All those things make people be attracted to him.”įor Popovich, he said enough about Gay during his pregame availability before the Spurs played the Atlanta Hawks. “He’s the kind of guy that we look for,” Popovich said. Whether he starts or not, look for the enthusiastic Gay to leave everything he has on the United Center court.SAN ANTONIO - It didn’t take long, just a few quick comments about Rudy Gay’s time with the Spurs as a teammate before Gregg Popovich wanted to change topics. “Coach K ( Mike Krzyzewski) keeps that in his back pocket until it’s time.” “We don’t know who is starting,” Gay said. Gay said that was not a question that he could answer. Could that mean Gay will also start in the exhibition game with Brazil Saturday night? Gay started for the USA White team in Thursday's scrimmage along with Derrick Rose, James Harden, Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis. He averaged 20.0 points per game in 2013-14 while splitting time between Toronto and Sacramento, and he also averaged 6.0 rebounds per game. Gay brings quite a bit to USA Basketball. He views practice as the way for all players to get better, and he will not hesitate to let it be known when he sees a player taking a shortcut on the road to success. He was solid from a conditioning point of view and he also played well.”Ĭompliments from Thibodeau should never be taken lightly. “There was a lot of effort there – as there was throughout this practice – but for a guy who did not play in Las Vegas, he was ready to play. The demanding Bulls coach saw effort and production from the forward. USA assistant coach Tom Thibodeau was impressed with how Gay handled himself in his first scrimmage. That’s what got me to this point in my career, not by trying to be something I’m not." I don’t have to carry the team and that would not be smart for me to do. I am a player who will play hard and can contribute. “I wish I could play like an MVP,” said Gay, who turns 28 on Saturday. Gay said he feels no pressure to try to impress his coaches or his teammates and try to do things that an MVP-type of player would do on the court.
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Others may have had a bit longer to learn, but I will catch up.” I have to learn where I’m supposed to be and know what I’m supposed to do. “That’s part of my job and my responsibility. “I plan on catching up and learning quickly,” Gay said.
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While he feels strong and competitive on a physical basis, the other players on the team have had longer to learn the plays and the sets the team will use, and that gives them an advantage over Gay.
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Gay averaged 7.0 point and 2.9 rebounds per game in nine games for that undefeated team.Įxtending the decision time for this year’s selection would help Gay. “He made a great contribution there, he’s in pretty good shape, and he stepped in today like he hadn’t missed a beat, either.” “Rudy was on our 2010 World Championship team,” Colangelo said. “We may need some time after that to name the team.”Ĭolangelo said he was impressed with Gay’s preparation after his first practice with the team. “We may not make it a hard and fast deadline,” Colangelo explained. Colangelo told reporters after practice that the original plan was to name the 12 members of the team after it completes its practices and exhibitions in New York next week. Gay does not have USA Basketball made, and neither does anybody else at this point. “It was good to be out there with the guys and I know I have a lot of work to do, but I plan to do it in order to be able to help this team contribute.” “I felt good out there and I felt strong physically,” Gay said.
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He has worked hard to stay in shape, and he said he felt physically capable of playing with his teammates in a hard, physical practice Thursday at the Quest Multisport Complex in Chicago. Also named a finalist for the 2012 Olympic Team, the idea of playing with the best in the world while competing for his country is something that Gay obviously believes in doing. He has played for USA Basketball since 2005 and was a valuable member of the 2010 USA National Team that returned from Istanbul with the FIBA World title. The 6-8 forward wants to be on the team, and he is quite familiar with international competition. After Paul George suffered a broken leg, and Kevin Durant withdrew, Gay reached out to USA National Team managing director Jerry Colangelo to express his desire to again be part of the program and he was given the opportunity to compete for a spot on the USA World Cup roster. He is now, and he plans to make the most of it. Rudy Gay was not originally on the USA Basketball National Team roster when the team convened in Las Vegas to practice earlier this summer.