Over the course of the summer we've seen a few pictures of NBA stars and their excess weight loss and how they hope it lengthens their careers. Both LeBron (before and after) and Carmelo have made major transformations on their body by using the "Paleo" diet. It's a diet that has become popular lately by taking out sugars and grain (there's more to it as well) of your diet.
It's not the first time that NBA stars have gone on a diet like this. The Lakers completely revamped their whole team nutrition a few years ago. Here is the article based off of what they were doing. Interesting to read several of the quotes that the players have on their new "diet."
I have a good friend of mine that has gone on the diet and he lost 18 pounds in a month. It was very effective in getting the results that he wanted. The issue becomes, it's a diet, and it can become extremely difficult to have as strict of a diet like that when traveling constantly like many high school and college players do. NBA player have a team nutritionist that allows them to stay sharp on the diet all the time. It isn't as feasible at the non-professional levels.
The true question becomes, can these players sustain the diet throughout the 82 to 100 game season? I talked to a nutritionist for about two hours about the diet and she didn't think the diet was sustainable during the season. The body needs to get energy from food and if the players' bodies don't have the extra resources to get that energy, they could wear down.
The diet also created an interesting twist for the Lakers. Now, I'm not saying the diet contributed completely to the injuries that the Lakers had but isn't it weird that Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, and Kobe Bryant (could be old age too) all went down with serious injuries after they went on the diet? Again, I'm not an expert on it but I don't think it's coincidence.
It'll be very interesting to see if LeBron and Carmelo try to maintain this diet throughout the NBA season. I would hope that the people they trust gets them to eat some carbohydrates to sustain levels of energy that they will need for the season.
I definitely wouldn't recommend someone in high school using the Paleo diet. The athletes need carbs, especially if they want to gain weight. A great post workout/practice/game snack would be anything with high amounts of protein and carbs within 30 minutes after the activity. This helps with recovery and will give the athlete a chance to sustain the next day. After those 30 minutes, it would be a good idea to get a good meal that includes protein, carbs, and fat.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Grow Up...Physically
The title might sound crazy but it's true. Every single college team wants to fill it's roster with a few big guys. When I say big guys, I mean anyone over 6'5". I don't have any statistical facts but I would bet that prospects that are 6'5" and over have a much better chance of landing scholarship than prospects under 6'5". Why is this? Let's talk about it.
If you look at just about every offense in basketball there is always at least one post player. At the college level, post players are usually 6'5" and taller. There are obviously exceptions to that but it is rare. Another reason to have bigs is because other teams do and you want to simulate what they have in practice, even if you don't use that kind of big on your team.
Let's go ahead and look at a few basketball bluebloods and take a look at their rosters. At Kentucky, ten of their 12 scholarship players are 6'6" or taller. At North Carolina, nine of their 13 scholarship players are 6'5" or taller. At Duke, eight of the their 11 scholarship players are 6'5" or taller. At Florida, eight of their 13 scholarship players are 6'5" or taller. The D2 National Champs, Central Missouri had nine of their 16 players were 6'5" or taller. The D3 National Champs, WI-Whitewater had five of their 16 players were 6'5" or taller.
Even Villanova, who made small ball famous in the mid-2000's and would play 6'3" Randy Foye at power forward had a roster that had six of their 13 players were 6'5" and taller. Most teams have taller wings than what Villanova had but they were still successful because they created major matchup problems for other teams. Still, more than half of their recruited scholarship players were over 6'5".
Just because they have taller players doesn't necessarily mean wins but it doesn't seem to hurt when looking at these teams' rosters. D1 and D2 teams tend to be a little bigger than D3 teams but it's pretty obvious that being tall doesn't hurt your cause when trying to play college basketball.
One thing that having taller guys does to your roster is that it shrinks the floor defensively. What I mean by this, is with height and length on a team, the court seems much smaller to other teams and the gaps that are normally there either aren't there or don't seem as big. Syracuse has always done a great job with 2-3 zone this way and from watching Kentucky in the Bahamas this summer, they will look to do the same this year.
Now, the true question is, why are coaches enamored with guys that are 6'9" and can't walk and chew gum? Every coach thinks they can develop a "big guy" over the course of five years (including their redshirt year). Plus, big guys tend to develop a little bit later than guards/wings do because they still aren't completely comfortable with their bodies yet. Their upside is generally much higher than any guard.
