Los Angeles — The U.S. World Cup qualifying team was treated to a unique pregame surprise on Thursday night in the shape of a motivational speech from Mike Krzyzewski.
The Americans once more benefited from Coach K's advice
In a World Cup Americas Region qualifying game against Uruguay, John Jenkins led the United States with 22 points on 8 of 9 shooting, including a 6-of-7 performance from 3-point range. Krzyzewski was seated courtside to take action.
Jenkins stated, "We knew when he came and talked to us that we had to put up a good show and play hard.
The now-retired Duke coach Krzyzewski guided the Americans to three straight Olympic gold championships in 2008, 2012, and 2016. His message was straightforward and focused on the idea that wearing the USA on your shirt requires you to play with pride.
Americans paid attention. They turned the game into a runaway in the second quarter by outscoring Uruguay 33-13, and it stayed that way.
Five minutes before I entered to give the pregame speech, Coach K had spoken to the players, according to U.S. coach Jim Boylen. How was I to proceed after that? It was an awesome honour and a wonderful occasion for all of us.
The victory left the Americans alone at the top of their qualifying group, along with Puerto Rico's 75-72 victory over Brazil (5-2) in another qualifier on Thursday.
The Americans, who are probably just two victories away from qualifying for the World Cup next year, added 18 points from Langston Galloway.
During that second-quarter run, the United States (6-1 in qualifying) hit 3-pointers on four straight possessions and never looked back. The Americans shot 15 for 29 outside the arc, with 16 points from DaQuan Jeffries, 12 points from Dewan Hernandez, and 11 points from Robert Woodard II.
David Stockton added nine assists in 17 minutes for the Americans, while his father, John Stockton, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was also present.
Esteban Batista and Luciano Parodi each scored 14 goals for Uruguay (4-3), which is still very much in the running to qualify for the World Cup. Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Uruguay all had identical records, while Colombia (3-4) gave themselves new life by shocking Mexico in overtime, 93-89, despite trailing by 20 points.
The top three teams from each of the two groups of six teams in the Americas Region, together with the best fourth-place team, will advance to the World Cup. The United States and Brazil were levelled in Group F standings at the start of the day.
The United States cannot yet begin packing for the World Cup. However, they can undoubtedly begin planning their attire.
Group F also contains Puerto Rico, Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, the United States and Brazil. Canada (7-0), Venezuela (6-1), Argentina (5-2), the Dominican Republic (5-2), the Bahamas (2-5) and Panama make up Group E, the other group in the Americas Region (2-5).
After 20 seconds, Uruguay had a 4-0 lead, which was the visitors from South America's only celebration. The U.S. dominated the rest of the evening and won this qualifying competition with the greatest ease.
Every player we have tonight gave it their all, according to Boylen.
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