By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – Steve Kerr said it on his very first meeting with the press in Manila and he repeated it after the lost semifinal against Germany.
The point is who is hearing back in the USA, when coach Kerr is saying: “This is not 1992 anymore. Players are better all over the world, teams are better. It’s not easy to win World Cup or Olympic games”.
It’s a hard cold truth that the Team USA is facing in the FIBA World Cup, which is not considered yet as “sexy” as the Olympics in the States.
As Kerr admitted: “Congrats to Germany, they were fantastic. Every time we made a run, they got a great shot, an offensive rebound, a big play. I am proud of my guys, they fought and gave us a chance in the end, but we couldn’t exactly get it”.
Defense was a constant issue for the USA, according to Kerr giving credit specifically to German sharpshooter Andreas Obst: “That was the main point of the loss. We weren’t ever able to make them feel us defensively. I give credit to Schroder, a quick guard who can penetrate. And also we made some mistakes. I thought that Obst was the key to the game. We didn’t get them under control and that really hurt us. They have a lot of big strong guys on the switches and Schroder is attacking. Give them credit, they outplayed us”.
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Jalen Brunson echoed his coach, admitting that his performance was bad despite 15 points and seven assists, using just one word: “Terrible”.
Speaking about the game, he added: “Congrats to Germany, they played great. Every run we got, we got timely buckets… We are expected to win, that’s at least the outlook from the outside, but we know it’s not easy… I think this (result) obviously stays for a bit. We have tomorrow a media day, this is a tough loss”.
So what can the USA change and build continuity? According to Kerr, this simply doesn’t work for them: “I am not sure how you can do that. That’s very unrealistic. I love being part of USA basketball, our players enjoyed it as well and part of the deal is that you pass the button to the next team. We are unique but we also have a big pool of talent that all deserves to wear this jersey”.
That’s why when asked what advice he would give to Serbia for the final against Germany, he was also realistic: “They don’t need my advice, they are doing great”.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA