By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The USA, after being drawn in Group A of the Olympic Games preliminary stage, announced an early selection of 57 finalists for the roster spots. Gregg Popovich splits his daily duties at the San Antonio Spurs with the national team in order to eventually name his players and be overall prepared for the trip to Tokyo.
“I probably think about it every day in some way, shape or form,” he said regarding his approach to the Olympic Games, relays Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News.
Group A known rivals are France and Iran. The third opponent will be the winner of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament at Victoria, Canada, featuring the hosts, China, Czech Republic, Greece, Turkey, and Uruguay. An extremely strong group but the United States are considered the frontrunners for the top spot.
Popovich, 72, studies opponents and deals with additional matters stemming from his head coaching responsibilities at Team USA.
“I don’t spend half the day on it, but it’s always there,” he explained, “Coach K told me that’s the way it would be, that it would always be on my mind. It’s a huge responsibility and you want to do a good job, so you do everything you can to be prepared.”
As for the Spurs, they improved to 25-26 on Sunday. The team coached by Popovich currently ranks ninth in the Western Conference looking to clinch a playoff berth.
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