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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The quest to represent Team USA began with 29 invitations, issued in early June to the nation's best collegiate basketball players. Late Friday, 12 of them will be told they have survived final cuts and have made USA Basketball's World University Games team.
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The final day of tryouts here in Colorado Springs will feature a two and-a-half hour morning practice, followed by a late afternoon scrimmage. After that scrimmage, the coaches and selectors will convene and decide which three players will be dropped from the current finalists roster of 15 competitors (a 16th finalist, Duke's Rodney Hood, was injured in Wednesday's practice).
Team USA assistant coach Frank Martin said on Thursday that when determining how to make the remaining cuts, "it's so even; there's really no separation by guys. When we sit down and talk and visit, it's gonna be a hard decision."
BYU's Tyler Haws finds himself in a group of seven wings (small forwards/shooting guards); the question is how many will make the final 12-man roster.
With point guards Chasson Randle (Stanford) and Yogi Ferrell (Indiana) ostensibly safe as the only two floor generals on the team, that leaves 13 players fighting for 10 spots.
Up front, there are six power forwards/centers in the finalists' group: Davante Gardner (Marquette), Cory Jefferson (Baylor), Alex Kirk (New Mexico), Doug McDermott (Creighton), Adreian Payne (Michigan State) and Aaron White (Iowa).
The seven wings are: Haws, Spencer Dinwiddie (Colorado), Treveon Graham (VCU), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Luke Hancock (Louisville), Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati), and Will Sheehey (Indiana).
Martin said yesterday that "we've got to have plenty of wings," because of the team's plans to play fast. Head coach Bob McKillop says "we love versatility, so those guys who can play more than one position are going to be important."
Of Haws and whether he should be considered a shooting guard or small forward in this group, McKillop said "he's a wing and positioning isn't really that important in our attack. A '2' and a '3' are basically the same guy, and sometimes that '2 or 3' has to become a '1,' so you have to be able to guard those spots but you also have to be able to attack from those spots."
How McKillop plans to attack the World University Games field will determine the composition of his 12-man roster. On "decision day," it's hard to say which way he's going to go.
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By late Thursday, the players had completed seven practices, including three straight days of a two-a-days. Haws said "guys are a little bit tired, but they're still playing hard. Practices are still intense, so you've gotta be ready to go."
Colorado shooting guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who like Haws plays his college ball at high altitude, said Thursday that "I think everybody's tired at this point."
"You just have tired legs doing two-a-days for three or four days straight now," said Dinwiddie, "so it's a little bit different, but as far as conditioning and wind, I feel like it's up there with the best of them."
"I feel like I can keep running and I'm in great shape right now," said Haws after Thursday's second practice, "and hopefully I can show that in the next few days when bodies start breaking down."
"I'm feeling good. My legs are holding up, and hopefully I can get some rest (Thursday night) and be ready to go (Friday)."
With final cuts coming later today, Baylor's Cory Jefferson says while he "definitely had nerves for the first cut," he's a little more relaxed for the final roster moves. "Things have been pretty steady, nerves-wise, for the next cut."
"I'm actually not nervous," said Dinwiddie. "I'm welcoming whatever comes. I feel like I put my best foot forward and if they decide to pick me they do, and they're going to pick whoever fits the team best so I respect the decision whether it's good or bad, and I hope I can represent my country in Russia."
Dinwiddie has been competing with Haws in the group of wings, while Jefferson battled Haws as an opponent twice during the 2012-13 season. Both players said the BYU junior-to-be has been a great inclusion on the training camp roster.
"He's an amazing competitor," said Dinwiddie of Haws. "He never stops moving. He plays very hard and he's also a knock-down shooter. 'Relentless' is the best way to describe him, because he never stops moving and he's a tough cover."
"I love playing with everybody, but especially Tyler," Jefferson said Thursday. "It's better playing with him than against him."
"I was happy that he was going to be here; he was always tough to defend, so I knew he was going to be a great player to have on the team."
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You can hear Thursday interviews with Haws, Dinwiddie and Jefferson in "Cougar Cuts," above left.
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Photo: Kyle Chilton, BYU Athletic Media Relations
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