By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
One more game is left for the United States in the 2024 Olympic Games and on a mission to capture gold medals in Paris.
Following Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid on a Zoom call presented by USA Basketball, USAB, on Friday, head coach Steve Kerr pointed to the challenges of the gold medal game against France on Saturday.
“A lot of guys turn into Superman in FIBA,” he talked about unexpected threats, using his experience as the national team selector, “We have to be ready for a better defensive edge and more physicality.”
On Thursday, Team USA overcame Serbia and advanced to the Final. Besides the obvious focus on containing Nikola Jokic, other players, including Aleksa Avramovic netting four triples, were on fire, keeping Kerr’s side in chasing mode for most of the exciting contest. A late rally secured the win.
The clash with France is a rematch of the gold medal game of the previous Olympic men’s basketball tournament, held in Tokyo, in 2021. Kerr was an assistant under Gregg Popovich, before taking over for the next cycle. Last summer, his efforts resulted in fourth place in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, marked by a Semifinal loss to future champion Germany and defense being surprised by 24 points from sharpshooter Andreas Obst.
“I am only thinking about France,” underlined Kerr, postponing a recap of his career as the national team selector of the United States until after the conclusion of the tournament.
Photo Credit: FIBA