I’ve been looking for a box score to see how Chima did but no luck. I did see that tweet about his defense. Good day for former BW players.

About ten minutes of playing time, one rebound, one assist.

https://www.usab.com/news-events/live-stats/2021/mnt/7-10-21-usa-vs-ngr-box.aspx

Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) Tweeted:
A big shoutout to Chima Moneke, who grew up in Australia (spent the majority of his life in Canberra). He never got his Australian citizenship, so he’s now part of this Nigerian national team. Did a great job guarding the USA’s wings down the stretch, contesting without fouling.


Sorry don’t know how to share a tweet here. This guy is Australian and writes about the NBA and Australian basketball league

I'm told Moneke covered Kevin Durant the last 5 minutes. You can catch him here a few times.

https://youtu.be/N3L35H94A08

Dr. Mike, to share a tweet, click on the lower right icon that looks like c or <.

https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1414045065513631744?s=20

If Chima had become an Australian citizen he probably would have had to go to St. Mary's to play for the Australian team. Three former Gaels are players and one is a coach on the current national team.
https://smcgaels.com/news/2021/7/8/mens-basketball-mbb-former-gaels-prep-for-olympics-with-australian-national-team.aspx

Speaking of Australia, they handed the USA a second straight exhibition loss tonight, 91-83.

...so the USA lost to the Gaels' alumni team.

Nigeria beat Argentina by 23. Argentina is rated #4 in the world. Moneke had 4 points in 7 minutes of play

Good. Glad to see Team USA defeated. I'll leave the politics out of my post, Every Olympics they assemble a bunch of huge egos, put them through a minimum of practices, and expect to steamroll over the competition. The team hasn't evolved since the1990's. The game is much more global now and other countries have their own stars in the NBA learning how to compete against U.S. stars. The other countries are hungrier and they work harder. They deserve it. I'd say these contests should serve as a wake-up call, but I know they won't.

Absolutely agree. Many of the most elite American pros have been pampered and coddled from middle school all the way to college where they're one and done on to the pros for mega-millions. I'm not sure the Olympics mean that much to them anymore. They'll be happy to get some international notoriety and a medal if they can waltz their way through the competition. The problem is just as you say, the rest of the world is up and coming and they're much more hungry.

So I'll be a little contrarian here. Since 1992, the USA has won every Olympic gold medal except for 2004. Talent is of course spreading out, as evidence by the fact that NIGERIA started 5 guys with NBA experience, but the US is still the dominant team. Now I didn't see either of the Nigeria or Australia games, so I can't say exactly how/why the US lost. But I do know they've had only a couple of practices (because most of the players were in the playoffs until recently). No matter how good your individuals are, it takes court time to really start to play well together. That's why they play these exhibitions, to see who can play with whom. I am currently watching the US vs Argentina (ranked #4 in the world) and I don't see guys who are being out worked or in it just to cruise. Are other teams hungrier than the US??? Maybe they are hungrier to win an exhibition game in Las Vegas, but I guess we'll see when the Olympics actually start.

Good points, OBA. I don't think the American players are "out to cruise." So my choice of words, "waltz their way through the competition," was poor. I do believe that our players expect it to be pretty easy and just aren't as hungry as players from other nations who aren't expected to beat the Americans. I hope we gel and win it all but we'll have to work hard for it.

That’s fair. I’m sure there is a winning it all expectation in the locker room. But, like them or not, guys like Dame and KD and Draymond don’t strike me as players who expect to steamroll everyone without putting in the work. Of course I could be completely wrong as I’m not there at the practices or seeing if extra work is being put in. But I just think that players at this very top level can’t make it on talent alone. It has to be combined with high work ethic.

USA wins the gold. KD leads on the offense but the game was won by Draymond, Adebayo, Holiday, and Bookers defense. Pretty entertaining game against France. Their size caused problems but the hustling US defense made some critical stops.

Great game. France is a really good basketball team and they had beat the Americans in their first game. Outstanding Gold Medal for the Americans and it didn't come easy. The rest of the world is producing a lot of great talent and playing at a much higher level than in years past.

One of the best TV viewing experiences I've had for basketball in a while. Quality and pace of play, college-length halves, few commercials, few stoppages, etc.

I'm not sure free throws themselves were the differential but I think if France had just been hitting a few more then it could have been a different ballgame in terms of momentum and what was on the table for France to run the last few possessions.

I agree with you on the pace of play. There are certainly some rules that I’d like to see the NBA adopt.

NBA wants stoppages for commercials.

I saw one broadcast that gave the number of international players in the NBA as 25%. If this continues to increase, some other country is going to win a gold medal, especially if the US continues to throw teams together at the last minute and expect them to mesh. One advantage the US continues to have is the level of coaching. Hard to beat Coach K, then Popovich (with Steve Kerr assisting).