Team USA will have a new head coach for the first time in 14 years in Gregg Popovich, the longtime face on the bench of the San Antonio Spurs. The 70-year-old will succeed Mike Krzyzewski, who won three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic level and two golds at the FIBA World Cup.
Popovich has been unable to take his vision to work besides summer workouts with players, as interim coach Jeff Van Gundy took the reins for the qualification part of the process. However, that hasn't kept Popovich from preparing for this moment, now less than a month away from the start of the World Cup:
“We're all used to pressure and those things, but I can say a day hasn't gone by in the last year when I haven't thought about USA Basketball, what I would want to do with players, who are the coaches. It's been on my mind,” Popovich said, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst. “It's like thinking about two teams at the same time for that period. Coach K did that for 12 years, so I can try to do the same.”
The task at hand is a tall one, as the U.S. no longer boasts the dominant superstardom it once had in past years, with as many as 14 different players now dropping out of contention for this six-week commitment. But Popovich, like managing director Jerry Colangelo, knows it's all about making the best out of the hand he has been dealt:
“All I care about is who's here,” Popovich said. “I've got a fine group of guys, and we're going to get the best possible team we can. … This is the most satisfying form of putting a bunch of guys together and them have empathy and love for each other to form the kind of team they're going to have to have to beat some really good European teams.”
After the likes of James Harden, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard dropped out, point guard Kemba Walker is the biggest star on the roster, fresh off three All-Star nods and an All-NBA selection this past season.
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