# USA Basketball & World Championships in September



## H.M. Murdoch (Jul 12, 2014)

I've always loved the NBA. But more than that, I love watching international basketball (Olympics and World Championship).

The world championship is being held in September. Kevin Durant and Kevin Love will play on the team (as they did in the 2012 Olympics).

Anybody else here like USA Basketball?


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## sub-zero234 (Jul 24, 2014)

I love usa basketball and now we will be awesome because we have big A.D (ANTHONY DAVIS) and he came from the greatest college basketball school in the world...KENTUCKY!!!!!..


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## H.M. Murdoch (Jul 25, 2014)

sub-zero234 said:


> I love usa basketball and now we will be awesome because we have big A.D (ANTHONY DAVIS) and he came from the greatest college basketball school in the world...KENTUCKY!!!!!..


I love Anthony Davis. He was awesome as a young player on the 2012 Olympic team.

And he gave us the laugh of the decade when Coach K tried to put him in his first Olympic game, only to find that AD had forgotten to put on his game uniform after warmups. Kevin Love and several other players fell off the bench laughing. But AD laughed with them. He was a good sport. And he had several ally-oop dunks that were memorable in the tournament. He fit in well with Team USA.


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## sub-zero234 (Jul 25, 2014)

well mr Murdoch, I must say thank you for being someone who understands talent and knows talent when he see"s it...but I must ask you, what the hell happened to micheal kidd ghilchrist?..he was a bad-ass when he played for my Kentucky wildcats and now its like he doesn"t exist?...I think its because he plays for the bobcats...because marquis Teague is playing well for the bulls as a rookie and coach calipari told him to stay at uk another year


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## H.M. Murdoch (Jul 25, 2014)

sub-zero234 said:


> well mr Murdoch, I must say thank you for being someone who understands talent and knows talent when he see"s it...but I must ask you, what the hell happened to micheal kidd ghilchrist?..he was a bad-ass when he played for my Kentucky wildcats and now its like he doesn"t exist?...I think its because he plays for the bobcats...because marquis Teague is playing well for the bulls as a rookie and coach calipari told him to stay at uk another year


I listen to Colin Cowherd (ESPN radio) a lot on the way to work in the mornings. He has some good takes on the NBA.

A few days ago, he was making a (good) point that NBA players are only popularly recognized when they go deep into the playoffs. Hence the reason we never hear Anthony Davis' name mentioned. Cowherd rates him as the 4th best player in the NBA, but until he gets lots of face time in the playoffs, people won't hear much about him. And that's unfortunate, because he's one of the most exciting players to watch. 

As for Gilchrist, I think you're right - he was unfortunately drafted by Charlotte. Let's face it. Michael Jordan is not a good owner, just like he was not a good executive. Charlotte is not where you go to begin you're career - it's where you go to end it. But that may be changing, with the addition of a talented (but immature) Lance Stephenson. Yet I have no idea what impact that will have on Gilchrist.

BTW, I'm an Auburn graduate, class of 1985. And I so enjoyed watching SEC basketball live in the arena. We had Charles Barkley and Chuck Person, and Kentucky had Mel Turpin, Kenny Sky Walker, Sam Perkins, Kyle Macy, etc. They were fun games to watch.

Not trying to be a jerk here, as I know you're a Kentucky fan. And I like and respect Kentucky basketball as well. But it was quite a sight to see a 6'4" Charles Barkley slam dunk over 3 Kentucky 7-footers. I wouldn't have believed it possible if I hadn't seen it myself. But Kentucky had the better team overall.

I actually played summer basketball pickup games with/against Chuck Person and several of the other Auburn players. Memories.


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## sub-zero234 (Jul 25, 2014)

I listen to colin cowherd every chance I get, I think colin is very very wise...and he is right but so are you....congrates on being a grad from auburn..great institution...I will always remember last year..auburn vs Alabama..the kick return heard around the world.....simply MAGIC


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## H.M. Murdoch (Jul 25, 2014)

sub-zero234 said:


> I listen to colin cowherd every chance I get, I think colin is very very wise...and he is right but so are you....congrates on being a grad from auburn..great institution...I will always remember last year..auburn vs Alabama..the kick return heard around the world.....simply MAGIC


Thank you sub-zero. Last year was magical for AU football. We almost lost the first game of the season against a weak team. We won against Mississippi State on the very last play of the game. We won a shootout against Manziel at Texas A&M. And everybody knows about the wins against Georgia and Alabama. And then we dominated Missouri in the SEC championship game.

