Serbia and the United States faced off in the championship game of the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball for the first time, but there is a long history between the two nations. If you follow Serbia’s FIBA lineage stretches back to the 1950s when it was still part of Yugoslavia. Up until 1990 when … [Read more…]
Form held at the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain up until the quarterfinals when the host nation — one of basketball’s superpowers — was knocked off by a depleted French team. Spain picked a terrible time for a shooting slump as the No. 2-rated team in the world fell to eighth-ranked France, 65-52. The … [Read more…]
Things are getting really hairy at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, and we’re not talking about the thrilling games on the court. Beards are trending in Spain, as players are ditching their razors and letting their facial hair grow. Houston Rockets All-Star and USA Basketball veteran James Harden has plenty of competition for the … [Read more…]
The Philippines fell to Argentina, 85-81, in a hard-fought FIBA World Cup game in Sevilla, Spain, but Gilas Pilipinas swingman Gabe Norwood provided one of the game’s highlights. With a little over three minutes left in the first quarter, Gilas point guard Jayson William picked up a loose ball and fed a streaking Norwood on … [Read more…]
The FIBA Basketball World Cup — known as the FIBA World Championship from 1950 until 2010 — is arguably the most intense international basketball competition in the world. And, based on the strong play during the qualifying rounds, the world can’t wait for #Spain2014. Host team Spain — led by the Gasol brothers — captured … [Read more…]
Despite several players declining invitations to play in this summer’s FIBA World Cup, it will be hard to find a more talented and deeper roster than the one USA Basketball will send to Spain. USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski have built a solid enough program that it can withstand the … [Read more…]
Before Dwyane Wade became the unofficial mayor of South Beach, the face of the Miami Heat franchise was Alonzo Mourning. You can’t write the history of the Heat without mentioning the man who embodied everything team president Pat Riley preaches. “When you talk about Alonzo … what it comes down to is he’s the absolute, … [Read more…]
It was the perfect storm. An NBA All-Star suffers a major injury on national TV while playing a meaningless intrasquad scrimmage on a court many suspect does not meet NBA standards. Everyone at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Arena cringed when Indiana Pacers star Paul George broke his lower right leg while trying to block a … [Read more…]
When Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski were putting together their list of players for Team USA in preparation for the 2014 FIBA World Cup of Basketball they may have been listening to California Love on their Beats by Dre headphones. OK, that’s probably way not how Coach K and Jerry C. roll. But you can’t … [Read more…]
It’s like seeing your ex-girlfriend, and those old feelings start to percolate. Your heart beats faster. Your palms get sweaty. And you can’t seem to put two sentences together because you’re so nervous. That’s what LeBron James must have felt like when the Cleveland Cavaliers made their free-agent pitch. Those same old feelings began to … [Read more…]