I'll give two other examples from other sports that end up being similar to big guys in basketball. In football, a scholarship to a 5'7" wide receiver is not nearly as likely to a wide receiver that is 6'4". If you make a mistake on a 5'7" receiver, you probably will be ridiculed for it. In baseball, a coach is much more likely to send a scholarship to a 6'5" pitcher rather than a 5'10" one.
If a coach makes a mistake, he is more likely to make a mistake with a big. So...be 6'8" and a potential scholarship offer could come your way. Don't think because you are 6'8" that you are guaranteed to receive a scholarship but it certainly won't hurt.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Fall Signing Period vs. Spring Signing Period
The NCAA has two different signing periods for men's and women's basketball. The first signing period is from November 12-19 and the second signing period is April 15-May 20. There are also a few loopholes around the signing period that every Division One school has an option to use. So let's go over the plusses and minuses off signing during each of the signing periods as well as a few loopholes.
First of all, the National Letter of Intent is what the prospect will sign to lock the prospect to the school for at least the first year of their college career. †his is a legal binding document that gives all the power to the school the prospect signs to. If the prospect hasn't decided where to go until the signing period, then he/she could get several LOI's from each of the schools he/she is considering. It is the prospect's job to send the LOI to the school that they choose. Once it is faxed, the school can report the signing but it isn't official until the school receives the document via the mail.
Fall Signing Period
I believe this period is for any prospect that truly is locked into the school they picked. They have done enough unofficial and official (only get five) visits to have a great understanding of what they are looking for in a school and basketball program as well as a great understanding of the coach at the institution. A lot of prospects will commit at this time because they are truly burned out by the recruiting process at this point and just want to focus on their high school basketball season.
This is also a time to sign when programs have received verbal commitments and all of the prospects' offers have now been given to someone else. Coaches have the tendency to offer numerous prospects at the same position and will give the "first come, first serve" to regards to who gets them. Issues with this arise when the prospect doesn't have as many offers as they originally thought.
There is also a reverse recruitment to what I said above. When a school realizes they don't have a chance to a prospect they will then quickly see if another prospect that plays the same position would have an interest. The the Spring Signing Period is a lot like this and I'll talk about it more later.
Here is a prospect that learned about this process. "Tum Tum" Nairs is a prospect that signed with Michigan State. The only reason he signed with Michigan State was because Coach Izzo thought he had a great shot with Tyus Jones (who signed with Duke) and then he thought he had a great shot with Tyler Ulis (who signed with Kentucky). "Tum Tum" had taken numerous visits before Michigan State even became interested.
I really think that signing in the Fall brings huge stability to a lot of things and is great when the prospect falls in love with the school (not some co-ed they met on the visit).
Spring Signing Period
I truly believe that this is the best period to sign in. Why? There are too many questions during the Fall Signing Period. What will the roster truly look like? Who will be the head coach? Who will be the assistant coaches?
There were 675 transfers this year at the D1 level. That's almost two transfers per school. Some schools have more and some have less. Prospects will have a better understanding of what the next year's depth chart will look like in April/May rather than November.
After the NCAA Tournament ends, there is always a ton of movement with coaches. You have to become keenly aware of that movement and how it affects your decision. Don't you want to play for the head coach that recruited you? What about the assistant that was your main contact throughout the process? It's important to be comfortable at your school and you don't want to be another statistic on the transfer wire. This extra time will also give you a chance to truly watch how the coach interacts with the players as well as get to know the coaches more because you now have more time to.
Another reason why to hold off on signing is that if you hold off, your stock tends to increase throughout the high school season if you played well. Why does your stock increase? There are less scholarships out there and what was considered a low major player now could potentially become a mid to high major player especially if a school struck out on their original targets in the fall period.
Loopholes
One of the biggest loopholes that people don't know about is the Grant In Aid or Financial Aid Papers. This is essentially the Letter of Intent but it binds the school to the prospects instead of the prospect to the school. What that means is that the prospect then has the power rather than the school. Not too many schools will offer this but it happens every once in a whole. Jason Kapono was the first player I ever heard of using it. This is also what transfers use to sign with schools because you can only sing one Letter of Intent.