And then the stunning loss against Florida State in Pasadena. A game where we were dominating, ahead 21-6 in the first half, driving for another touchdown. And then we lost it. Regained the lead with 1 minute left to play, then lost the lead and the game with 15 seconds left to play. 

I don't mind telling you that I'm still not over that heartbreak. And I don't think I'll ever get over it, unless we win it all this year (unlikely).

But hell, I'm a Spurs fan, and the way we lost the championship last year to Miami was eerily the same way Auburn lost to Florida State. And the Spurs came back and won it all this year. So maybe Auburn...I can only hope.


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## sub-zero234 (Jul 25, 2014)

H.M. Murdoch said:


> Thank you sub-zero. Last year was magical for AU football. We almost lost the first game of the season against a weak team. We won against Mississippi State on the very last play of the game. We won a shootout against Manziel at Texas A&M. And everybody knows about the wins against Georgia and Alabama. And then we dominated Missouri in the SEC championship game.
> 
> And then the stunning loss against Florida State in Pasadena. A game where we were dominating, ahead 21-6 in the first half, driving for another touchdown. And then we lost it. Regained the lead with 1 minute left to play, then lost the lead and the game with 15 seconds left to play.
> 
> ...


 im a spurs fan as well...but I also like that king james went home....and jameis Winston showed guts and heart against auburn


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## H.M. Murdoch (Jul 25, 2014)

sub-zero234 said:


> im a spurs fan as well...but I also like that king james went home....and jameis Winston showed guts and heart against auburn


Although I'm a Spurs fan, I'm a LeBron fan as well. And I was glad to see him go home. And I hope he leads the Cavs to a championship soon.

Winston was great when it counted the most. As you'd expect from the Heisman winner. He led his team to a win as a freshman in the toughest and most important game of the year. Give him credit.


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## sub-zero234 (Jul 26, 2014)

yes Murdoch..I agree


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## H.M. Murdoch (Jul 26, 2014)

The hell with Kevin Love...withdrew from USA Basketball today due to trade considerations...He was one of my favorite players...


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## sub-zero234 (Jul 26, 2014)

what? I heard the same thing on espn radio...that's some bullshit, why withdraw just because of a trade...it makes no sense to me


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## H.M. Murdoch (Aug 3, 2014)

Well, USA Basketball was dealt maybe an ultimately fatal blow with Paul George breaking his leg Friday night. 

Unfortunately, I think the pressure will slowly mount from NBA executives (owners, mostly) to "protect their assets" by discouraging, or even forbidding, participation in USA Basketball. This will not happen immediately, but slowly over time.

I like the NBA, but I LOVE USA Basketball. Too bad for me, I guess.


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## H.M. Murdoch (Aug 8, 2014)

The hell with Kevin Durant. The quitter withdrew from USA Basketball this week because he was "too tired". This, after Jerry Colangelo referred to him very honorably as "the face of USA Basketball".

Hey Kevin, don't even think about coming back to USA Basketball for the 2016 Olympics. We don't want quitters on our team. We'll win the gold this year in Spain, and in 2016 in Rio, without your sorry quitter ass.


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## H.M. Murdoch (Sep 1, 2014)

Damn, the US almost lost yesterday against Turkey. 

Turkey actually led the game at halftime. The 98-77 final score was NOT indicative of how close the game actually was. The US 3-point shooters (Steph Curry and Klay Thompson) had trouble shooting over Turkey's zone defense. And Curry and Thompson were supposed to light it up from the short 3-point arc used in international competition.

Spain is licking their chops right now hoping to face the US in the finals. And Spain is GOOD...the Gasol brothers plus Serge Ibaka and Ricky Rubio...and a great supporting cast.

The US may be in trouble.


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