded alternative. Dickinson can be unimaginable to defend within the submit, particularly given the spacing afforded to gamers in 3×3. He has a terrific repertoire down low, and at 7-2 and 265 kilos, when he will get to his spots, there’s little opponents can do to cease him.
However what actually stands out right here is Dickinson’s non-scoring offensive talents. The Kansas star is a terrific passer, which is an absolute should in 3×3, and he can stretch the ground from past the arc as a 35.6% profession 3-point shooter. He additionally owns the boards and is an efficient shot blocker, too. The place Dickinson may wrestle is defending in area, however we’re prepared to take the offensive benefits over the potential defensive drawbacks.
Honorable mentions
- Ryan Kalkbrenner acquired heavy consideration right here. The three-time Large East Defensive Participant of the Yr anchors Creighton’s protection and would do the identical in 3×3. For such a big participant, he strikes his toes outstandingly and does a terrific job defending with out fouling. Offensively, Kalkbrenner has a mushy contact across the rim and can be extra of a cellular lob risk than Dickinson. Should you wished to place Kalkbrenner over Dickinson, I would not argue with you.
- Johnell Davis is the proper mixture of capturing, scoring, ball dealing with and positional versatility, and John Calipari will definitely use all of that in his (and Davis’) first 12 months at Arkansas. Davis was the No. 1 switch in David Cobb’s rankings, and I wrote about why he is such a pure slot in any setting.
- Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper — Rutgers’ freshman phenoms — might simply get a nod right here. For now, although, we’re sticking with only one incoming freshman, and it is laborious to beat Flagg.
- North Carolina’s RJ Davis and his former Duke rival Jeremy Roach (now at Baylor) can be robust matches because the staff’s main ball handler. Davis is extra of a scorer and a terrific shooter; Roach is extra of a standard level guard. Sears matches each classes, although, and that is why he will get the nod.