Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love Earn Spots on Team USA Final Roster
by Achilles on Aug 24, 2010 11:29 AM PDT
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PrintAccording to ESPN, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love both made the final Team USA roster for the squad participating in the World Championships later this month in Turkey.
For weeks it's been clear that Love (now playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves) would make the team. Things weren't so clear for Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder), who was competing with Rajon Rando (Boston Celtics), Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets) and Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls) for point guard minutes. The ESPN article says that Rando withdrew from consideration though it isn't clear if it was for personal reasons or because he didn't even play in the U.S. victory over Spain last week in Madrid.
Team USA Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski noted that it was important not to have two "non-shooters" on the floor at the same time in the international game -- apparently the talented Rondo was considered a "non-shooter."
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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Does anybody know if DC tried out for the team?
Now that would have been a trifecta!
Congrats to our Bruin Ballers! Make us and U.S. proud!
The best thing you can do for your children is to love their mother. John Wooden
I don't remember seeing DC's name on the initial invite list
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Aug 24, 2010 11:51 AM PDT up reply actions
Correct
He was not.
Twitter feed: @dexterfishmore
by DexterFishmore on Aug 24, 2010 10:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Congrats to two of our classic Ben Ball warriors
Hope some day the current guys measure up to them not just in terms of talent but in terms of hustle, tenacity and overall dedication to the game.
Nice
While I love the blue and gold, it’s a step behind what it feels like watching people with the USA across their chest. To me, that is the ultimate and getting to bring the Bruins and US together is perfect IMO. Both guys are incredibly deserving and I can’t wait for RW’s first “let’s go” moment in the red, white and blue because you know he’ll have one.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Aug 24, 2010 11:52 AM PDT reply actions
Vs. Spain
In the third quarter when Spain had cut the lead to 2 for the first time, RW had a sweet cross over and half dunked it over like two guys. It was amazing.
by PurpleRabbit on Aug 24, 2010 12:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Saw the highlight of that
I looked for it online because I wanted to put it up in a fanshot, but I couldn’t find it so if anyone does, please throw it up. I’m waiting for it in a competitive game, though. He’s going to have one game-changer in a game that counts and it’s going to be sweet.
For everything UCLA baseball, visit my UCLA baseball twitter.
by Ryan Rosenblatt on Aug 24, 2010 12:14 PM PDT up reply actions
And more importantly...
When it came down to the last (most important) plays, RW was brought in to play defense.
Absolutely Ryan. You can take this one to the bank !
Westbrook’s high octane aggressive style of play, not to say his explosive moves to the basket, will shock and awe the world in no time.
I want to see a laser beam outlet pass from KLove that reaches half court at a sprinting Westbrook, who then takes off at the perimeter and tomahawks that sucker into the net. Wait, this is not it yet. Let me hear that vein busting, ecstatic, primal scream from Westbrook one more time.
Boy, if it isn’t basketball heaven, nothing will.
Awesome!
Really looking forward to seeing RW and KL play with Durant at the same time. I really want OKC to get KL at some point and maybe seeing the 3 of them on the floor together will plant the idea in the mind of someone in the thunder’s front office. Congrats to both!
Congrats, boys.
It’s awesome to them to do this so early in a career, too. It would be great to see them both become part of the backbone of Team USA for many years to come. Just leave some room for DC in a couple years. He’ll be one of those “shooter guys”.
greg in denver - UCLA guy for life
I watched the Spain game and RW and Rose on the court together was pretty awesome.
Even if it did bring back bad yet good memories.
Go Bruins!
Ugh
that trip to san antonio was miserable. They jammed all the students underneath the overhang of the upper level all the way in the back. People down in front and on the court told me the student section was too quiet and uninvolved…not true, they just couldn’t hear us. We also had to keep score and track of fouls mentally…. no scoreboard was in view. When we forgot foul counts we sent a runner down 25 rows to check the screen.
Wow. We noticed how far away the students were.
The whole ucla crowd got a bad deal, we were all separated. I was up in the boonies with a few rows of bruins. It was funny after we lost how the North Carolina people were running around trying to buy good ucla tickets for the final game. Oh well. Their semi-final made me feel better about ours. I, being a middle aged woman, just walked into the lower level for the second game and for the final game. Age and gender in this case, are definitely a plus. There were empty seats down from Chancellor Block and I asked if he minded if I sat there. He said sure. He was incredibly nice. And although I wished we had been in the final game, I must say, that was the most incredible final I had ever seen and it was almost a relief that I had no strong feeling about who won.
Go Bruins!
Probably old news
but K-Love had a brief part in this week’s Entourage. One line, in which he excused himself with something like “Well, I see you guys are busy…”, as Ari demanded E’s immediate attention. At least, that’s what my addled brain remembers. Something like that, anyway.
It’s kind of amazing how recognizable KL is. Here I am, watching and enjoying Entourage, wondering how Vince was going to reconcile with both the porn star and his new movie deal. The last person I expected to see was a Bruin, then Pow! Hey, that’s Kevin Love…
Bay Cities and KL
Watching them talk about Bay Cities, then having KL walk in took me right back to 2008. It was also great that they introduced him as a UCLA Legend.
We're havin' too much fun today. We ain't thinkin' 'bout tomorrow.
by Steve Bruin on Aug 25, 2010 12:00 AM PDT up reply actions
Agreed but
Lavin is depicted as a bad influence on Vince and, given the many other UCLA references made on the show, I’ve got to assume his naming is not random…
I'd always assumed that it wasn't a reference
But with what you just said, and the slicked back hair…I could see the naming being intentional.
PG position...
It seemed like RW was more of a combo guard, and mostly a 2, based on what I’ve seen of the games. The same can be said of Billups, as well.
From what I’ve heard, it sounded like Curry and Gordon were on the bottom rung. Curry and Gordon both improved their status with solid games, and Rajon moved down. While things weren’t clear with RW, I have to believe he would have still made the team – based on his play, and his relationship with Durant.
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