Here is a perfect example of using the Financial Aid Papers to your advantage brought to you by Kareem Canty, formerly of Marshall University. He decided to transfer after a coaching change at Marshall and originally signed with South Florida and then decided to switch his commitment to Auburn.
D3
There is no Letter of Intent at the D3 level, so if you ever hear about a prospect signing a Letter of Intent, it's a lie. It's basically a deposit to the school. A prospect can actually deposit to several schools as well. A prospect can also get out of a Letter of Intent to a D1 or D2 school by going to a D3 school.
In closing, I don't believe you should sign in the fall unless it's a "dream school" for you. There are just too many question marks to make a decision. The spring period will give a prospect more options.
First of all, the National Letter of Intent is what the prospect will sign to lock the prospect to the school for at least the first year of their college career. †his is a legal binding document that gives all the power to the school the prospect signs to. If the prospect hasn't decided where to go until the signing period, then he/she could get several LOI's from each of the schools he/she is considering. It is the prospect's job to send the LOI to the school that they choose. Once it is faxed, the school can report the signing but it isn't official until the school receives the document via the mail.
Fall Signing Period
I believe this period is for any prospect that truly is locked into the school they picked. They have done enough unofficial and official (only get five) visits to have a great understanding of what they are looking for in a school and basketball program as well as a great understanding of the coach at the institution. A lot of prospects will commit at this time because they are truly burned out by the recruiting process at this point and just want to focus on their high school basketball season.
This is also a time to sign when programs have received verbal commitments and all of the prospects' offers have now been given to someone else. Coaches have the tendency to offer numerous prospects at the same position and will give the "first come, first serve" to regards to who gets them. Issues with this arise when the prospect doesn't have as many offers as they originally thought.
There is also a reverse recruitment to what I said above. When a school realizes they don't have a chance to a prospect they will then quickly see if another prospect that plays the same position would have an interest. The the Spring Signing Period is a lot like this and I'll talk about it more later.
Here is a prospect that learned about this process. "Tum Tum" Nairs is a prospect that signed with Michigan State. The only reason he signed with Michigan State was because Coach Izzo thought he had a great shot with Tyus Jones (who signed with Duke) and then he thought he had a great shot with Tyler Ulis (who signed with Kentucky). "Tum Tum" had taken numerous visits before Michigan State even became interested.
I really think that signing in the Fall brings huge stability to a lot of things and is great when the prospect falls in love with the school (not some co-ed they met on the visit).
Spring Signing Period
I truly believe that this is the best period to sign in. Why? There are too many questions during the Fall Signing Period. What will the roster truly look like? Who will be the head coach? Who will be the assistant coaches?
There were 675 transfers this year at the D1 level. That's almost two transfers per school. Some schools have more and some have less. Prospects will have a better understanding of what the next year's depth chart will look like in April/May rather than November.
After the NCAA Tournament ends, there is always a ton of movement with coaches. You have to become keenly aware of that movement and how it affects your decision. Don't you want to play for the head coach that recruited you? What about the assistant that was your main contact throughout the process? It's important to be comfortable at your school and you don't want to be another statistic on the transfer wire. This extra time will also give you a chance to truly watch how the coach interacts with the players as well as get to know the coaches more because you now have more time to.
Another reason why to hold off on signing is that if you hold off, your stock tends to increase throughout the high school season if you played well. Why does your stock increase? There are less scholarships out there and what was considered a low major player now could potentially become a mid to high major player especially if a school struck out on their original targets in the fall period.
Loopholes
One of the biggest loopholes that people don't know about is the Grant In Aid or Financial Aid Papers. This is essentially the Letter of Intent but it binds the school to the prospects instead of the prospect to the school. What that means is that the prospect then has the power rather than the school. Not too many schools will offer this but it happens every once in a whole. Jason Kapono was the first player I ever heard of using it. This is also what transfers use to sign with schools because you can only sing one Letter of Intent.
Here is a perfect example of using the Financial Aid Papers to your advantage brought to you by Kareem Canty, formerly of Marshall University. He decided to transfer after a coaching change at Marshall and originally signed with South Florida and then decided to switch his commitment to Auburn.
