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DONGGUAN, China (AP) – USA Basketball General Manager Jerry Colangelo said on Thursday that when it is time to start building the 2020 Tokyo Olympics roster, he will not forget those who gave up their commitment to participate in the Tokyo Olympics. World Cup this summer.
Of the 35 players originally selected for the US group of players, only four are in China for the World Cup. The United States lost to France in the quarter-finals, ending a series of seven major international tournaments – four Olympic and three World Cups – in which the Americans won a medal, the last five being gold.
"I can only say that you can not help but notice and remember who you thought you were going to war with and who did not show up," said Colangelo. "I firmly believe that you are dealing with the cards that have been distributed to you. All we could have done, and we did, is to get the commitments of a lot of players. So, with this kind of hand, you are reasonably confident that you can put a very good representative team on the ground.
"Nobody could have anticipated the withdrawals we had."
The United States lost again Thursday against Serbia and will not finish better than seventh place – the worst result ever for a US men's team in a major tournament. The worst precedent was sixth place at the 2002 world championships, and the US coaches of this World Cup team insist that, in terms of the return on their invested efforts, this group deserved better.
"It's a great group of guys competing," said US Assistant Coach Steve Kerr. "They are so attached to each other and to the process. You are very proud of this and you are disappointed for them. But that's life.
Many players cited scheduling issues as a reason not to play this summer, while others face injuries and some adjust before joining new teams when training camps begin. in less than three weeks. The new international schedule is also a challenge, with the World Cup and the Olympic Games coming together for the first time since 1967 and 1968.
More than 50 players were part of the World Cup plan in the United States at one time or another. Of these, 12 went to China, two were cut after the first week of training camp – and the other three dozens left alone.
"We're going to let the dust fall, let things get a little depressed," said Colangelo. "Obviously, I'm still thinking about the future, which means what's going to happen, and it's going to happen quickly and soon because we just have to get together for the Olympics."
The United States will go to Tokyo in search of its fourth consecutive gold medal, and it is rarely difficult to make the Olympic team play for the stars. The World Cup team was not overloaded with superstars – only two of the 12 US players in the World Cup roster have been stars this season, while nine of the 12 Olympic team players of 2016 had just played appearances of stars.
Colangelo felt that Jayson Tatum's ankle injuries at the World Cup and Kyle Kuzma just before the tournament had undermined the US chances in China, noting that the team believed Kuzma was going to to be very useful. But he insisted he did not criticize the efforts of players who made the commitment this summer.
"The players did everything they could," Colangelo said. "They make a good group of guys. But we came up with higher expectations in terms of alignment and that did not happen as we wanted. For me it was a big disappointment. "
Colangelo also expressed his disappointment for the American coach Gregg Popovich, who will also lead the team to Tokyo next summer. Popovich failed to be part of the 1972 Olympic team and was an assistant coach at the 2002 world championships and 2004 Olympic teams who did not win the gold medal.
"I told Pop that I felt really bad for him because I wanted him to have a chance to win a gold medal after his experience with USA Basketball in the past," he said. said Colangelo. "But it was not meant to be in this competition."
So now, his eyes are turning to Tokyo.
The recruitment process will not be delayed either.
"To move forward with USA Basketball, we will need the cooperation of teams, agents, and direct communication between players to make these commitments a reality." said Colangelo. "I'm looking forward to seeing how many players are joining early to indicate that they wish, wish and wish to play.
"But I'm going to make this statement: it's as much of maybe who we do not want as much as who we want."
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