(This article was edited & translated from ENDI.com)
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The 12 members of the US team, who will play in the second qualifying window for the 2023 World Cup, have experience in the NBA and 10 of them are active in the G-League
A seven-time All-Star player in the NBA, a league champion in 2018, and a star point guard for the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).
The United States team, will clash against Puerto Rico this Thursday at 8:00 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
Joe Johnson, a former star who made his NBA debut in 2001 and played one game this season for the Boston Celtics, heads the list of players, led again by Jim Boylen. The 40-year-old forward has returned to the national team since he wore the country’s colors in February 2021 for the 2022 AmeriCup qualifying window.
In two games against the Bahamas and Mexico, Johnson averaged 11.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists, leading the team in the last two stats. Johnson was part of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2006 World Cup in Japan.
Of the 12 members, the only one with an NBA championship is forward Jordan Bell with the Golden State Warriors in 2018. He currently plays for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, an affiliate of the Indiana Pacers, in the G-League.
Puerto Rico will face a well-known point guard in the figure of David Stockton, who played the last two seasons of the BSN with the Guaynabo Mets. He returns to the US team since his last participation in 2018 in two windows of the 2019 World Cup. He had averages of 10 units and 3.0 assists. He will meet point guard Tyquan Rolón, a teammate on the Mets.
The rest of the cast has experience in the best basketball league in the world, and 10 are still active in the G-League. After Johnson, point guard Langston Galloway has played 452 games from 2015 to 2021 with the New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns. He is followed by center Tarik Black with 220 games between 2014 and 2017 with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.
Completing the group are Brian Bowen II (Iowa Wolves), Jared Harper (Birmingham Squadron), Juwan Morgan (Maine Celtics), Matt Ryan (Grand Rapids Gold), Rayjon Tucker (Wisconsin Herd), Paul Watson (free agent), and Justin Wright. -Foreman (Birmingham Squadro).
“It is a totally different team (from the one that went to Mexico). There are 12 new players. Players who were in the NBA a few years ago. We have to prepare for that. We know that we are going against a very athletic and defensive team, that is going to put us in defensive situations that change from one to four. We have to be willing to understand that game, move the ball and try to keep the rhythm of the game”, said the coach Nelson Colón before leaving for the US capital to continue with the preparation.
In fact, Wright-Foreman, from Queens, New York, was considered to play for the Puerto Rican national team because of his roots. However, the federative president Yum Ramos told El Nuevo Día that the 24-year-old did not send the documentation to confirm his eligibility.
“He never submitted the papers. Carlos Arroyo (general manager), (José Juan) Barea, Gary (Browne, team captain) spoke with him and his agent, but they never submitted, ”he said.
Puerto Rico and the United States meet for the first time in the 2023 World Cup qualifying window. The Americans play 1-1 after losing to Mexico and beating Cuba in the opening window in Chihuahua, Mexico, last November. Puerto Rico has a similar record after losing against the Mexicans and triumphing over the Cubans.
