MENDENHALL CENTER, LAS VEGAS, NV — Four members of the world champion Golden State Warriors attended USA Basketball’s Men’s National Team minicamp today, but it was supposed to be five.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Harrison Barnes worked out today, and Andre Iguodala would have also been there, if not for his honeymoon. Iguodala got married this past week, as announced by Jermaine O’Neal on Instagram.
Iguodala apparently got an invite from Team USA.
“Andre Iguodala would be here, but he got married on Saturday. He was willing to postpone his honeymoon. We said don’t do that,” said USA Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski to reporters after the workouts were done.
The subject of Iguodala was actually spurred on by a question from a Utah Jazz reporter about Gordon Hayward being on the fringe of the selection process and what Hayward can do to improve his chances of making the team. Krzyzewski quickly turned that into a statement about his and managing director Jerry Colangelo‘s methodology in the selection process.
“We made a point today with our team to say it hasn’t been like the twelve best. You could all vote for who the twelve best are. It’s how they fit. I gave the example of Tayshuan Prince. In 2008, if he is not on the team, we might not win the gold medal. In the gold medal game, the first half, we were in foul trouble and he did a great job,” said Krzyzewski. “Instead of saying someone is on the fringe, someone might fit exactly right when the time comes, because you can’t predict injury, contracts and personal (matters). So, that’s what we’ve tried to cover in that regard.”
Iguodala has won gold with the 2010 Instanbul World Championship and the 2012 London Olympic teams. In 2010, he started in all nine games and averaged 5.7 points per game, a team fourth-best 4.6 rebounds per game, 1.9 assists per game, and a team-leading 1.8 steals per game, while shooting 58.8 percent, 20-for-34 on field goals, from the field.
“He was our defensive stopper in Istanbul, and on the 2012 team he didn’t play as much but he was there,” said Krzyzewski. “He’s been a prince for us.”
(Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account via imagekb.com)
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