Jimmer Fredette, Kareem Maddox, Canyon Barry and Dylan Travis together racked up enough wins last year to qualify for USA Basketball. Men's 3×3 at the Paris Olympics.
They are staying together to aim for gold in France.
The United States Basketball Association announced Tuesday the men's 3×3 squad for the Paris Games, which will feature the same foursome that won silver at last year's World Cup and gold at the Pan American Games. Other players were considered, including one from the NBA, but in the end the Americans decided to stick with what worked.
“This is the way we wanted it,” Fredette said. “I think that’s what USA Basketball was looking for and what we wanted.”
To them, it seemed like the right thing to do. The four players who did the bulk of the work (there are only four on the 3×3 roster) should get a chance to see what they can do on the sport's biggest stage. USA Basketball apparently agreed.
“They're the best team. And I think when you put together a roster, you want the best team, the best group of four guys that gives you the best chance to win,” said the U.S. men's 3×3 coach. Joe Lewandowski said. “You're not looking for an All-Star team. You're not looking for the highest jumper or the fastest player. You're looking for the best team, the one that can play together and make the game different. These are players who will take us to the next level.”
USA Basketball men's, women's and women's 3×3 selections will be announced later this spring.
When the men's 3×3 was first held at the Tokyo Games, the United States did not qualify. The Americans won gold medals that summer in women's 3×3 as well as traditional men's and women's basketball. Every team USA Basketball has sent to the Olympics (all 31) has won a medal, with 26 of them winning gold.
3×3 games are played in the half court with a 12 second shot clock and play is very fast. For the basket he is worth 1 or 2 points, and the winner will be the team that first scored his 21 points, or the leader at the end of the 10-minute time. A game rarely takes all 10 minutes.
The quartet, announced on Tuesday, currently ranks second in the world behind Serbia, who made a late comeback and defeated the United States in the World Cup final.
“They represent the United States really well,” Lewandowski said.
Their backgrounds were very different. Fredette was an NBA lottery pick, Maddox is a Princeton graduate who hosted “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio in Colorado before returning to basketball, and Travis once retired as a player. , I was on the verge of retiring from 3×3. Barry is the son of basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry, and while watching his three brothers play in the NBA, his job as a special education teacher was hampered.
He didn't make it to the NBA. However, neither his father nor his brother competed in the Olympics.
“It's such an honor to be an Olympian,” Canyon Barry said. “And for the Barry family, to accomplish things that have never been accomplished in the field of basketball, like winning an NCAA Championship, winning an NBA Championship, being inducted into the Hall of Fame, playing in the All-Star Game. That's very difficult.'' There are few areas of basketball that the Barry family has not yet explored, so completing that portfolio by becoming an Olympian is a great reward. ”
I remember a tournament in Mongolia where 3×3 didn't have a lot of money, I was coaching with very little support staff, and frankly it was hard to find edible food. They do their laundry and then rush to the airport to catch the next flight.
And it was one of the laundry missions that helped unite the group. Maddox and Travis are rushing through some laundry in Amsterdam when they notice a unique store nearby. They went inside and came out with a yellow stone. It has become a kind of lucky charm for the group. Where they go, so go the rocks. Then, before playing, everyone touches the rock.
“It was very random,” Maddox said. “Gem dealers say stones are good for teamwork and leadership.”
It became a hot topic, and several more stones (which Maddox says represent good fortune and vitality) were added to the team's collection. No one knows exactly what the yellow rock is. Maddox thinks it's amethyst, but he can't say for sure.
But this much is clear. This summer in Paris, they are chasing a more precious metal: gold.
“I never thought this could be in the cards for me,” Travis said. “To be honest, I never thought I'd be able to represent the United States. And now this happened.”
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-Paris-Olympic-Games
