For Sixers forward Andre Iguodala the road to that dream has been a tough one.
Iguodala is present this week at the invitee training camp for the USA National Basketball team. This is the third year Iguodala has attended the camp in hopes of securing a spot of the coveted team USA.
Yesterday in a moment of, what can only be described as anxiety, Iguodala made the first round of initial cuts and is now one of 15 players vying for the 12 roster spots for the upcoming FIBA world championships, which begin August 28th in Turkey.
Iguodala has looked good so far as he capped off the final intra-squad scrimmage of the four day camp with 17 points six rebounds and five assists.
USA National Team coach Mike Krzyzewski made three initial cuts to trim the squad down to 15. Those left off the roster after yesterday were Sacramento Kings guard and Chester native Tyreke Evans, O.J. Mayo, Gerald Wallace and JaVale McGee.
Out of the remaining 15 players on the USA roster Iguodala does stand a strong chance of making the trip to FIBA due to the fact that the USA is working with a depleted roster of big men. Amare Stoudemire will not compete due to contract insurance issues and current center Brook Lopez has been training and competing with mono.
Iguodala is not the prototypical low post player but because international baskatball rarely uses both a C and PF Iguodala could find a place as a low post option.
The team has six more days of training from August 10-16 then Coach K and USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo will trim the final roster to 12. The final camp will take place at Madison Square Garden and the final cuts will be made after the USA faces France on August 15th in a warm-up scrimmage.
Things are looking very positive for the Sixers leading scorer and if his effort to represent the USA teaching us anything it's that persistence is always worth it.
Sixers need all the good news they can muster. But they are still light years behind the Phils, Iggles and even the Flyers in pro sports consciousness in the city and region.
ReplyDeleteUntil chairman for life, Ed Snydor, either sells or admits the 76ers are an afterthought in his empire, it is what it is in Sixer land.
Black and Gold "57"