USA Basketball: Chet Holmgren, select team took down World Cup roster in scrimmages
USA Basketball opened up its training camp ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup this week in Las Vegas and wasted no time getting started on the court.
The 12-man roster took part in scrimmages on Thursday as the competition offered a possible look at some potential rotations for the tournament. The group will train each day until its first exhibition game on Monday against Puerto Rico.
On Friday, they scrimmaged against the select team.
The secondary squad, which features the likes of Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Chet Holmgren, will practice against the senior roster ahead of the event. They came out of the gate on fire and defeated the main roster, according to Ben Golliver of the Washington Post.
The USA Select team just beat USA’s FIBA World Cup team in two consecutive 10-minute scrimmages at Las Vegas
training camp.— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 4, 2023
The select team beating the senior roster likely shouldn’t be a cause for concern considering the players are all still jelling together after beginning training camp on Thursday. However, the action looked to be high-level with players going back and forth with each other.
The 🇺🇸 #USABMNT Select Team got after it in today’s joint scrimmage 👇 pic.twitter.com/9Sx71yYktA
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 4, 2023
The select team will be eligible to travel and serve as potential injury replacement players before the start of the event in the Philippines. Several players on the main roster have participated with the select team in the past as it serves as a good step to be involved with the program.
The best of the best from 🇺🇸 #USABMNT scrimmage against the Select Team pic.twitter.com/PmX5QEfP0a
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 4, 2023
After facing Puerto Rico in Las Vegas on Monday, USA Basketball will have friendlies in Spain against Slovenia (Aug. 12) and Spain (Aug. 13) and wrap up their schedule in Abu Dhabi against Greece (Aug. 18) and Germany (Aug. 20).
Team USA will open the FIBA Basketball World Cup on Aug. 26 against New Zealand in Manila. They will face Greece on Aug. 28 and Jordan on Aug. 30 to wrap up the group phase. The top two teams from each group will advance to the second round.
The action will be televised on various ESPN platforms.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup will help seven countries qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The seven spots include the top two teams from the Americas and Europe (not including host France) and one team from Africa, Asia and Oceania.
