NEW YORK: USA Basketball put together different rosters for all six World Cup qualifying windows, and coach Jim Boylen noticed the same two things with each of those groups.
One, every player beamed when putting on the “USA” jersey for picture day. Two, by the third or fourth day of practice, the players were coaching each other.
It took 52 players and more than a year, but the job is done — USA Basketball is going to the World Cup in the Philippines this summer.
The US won’t have to sweat it out this weekend when the final spots in the 32-team field get claimed, after rallying to beat Uruguay on Thursday and clinching a berth. “When they put on the USA jersey, the same jersey that LeBron James wore, the same jersey that Kobe Bryant wore, the same jersey of the senior men’s national team, there’s a joy from those guys unlike what I’ve ever seen,” Boylen said. “And then it clicks: They’ve reached a higher level of distinction and they’ve got to come together.