D3
There is no Letter of Intent at the D3 level, so if you ever hear about a prospect signing a Letter of Intent, it's a lie. It's basically a deposit to the school. A prospect can actually deposit to several schools as well. A prospect can also get out of a Letter of Intent to a D1 or D2 school by going to a D3 school.
In closing, I don't believe you should sign in the fall unless it's a "dream school" for you. There are just too many question marks to make a decision. The spring period will give a prospect more options.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Become a Better Coach
I have been fortunate enough to be a part of many different programs at many different levels. I believe that a lot of people make assumptions on different levels based off of rumors and guesses rather than complete knowledge of the subject. I was lucky growing up with my father. He was a high school basketball coach and then a college basketball coach and now back to high school. I got to see a lot of different things at his meetings, practices, and games.
If you really want to get into coaching here are some tips to help. Learn everything you can about your program. That could be everything from parent meetings to how you reserve buses for road games. Most people don't realize that coaches have to deal with all of that stuff on top of coaching the kids. As a head coach of a program, if more than 50% of your job is actually coaching your kids then you have GREAT support staff and assistants.
Become a sponge. Talk to as many people you can about everything basketball. Go to as many clinics and college practices you can. Also, watch basketball on tv. Just don't watch it either, analyze the game you are watching. Don't be a ball watcher.
Write things down. Have a notebook that you keep all your notes in. I didn't do this until seven years and it's a great resource for me when I need something. Looking back on words of wisdom, different sets, and different drills that I've picked up over the years.
The last thing I'll talk about is CONNECT, CONNECT, CONNECT. Meet as many people as you can and try to stay in contact with them as well. The more people you know the better it is for you down the road. It isn't a bad idea to work for someone that you don't know very well in order to expand your own coaching tree. Connecting with different people might not help you immediately but it will probably help you get a job sometime down the road.
If you really want to get into coaching here are some tips to help. Learn everything you can about your program. That could be everything from parent meetings to how you reserve buses for road games. Most people don't realize that coaches have to deal with all of that stuff on top of coaching the kids. As a head coach of a program, if more than 50% of your job is actually coaching your kids then you have GREAT support staff and assistants.
Become a sponge. Talk to as many people you can about everything basketball. Go to as many clinics and college practices you can. Also, watch basketball on tv. Just don't watch it either, analyze the game you are watching. Don't be a ball watcher.
Write things down. Have a notebook that you keep all your notes in. I didn't do this until seven years and it's a great resource for me when I need something. Looking back on words of wisdom, different sets, and different drills that I've picked up over the years.
The last thing I'll talk about is CONNECT, CONNECT, CONNECT. Meet as many people as you can and try to stay in contact with them as well. The more people you know the better it is for you down the road. It isn't a bad idea to work for someone that you don't know very well in order to expand your own coaching tree. Connecting with different people might not help you immediately but it will probably help you get a job sometime down the road.
Connect, connect, connect - the bigger your tree is, the better you are.
Friday, August 22, 2014
St. Thomas to D1....
Over the past six years all I have heard is that St. Thomas (MN) is looking and should make a move to Division I. It would balance out the MIAC a little more because their enrollment is at least double of any other school in the conference. And I will tell you why it doesn't make any sense for them to move from Division III.
They are dominant in the Midwest for D3 in almost all sports. In the past seven years both their men's and women's programs have won the MIAC All-Sports Competition. The men's program has doubled any other program in the MIAC in wins. While the women have more than four times as many wins as any other school.
They perennial have made the NCAA Tournament in football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, to go along with dominance in baseball and softball. Their track and field teams are also really good. Their men's indoor track and field team has won every conference championship the MIAC has offered.
Even with this type of dominance is makes zero sense for them to make the move to D1. Why? They have a GREAT niche here in the Twin Cities with scholarship level athletes. They usually compete with the local D2 schools for their student athletes and that usually means success at the D3 level. I was even told by a D2 head coach that as soon as St. Thomas got involved with a kid they were recruiting that they would back off. That tells you a lot.
