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For more information on the 2014 FIBA World Cup be sure to visit FIBA's official Facebook page and website. Games can be viewed on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3 and LiveBasketball.tv. Be sure to check FIBA’s website for scheduling information and remember the time change. FYI, the Calendar under the “All Games” tab has an option to switch the game times to your local time. The 2014 FIBA World Cup begins August 30th in Spain. Though it’s not as well-known here in the US as soccer’s FIFA World Cup, it’s worth getting excited about. The top twenty-four teams from around the world are grouped into four divisions to compete throughout Spain, and teams are flush with professional-level talent, from both the NBA and international leagues. Since 1995 when I invited my first international player over, I have seen the growing interest kids across the world were developing in basketball and have been excited by the expanding reach of what began as strictly a US sport. In the four years since the last Basketball World Cup, the game has exploded to the far ends of the planet. Basketball is no longer exclusively American. College and NBA rosters are now filled with players whose names we find challenging to pronounce from countries we have to search for on a map. In the World Cup, not only will you see NBA players but you will get a firsthand introduction to the next generation of talent who are eager to prove they belong. You may even see players who will soon be starting on the court at your university. Give it a try - learn the new names and see how fast they impact the game here in the US. I thank all my friends from all over the planet for encouraging kids to take up our great game. And to my friends on this side of the big bath tub to join us in the World Cup. The US team, boasting a #1 FIBA World Rank, is in Group C and begins the competition Sat, Aug 30th against Finland in the northern city of Bilbao. I am proud to note the Finnish squad has two former Lynchburg Hoops players - Mikko Koivisto and Kimmo Murrinen. (A recent interview with Mikko can be read here.) The US completes the Group Phase of play against Turkey, New Zealand, Dominican Republic and Ukraine. A few of my friends were gracious enough to send me their thoughts on their countries’ prospects heading into the tournament, which you’ll find below. Thank you to Linas Janenas (Lithuania), Alex Palfroy (France) and Jorge Matesanz Balboa (Spain) for their insight and analysis! I have also included my take on the US team’s strengths and weaknesses. In particular, I am pumped to watch Derrick Rose’s return to the hard court but wonder how nimble and aggressive he will be. While the US is the best shooting team, it is relatively young compared to previous years and could be vulnerable to several teams which have shown improvement and added depth to their rosters with NBA players. Spain and Lithuania are strong this year and definitely worth paying attention to. In the end, I think it will come down to which team’s big men are the most dominant. Enjoy the games and feel free to hit me with comments or questions as the competition progresses. I’ll be back with post-game analysis once the Cup is under way. US, FIBA World Rank #1. Group A, first game Sat, Aug 30th vs Finland. Analysis by Buddy Mason I saw a Facebook post two weeks ago that read, “Team USA will not walk in and take away this championship! This year, they will have to earn it.” - Juan Carlos Navarro, #7, Espana! For the other 23 teams a statement like this offers hope. The 2014 US team certainly is younger, smaller and probably a bit more fragile compared to past teams. Their strength will be in the back court with Steph Curry, Derrick Rose and Kyrie Irving. Anthony Davis has been great along with James Harden. Rounding out the team are Rudy Gay, Kenneth Faried, Andre Drummond, DeMar Derozan, Mason Plumlee, Demarcus Cousins and Klay Thompson. This team’s athleticism and ability to shoot the three will be crucial to wins against the tougher teams. You can bet you will see some high pic and rolls with play above the rim. The US will have play all 40 minutes, and it must contest on the boards. I do not expect to see a 12 man rotation, closer to an 8. This will be a different game than many of these players are used to, with different rules and refereeing from officials who do not work in the NBA and don’t necessarily habla ingles. International competition experience could also become a factor. Spain has 12 players who have logged 701 FIBA basketball games between them, while the US has 12 players who have logged 45 FIBA games. My advice to the US: KEEP YOUR COOL and BOX OUT!! Lithuania, FIBA World Rank #4. Group D, first game Sat, Aug 30th vs Mexico. Analysis by Linas Janenas, current point guard for Columbia International University and former Lynchburg Hoops player It should be an interesting year for the Lithuanian national team. Like always our biggest challenge is point guards. Mantas Kalnietis who is currently playing on a professional team in Russia is a great point guard and will be a leader for us for sure. The Brooklyn Nets showed some interest in him this past year and he may head to the NBA once his Russian contract is up. Coach Kazlauskas is also trying two new young point guards to sub Kalnietis, and he will be deciding soon who will travel to Spain. Kleiza is not going to play this year and we will miss his leadership but I think this year we are a better team overall and each player will have an opportunity to step up and be a leader. Our big guys will be really good this year. Jonas Valanciunas from the Raptors added some muscle this offseason and got faster. He looked really good in the friendly games preceding the World Cup. We also have big hopes for Donatas Motiejunas, also from the Raptors. He and Valanciunas can play well off each other. So far we are 7-0 in friendly games. The team runs a lot of pick and roll or pick and pop and also a lot of high-low. Our big guys can shoot 3s which opens up the court really well. It should be an exciting tournament! France, FIBA World Rank #8. Group A, first game Sat, Aug 30th vs Brazil. Analysis by Alex Palfroy, considered one of the top former long-time professional basketball coaches in France, http://www.coachpalfroy.com  Coach Palfroy The French team is the defending European champion, and it should be up to the event! The current group is quite different from the last championship. This team is very athletic but a huge difference will be the absence of Tony Parker, who decided not to play so his body could heal after an intense NBA season. Without him the team must be more aggressive defensively against the opponent’s shooters. With Batum and Gelabale, we can pick opponents off the dribble, force them into their plays beyond the 3pt line and not allow them to penetrate. Our big men can be aggressive on the ball on pick’n roll defense. Also the coach has a lot of different defensive schemes he can implement depending on where the ball is.
In offense, too, the absence of Tony changes the game. Offensively, the team won’t be as effective on pick’n roll without Parker. They have to move the ball more because we have good drivers and good shooters, as evidenced by play in the first three friendly games. Each time we were able to control the opponent’s ball movement with good pressure on the ball we were able to get important stops. Everybody wants to beat the European champion. France must be ready to defend it’s status! Here is some analysis of the players by post:
Spain, FIBA World Rank #2. Group A, first game Sat, Aug 30th vs Iran. Analysis by Jorge Matesanz Balboa, starting point guard at University of Maine We have a new coach and I’m not sure if he'll change the system. He was the assistant coach for the last years so I’m sure everything will be pretty much the same. They play A LOT of direct screens/ pick n rolls and on the weak side he likes to create a lot of indirect screens, especially to get Rudy and Navarro open for shot/1x1. The first option is always isolation on the inside. Most of the systems end up with an isolation for the Gasols inside or Ibaka after a screen. If you think about it, we have some of the best bigs in the game - Ibaka and the Gasols - and also some of the best point guards in the game: Ricky, Calderon and Sergio Rodriguez. With Calderon the game will be more patient, he will probably put Navarro with Calderon because Calderon always finds the best option. Rodriguez and Ricky are more aggressive in 1x1 and they find the impossible assist quicker. In the preseason games he's tried them together as a way to combat pressure and get quick baskets. These, plus Rudy and maybe Sergio Llull (Real Madrid) will carry the team. Comments are closed.
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