USA Basketball 2014: Four #Warriors Show Depth And Talent Of Golden State Franchise (Photo: @letsgowarriors Instagram account)
MENDENHALL CENTER, LAS VEGAS, NV — The four Golden State Warriors players that were invited to participate in training camp for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team (#USABMNT) — the most of any NBA team — had breakfast together yesterday morning and are very excited to be here, as well as very excited about this upcoming NBA season.
True to their leadership form, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green were quick to point out that the four was supposed to have been six, as both David Lee (“minor surgery” on core pelvic muscle) and Andre Iguodala (right knee tendinitis “procedure”) have been nursing injuries.
“It is pretty special, to have that representation here,” Curry said after practice yesterday, “We’re a talented group and we feel like these kind of experiences will help us down along the road. It’s good for our organization.”
“That says a lot about where the franchise has been, the young talent that we have,” Green said today after practice, “Just try to continue to build on it, get more and more guys here.”
“It shows how talented we are and how deep we are,” said Klay Thompson, “It says we have a great group of talent. We just have a talented team.”
While the final roster of twelve that will represent the United States in Spain for the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball won’t be announced until near the end of August when the team finishes up training camp in New York City, Harrison Barnes seemed very confident that two Warriors, Curry and Thompson, would make the final cut.
“We’ve got a great team. Obviously, you’ve got two guys that are going make the National Team and two guys on the Select Team,” Barnes said, “It’s a big honor.”
“It is nice to have that relationship, where we could take what we know and how we play together back from Golden State and bring it here,” Curry said, “Hopefully (Klay and I) are both on the team, representing the country.”
The four from #DubNation also hope to bring back a few tidbits they’ve learned from their experience with #USAbasketball to the Bay Area for next season.
“You study the game and you know these guys have been leading teams and been coming up with different game plans for years,” Curry said, “It is different than the last system that I’ve run in Golden State, with other coaches, but as a basketball player you become more well rounded, having been impacted by these guys along the way.”
Said Green of USA assistant coach Tom Thibodeau, known as a defensive guru in the NBA, “Trying to pickup on his philosophy, I think a lot of the stuff that they do, we actually did in Golden State. It’s very similar, so I’m just watching him, trying to pick up on little things.”
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