Being a Catholic school is also a big draw for many. They basically have their own development programs with local Catholic high schools Cretin-Durham Hall, Hill-Murray, Academy of Holy Angels, St. Thomas Academy, Benilde-St. Margaret and DeLaSalle. Their athletic rosters are littered with kids from those schools. They even will grab the occasional student athlete from Catholic schools in Nebraska, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Now, I don't this as fact but the fish is this big now is that St. Thomas really helps their student athletes when it comes to financial aid packages. With a large enrollment like they have and a large endowment they are able to help most students a lot with the financial aid process. Thus, making it within the rules to help their recruits. I do know one person that was an athlete there that didn't have any loans after college with not a lot of help from his parents. While in high school he was enrolled in a Catholic high school and that probably helped some as well. They may give significant scholarships to students who went to Catholic schools while in high school.
On one side of things "when you are the best player on your block, find another block," but in this situation it doesn't make a ton of sense. They don't really fit into the D2 demographic and moving to D1 doesn't make a ton of sense for them financially. Would they get more donations? Yes and no. A lot of alums really like what they are doing now and why change that. Their teams would take some major lumps during the transition from D3 to D1.
Another thing to keep in mind that not many think about is how will all the scholarships be financed? Will they need to cut sports? What D1 conference fits what they are looking for? What facility upgrades need to happen? If so, where do they go? What level do they play at in football, FCS or FBS? Will they have to make coaching changes? How much more do they have to pay their coaches? How many more people do they need to hire within the athletic department to make it work?
There are just too many questions to deal with. I'm sure other schools in the MIAC would love they they were gone but staying at D3 makes the most sense for now and the future.
They are dominant in the Midwest for D3 in almost all sports. In the past seven years both their men's and women's programs have won the MIAC All-Sports Competition. The men's program has doubled any other program in the MIAC in wins. While the women have more than four times as many wins as any other school.
They perennial have made the NCAA Tournament in football, volleyball, men's and women's basketball, to go along with dominance in baseball and softball. Their track and field teams are also really good. Their men's indoor track and field team has won every conference championship the MIAC has offered.
Even with this type of dominance is makes zero sense for them to make the move to D1. Why? They have a GREAT niche here in the Twin Cities with scholarship level athletes. They usually compete with the local D2 schools for their student athletes and that usually means success at the D3 level. I was even told by a D2 head coach that as soon as St. Thomas got involved with a kid they were recruiting that they would back off. That tells you a lot.
Being a Catholic school is also a big draw for many. They basically have their own development programs with local Catholic high schools Cretin-Durham Hall, Hill-Murray, Academy of Holy Angels, St. Thomas Academy, Benilde-St. Margaret and DeLaSalle. Their athletic rosters are littered with kids from those schools. They even will grab the occasional student athlete from Catholic schools in Nebraska, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Now, I don't this as fact but the fish is this big now is that St. Thomas really helps their student athletes when it comes to financial aid packages. With a large enrollment like they have and a large endowment they are able to help most students a lot with the financial aid process. Thus, making it within the rules to help their recruits. I do know one person that was an athlete there that didn't have any loans after college with not a lot of help from his parents. While in high school he was enrolled in a Catholic high school and that probably helped some as well. They may give significant scholarships to students who went to Catholic schools while in high school.
On one side of things "when you are the best player on your block, find another block," but in this situation it doesn't make a ton of sense. They don't really fit into the D2 demographic and moving to D1 doesn't make a ton of sense for them financially. Would they get more donations? Yes and no. A lot of alums really like what they are doing now and why change that. Their teams would take some major lumps during the transition from D3 to D1.
Another thing to keep in mind that not many think about is how will all the scholarships be financed? Will they need to cut sports? What D1 conference fits what they are looking for? What facility upgrades need to happen? If so, where do they go? What level do they play at in football, FCS or FBS? Will they have to make coaching changes? How much more do they have to pay their coaches? How many more people do they need to hire within the athletic department to make it work?
There are just too many questions to deal with. I'm sure other schools in the MIAC would love they they were gone but staying at D3 makes the most sense for now and the future.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Playing Zone
Every year Syracuse does well, a bunch of coaches decide that they are going to play 2-3 zone exclusively for their high school or college program. In theory, it's a great idea. How many teams play nothing but zone for a whole game? How many teams work on nothing but playing against a zone all week in practice? I would say very few and a few teams do because they want to be prepared but their whole practice isn't based on the zone.
