With the AmeriCup Championships opening on August 25, USA Basketball has announced its roster for the tournament. Despite the tournament no longer being a qualifier for the World Cup, the governing body still decided to field in an underrated lineup that is still capable of winning the gold medal.
The roster is comprised of D-League standouts, coupled with some current and former NBA players, who already have experience playing at the international level.
Introducing the 2017 USA Men's AmeriCup Team…#AmeriCup2017 pic.twitter.com/4OMPa63CDv
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 21, 2017
The four names that fans may be most familiar with are Darrun Hillard, Reggie Williams, Marshall Plumlee, and Kendall Marshall. They are all expected to be the cornerstones of the team.
Team USA will be coached by Jeff Van Gundy, who is currently works as a color commentator for ESPN. However, he has 11 years of head coaching experience in the NBA, calling the shots for the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets back in the mid 1990s up to the late 2000s.
Other countries participating in the event are Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Uruguay, Panama, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.