2011 Pan Am Games Preview (USA Basketball)
Posted: 2011-10-25
The 2011 Pan Am Games are underway in Guadalajara, Mexico. The men's basketball tournament starts on Wednesday, October 26. Here is a preview of the USA team.
The 2011 Pan Am Games are underway in Guadalajara, Mexico. The men's basketball tournament starts on Wednesday, October 26. Here is a preview of the USA team.
Here is the USA roster. The team is made up of players from the NBA Developmental League. They are coached by Nate Tibbets of the Tulsa 66ers. The USA team lost an exhibition game to Puerto Rico on Monday 75-70. The USA hasn't won a gold medal in basketball at the Pan Am Games since Michael Jordan played on the team. Based on the talent level it is easy to see that other countries take this tournament more serious than the USA.
Blake Ahearn (Erie BayHawks/Missouri State 07)
Brian Butch (Injured for 2010-11 season/Wisconsin 08)
Chris Daniels (KCC Egis, South Korea/Texas A&M-Corpus08)
Justin Dentmon (Texas Legends/Washington 09)
Jerome Dyson (Tulsa 66ers/Connecticut 10)
Moses Ehambe (Iowa Energy/Oral Roberts 08)
Ron Howard (Fort Wayne Mad Ants/Valparaiso 06)
Marcus Lewis (Tulsa 66ers/Oral Roberts 09)
Leo Lyons (Austin Toros/Missouri 09)
Renaldo Major (Dakota Wizards/Fresno State 04)
Donald Sloan (Reno Bighorns/Texas A&M 10)
Gregory Stiemsma (Sokhumi Tbilisi, Georgia/Wisconsin 09)
Curtis Sumpter (Maroussi BC, Greece/Villanova 07)
Lance Thomas (Austin Toros/Duke 10)
Coach: Nate Tibbets (Tulsa 66ers)
First round games:
Wednesday, Oct. 26 10:30 a.m. Canada - Argentina 1:00 p.m. Brazil - Uruguay 5:30 p.m. Dominican Republic - USA 8:00 p.m. Mexico - Puerto Rico Thursday, Oct. 27 10:30 a.m. Uruguay - Dominican Republic 1:00 p.m. Argentina - Puerto Rico 5:30 p.m. Canada - Mexico 8:00 p.m. Brazil - USA Friday, Oct. 28 10:30 a.m. Puerto Rico - Canada 1:00 p.m. Dominican Republic - Brazil 5:30 p.m. USA - Uruguay 8:00 p.m. Mexico - Argentina
The USA opens with the Dominican Republic on Wednesday night. The DR is coached by former Michigan player Phil Hubbard. The USA team doesn't have many household names. They do have Lance Thomas, who started for Duke and won a national title with them in 2010.
Look for some free plays daily starting on Wednesday from Red Dog Sports. Some books are carrying the lines for this tournament. Be sure to check back here for free plays and for college basketball picks in November, as Red Dog Sports was the number one college handicapper at The Sports Monitor last year, at close to 70%.
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