Here are some things that I really like about playing zone.
It changes the pace of the game. The offensive team is forced to slow down and actually look for a decent shot instead of immediately forcing the ball down the defenses throat. Here in Minnesota, Shakopee HS plays nothing but 2-3 zone and it has forced other teams to slow down and be very deliberate, just the way Shakopee wants to play. Win for the zone team.
Playing zone also makes the offense stagnant. With the dribble drive (or offenses similar) becoming more and more popular among coaches, the defense wants to give the offense a change of pace. The constant movement isn't there anymore. There are generally two to three guys standing still and that's exactly what the zone is supposed to do.
The last thing a zone does is force certain players to make decisions and shots from areas they generally aren't comfortable at. This is a huge positive for the defense because not all coaches want their bigs to be the focal part of their offense.
I really like zones and a bunch of different zones but a lot of it depends on personnel. I think that too many coaches will get out of their zone because the offense scored on the first or second possession. Just because a team scores doesn't necessarily mean that they have the zone figured out. Stick with it for a little longer and if they continue to get great shots then it's time to get out of it, but not after one or two possessions. Imagine if coaches got out of their man to man when scored on for two straight possessions.
Here are some things that I really like about playing zone.
It changes the pace of the game. The offensive team is forced to slow down and actually look for a decent shot instead of immediately forcing the ball down the defenses throat. Here in Minnesota, Shakopee HS plays nothing but 2-3 zone and it has forced other teams to slow down and be very deliberate, just the way Shakopee wants to play. Win for the zone team.
Playing zone also makes the offense stagnant. With the dribble drive (or offenses similar) becoming more and more popular among coaches, the defense wants to give the offense a change of pace. The constant movement isn't there anymore. There are generally two to three guys standing still and that's exactly what the zone is supposed to do.
The last thing a zone does is force certain players to make decisions and shots from areas they generally aren't comfortable at. This is a huge positive for the defense because not all coaches want their bigs to be the focal part of their offense.
I really like zones and a bunch of different zones but a lot of it depends on personnel. I think that too many coaches will get out of their zone because the offense scored on the first or second possession. Just because a team scores doesn't necessarily mean that they have the zone figured out. Stick with it for a little longer and if they continue to get great shots then it's time to get out of it, but not after one or two possessions. Imagine if coaches got out of their man to man when scored on for two straight possessions.
National Team Selection
Here's my rundown of the US National Team. This is what my team would look like without knowing anything as far as practice goes. Remember that it's extremely tough to completely evaluate a team without seeing practice. My analysis is completely based on what I've seen from each player for the respective college and NBA careers and how I see them fit into the international game.
IN
Derrick Rose - Even with his previous injury, he is a game changer and has shown that in previous international competitions. Not sure he can play in all of the games and that's what makes other potential roster spots interesting.
Stephen Curry - Can play either guard position and is a lights out shooter. Understands the international game and is a zone buster. No brainer.
James Harden - Is apparently the best player in the NBA, or at least according to him. Has he watched film of his defense? He is another guy that can stretch the floor and will get to the line a ton.
Anthony Davis - Too much length, too much athleticism, too good. He has gotten so much better and it looks like he is stretching his range out to 3 now. He will play the 5 but he is moving closer to playing the 4 as well.
DeMarcus Cousins - He is obviously immature but he is a MONSTER. He looks video game sized in the game vs. Dominican Republic. He can handle international bigs and will be a major threat on the offensive end.
Klay Thompson - Knock down shooter and has capability to knock down mid-range shots as well. Very good defender, can cover either guard position.
Kyle Korver - Knock down shooter and everyone knows it. He will space the floor and give the US guards room to get in the paint. Zone buster.
Kyrie Irving - He is extremely talented and a Coach K favorite. He has to be an energy guy off the bench and will play big minutes if Rose can't.
Chandler Parsons - Natural 3 but in international play is a stretch 4. He played internationally before the NBA lockout and has a good understanding of the international game. He would be Rudy Gay's backup and I don't see him playing a ton of minutes.
Rudy Gay - They brought him back for a reason. He, much like Parsons is a 3 but internationally is a 4. He has a lot of international experience and is a lock for the team.
