Spain’s Juan Carlos Navarro is just one of the many players to watch at the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
The 2014 FIBA World Cup starts this weekend, with 24 teams competing for one of the biggest international basketball trophies available. The United States still maintains the top world ranking but is guaranteed nothing as the talent gap between it and the rest of the world continues to shrink. Each nation features a number of talented players, but below are a few worth watching for various reasons.
Derrick Rose
A lot of attention will focus on Rose, given this will be his first competitive round of basketball since returning from a second consecutive major injury. Things started well for him in the early weeks, but he has sat out recent practices and missed the team’s exhibition against the Dominican Republic. After a subpar performance against Slovenia, concerns over his health have risen, but as Marc Stein reports, Rose says he is past his injuries.
Concerns about Rose’s health will likely follow him the rest of his career, even if the major injuries are behind him, but making the final roster has to bode well, at least in the short term. Team USA had no shortage of options at point guard (Damian Lillard would have been a stellar selection), so picking Rose over Lillard suggests the coaching staff believes his health will hold up. Ultimately, while Rose may not be the most important player for the United States, how he plays and how often will provide meaningful insight into where he stands in his recovery.
Facundo Campazzo
Campazzo is a 23-year old Argentine point guard who has featured for Argentina since 2012, playing significant roles in both the 2012 Olympics and last year’s FIBA Americas Championship. At the club level, Campazzo starred for Penarol in Argentina, and last season averaged 16.6 points, 5.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while shooting 49.9 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3. Although he went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, this summer, Campazzo signed a multi-year contract with Real Madrid, one of the top clubs in Europe.
Facundo is a crafty ball handler who sees the floor well. At 5-foot-10, his small size may affect his ability to match up with bigger, more athletic point guards, but with Manu Ginobili not participating due to injury, more will be expected of Campazzo to lead from the backcourt.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J69yAI2bfgU?rel=0]Juan Carlos Navarro
Navarro, 34, is the captain for Spain and has become a legend for his club Barcelona, having first played for the team at the age of 17. He is a two-time Euroleague champion, and has won the Liga ACB seven times with Barca. Individually, he was the Euroleague MVP in 2009, is a three-time Spanish MVP, has made the All-Euroleague Team seven times, won European Player of the Year in 2010, and that is just scratching the surface of his personal accolades.
This past season, Navarro became the player with the most all-time Euroleague appearances with 253.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sen9q50bc70?rel=0]
Navarro was drafted 40th by Washington in 2002 but wouldn’t play in the NBA until 2007, and by then his rights had been traded to Memphis. He would only play in the NBA for one season, but was a significant part of the rotation that season, averaging 10.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.8 minutes per game. He featured in all 82 games, started 30 and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.
Because of his age, this will likely be Navarro’s last World Cup. In addition, with the tournament being held in his home country, there will be added significance for Navarro and his Spanish teammates to be champions. While plenty of attention will be paid to the Gasol brothers and Ricky Rubio, Navarro’s role should not be overlooked.
Bojan Bogdanović
A lot of attention will be given to Croatia’s Bojan Bogdanović, who recently signed a 3-year, $10 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Despite only being 25, Bogdanović has been playing professionally since 2004, and most recently with Turkish side Fenerbahçe Ülker. At 6-foot-8, he can play both the shooting guard and small forward positions, and in recent years has shown an ability to shoot effectively from 3, though his percentage did drop to 29.8 percent last season after shooting better than 40 percent the previous two seasons.
Bogdanović was the second-highest scorer in last year’s Eurobasket competition, averaging 17.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.6 percent. For Brooklyn and NBA fans, the World Cup will provide a glimpse of what to expect from the Croatian.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4HoxQshshQ?rel=0]Others to Watch:
- Dante Exum (AUS)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (GRE)
- Nicolas Batum (FRA)
- Dario Saric (CRO)
- Marcelo Huertas (BRA)
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