After the defeat of Team USA in the semi-final against Germany, Steve Kerr insisted on the fact that the Americans no longer had the necessary margin to win a major international competition without sending their best elements.
“ The game has gone global over the past thirty years. These matches are difficult. It’s not 1992 anymore. Players are better all over the world. The teams are better. It’s not easy to win the World Cup or the Olympics “, declared the Warriors coach.
Now that the UNITED STATESbeaten by Canada in the match for bronze, finished this world Cup without a medal, Steve Kerr maintains that he did not need this new failure to become aware of the quality of the other national selections.
“ I didn’t need any reminders “, reported the American coach at a press conference. “ I was already in the coaching staff in 2019. FIBA teams are well coached and they have continuity. We’re past all that, these teams are really good. »
Continuity, a notion which takes on its full importance in major international competitions, as proven this summer by the good results of Germany, Serbia, Latvia and Lithuania.
“ It is difficult to have continuity because we have a lot of changes from year to year “, continued Steve Kerr, among Gregg Popovich’s assistants when the United States finished in 7th place at the 2019 World Cup. ” We need to focus on what wins a game in FIBA. The NBA is very different from FIBA, some things will be good and some things won’t. There’s a lot to learn, that’s obvious. »
Learn lessons from this new failure
In a year, Team USA may well need to send its “Redeem Team 2.0” to Paris, in order to regain control of world basketball. It must be said that, even if the Americans always win the Olympic Games (but with more and more difficulty), they have now been deprived of a gold medal at the World Cup since… 2010.
For now, Steve Kerr would like to spare a thought for his players, who are added to the list of those unable to win a competition in the United States jersey…
“ I feel bad for my guys “, he admitted. “ They are an incredible group. It’s difficult trying to hold on with three players less, but we did our best. Mikal [Bridges] scored an incredible shot, but we just ran out of juice. And the way Canada was shooting, we just couldn’t win. »
If this experience in Asia is nevertheless intended to be positive for the Americans, the fact of leaving empty-handed in the United States is nevertheless difficult to accept.
“ It’s super hard, but you can’t win them all… “, reacted Anthony Edwards (24 points, 5 rebounds).
“ Yes, it hurts », for his part delivered Mikal Bridges (19 points, 9 rebounds), who says he is already ready to return to the selection in the future. “ I don’t think I can ever refuse it, it’s an honor every time [de porter ce maillot]. No matter the outcome, I wouldn’t trade these last six weeks for anything. The most important thing is the connections we built and that’s all I remember. »
Photo credit: FIBA.com
