FIBA WC: Davis, Harden, Lowry banner 20-man Team USA pool
By Kevin Sox
There will be no shortage of superpower for the United States men’s national basketball team when they hit the floor for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China this August.
USA Basketball recently announced their 20-man line-up pool for the prestigious sports spectacle, and bannering the selection are Olympic gold medalists Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Love, and Harrison Barnes.
Coaching USAB’s World Cup roster for the first time is long-time head coach Gregg Popovich, who took over the reigns from Mike Krzyzewski.
Jeff Van Gundy coached the national team in the FIBA World Cup qualification process, handling a team composed mainly of G-League level talents.
Included in the selection for the World Cup are players who have won previously like Love, Eric Gordon (2010), Harden, Davis, and Andre Drummond (2014).
Completing the cast are Bradley Beal, Tobias Harris, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton, Myles Turner, Kemba Walker, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez, Paul Millsap, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, and PJ Tucker.
Assisting Popovich are Steve Kerr, Jay Williams, and Lloyd Pierce.
The team will convene for a training camp on August 5-9 followed by an intra-squad scrimmage showcase in Las Vegas. The team will play Spain in an exhibition match on August 16 before trimming their roster down to its final 12.
USA will then head to Australia for a pair of exhibition matches against the Aussies. They will also face Canada to wound up their pre-World Cup preparations.
USA is drawn in Group E with Czech Republic, Japan, and Turkey.
The top 7 finishers for the World Cup directly qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