Andre Drummond - Another monster. He is a huge presence inside and is a threat in transition, which the US thrives. He can't play crunch time minutes because his foul shooting is so poor but is a good 3rd big and could play against Spain.
Demar Derozan - He has really surprised me during the first two exhibition games. He is my last roster spot only because I think Rose plays significant minutes. He is a NBA "2" and could play that or the 3 in international play. He can space the floor and has the length to defend the wings.
OUT
Kenneth Faried - Love the way he plays and he looks like a lock to make the team at this point but I don't think he fits at all. He can't make anything outside of 10 feet and can't defend the international four.
Damien Lillard - Really like his game and I personally feel he is better than Irving but Lillard didn't play at Duke. If Rose can't go then Lillard is on the squad and I could see him playing significant minutes but I don't see it now. Roster spot was down to him and Derozan.
Mason Plumlee - Another Dukie who had a great rookie year. I like him for the future but he isn't ready yet. I don't believe he has any experience internationally either. He could have a spot over Drummond because Coach K is more comfortable with him.
Gordon Hayward - Basically the same player as Parsons but doesn't have as much international experience. Already have Gay as well. Just isn't enough room for him. Another good player for the future.
Here is the roster I think Coach K goes with:
Rose
Curry
Harden
Faried
Davis
Irving
Thompson
Gay
Korver
Parsons
Cousins
Plumlee
IN
Derrick Rose - Even with his previous injury, he is a game changer and has shown that in previous international competitions. Not sure he can play in all of the games and that's what makes other potential roster spots interesting.
Stephen Curry - Can play either guard position and is a lights out shooter. Understands the international game and is a zone buster. No brainer.
James Harden - Is apparently the best player in the NBA, or at least according to him. Has he watched film of his defense? He is another guy that can stretch the floor and will get to the line a ton.
Anthony Davis - Too much length, too much athleticism, too good. He has gotten so much better and it looks like he is stretching his range out to 3 now. He will play the 5 but he is moving closer to playing the 4 as well.
DeMarcus Cousins - He is obviously immature but he is a MONSTER. He looks video game sized in the game vs. Dominican Republic. He can handle international bigs and will be a major threat on the offensive end.
Klay Thompson - Knock down shooter and has capability to knock down mid-range shots as well. Very good defender, can cover either guard position.
Kyle Korver - Knock down shooter and everyone knows it. He will space the floor and give the US guards room to get in the paint. Zone buster.
Kyrie Irving - He is extremely talented and a Coach K favorite. He has to be an energy guy off the bench and will play big minutes if Rose can't.
Chandler Parsons - Natural 3 but in international play is a stretch 4. He played internationally before the NBA lockout and has a good understanding of the international game. He would be Rudy Gay's backup and I don't see him playing a ton of minutes.
Rudy Gay - They brought him back for a reason. He, much like Parsons is a 3 but internationally is a 4. He has a lot of international experience and is a lock for the team.
Andre Drummond - Another monster. He is a huge presence inside and is a threat in transition, which the US thrives. He can't play crunch time minutes because his foul shooting is so poor but is a good 3rd big and could play against Spain.
Demar Derozan - He has really surprised me during the first two exhibition games. He is my last roster spot only because I think Rose plays significant minutes. He is a NBA "2" and could play that or the 3 in international play. He can space the floor and has the length to defend the wings.
OUT
Kenneth Faried - Love the way he plays and he looks like a lock to make the team at this point but I don't think he fits at all. He can't make anything outside of 10 feet and can't defend the international four.
Damien Lillard - Really like his game and I personally feel he is better than Irving but Lillard didn't play at Duke. If Rose can't go then Lillard is on the squad and I could see him playing significant minutes but I don't see it now. Roster spot was down to him and Derozan.
Mason Plumlee - Another Dukie who had a great rookie year. I like him for the future but he isn't ready yet. I don't believe he has any experience internationally either. He could have a spot over Drummond because Coach K is more comfortable with him.
Gordon Hayward - Basically the same player as Parsons but doesn't have as much international experience. Already have Gay as well. Just isn't enough room for him. Another good player for the future.
Here is the roster I think Coach K goes with:
Rose
Curry
Harden
Faried
Davis
Irving
Thompson
Gay
Korver
Parsons
Cousins
Plumlee
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