I'm just watching some of the matches of the 2023 FIBA World Cup & analysing how Deutschland won the cup. I'm currently watching them wipe Japan away by a twenty-point lead in the second quarter in one of the group stage matches if I'm not mistaken. Some may wonder why Rui Hachimura wasn't selected despite no news of him being injured, I'm not sure myself. A lot of other really good players weren't included in their national teams for this World Cup.
Team USA
No country had more notable omissions like the USA, their Olympic basketball team for the 2024 Paris Olympics looks more like the Team USA we're used to ("assembling the Avengers", as they say) than a team led by Anthony Edwards & Austin Reaves who are both very capable players but are not on the level of Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant & LeBron James. Then, strangely, in the Olympic roster for the USA men's basketball team, Austin Reaves was omitted. Now, in the football world, we often talk of how after a less than ideal tournament - omitting a good player for a major upcoming international tournament can "kill" a player but Team USA seems very cutthroat about their selection & simply left Reaves out for the Paris Olympics. But they have the likes of Tyrese Haliburton & the usual suspects (KD, LeBron & Steph) who should more than make up for his absence.
Canada outdid themselves winning their first ever FIBA World Cup medal in a game they invented. Serbia could've won it. Maybe they started second-guessing themselves but I know they can play with more vigour than they did in the final against Germany... did they need Jokic? We'll never know. But Germany are current World Champions & don't think the title could go to a more fitting team. The Wagner brothers, Lô, Bonga, Schröder, Obst... I virtually know their whole team because I watched their World Cup run so much. What a great team. It's true what they say, "If anyone can, the Germans can."
South African basketball
Now watching the FIBA World Cup always gives me ideas for South African basketball. And to put it simply for people not familiar with the current situation of basketball in South Africa, South Africa fears basketball. I think it has to do with the fact that it is a sport that isn't dominated by solely white athletes like rugby but football (soccer) has also recently been put on the backfoot in favour of (don't laugh) women's football & netball. I mean, I'll watch both netball or women's football if I feel like it but they do nothing for me. They won't drive me to buy whatever products they sell. In fact, I hate to say this, unless women are exceptionally good - men won't watch their sport or be sold on women's sports products/sponsorships. Which is also the case for men's sport oddly enough. There's a reason why we prefer, at least, international women's football tournaments than domestic leagues. International level football is slightly better, for men too. Many people watch Brazil's women's football team & could name one or two Brazilian footballers names (e. g. I know Formiga & Marta) because they are good. If you're a real football scholar, you may know one or two women's soccer players from the USA. But the focus on women's sport is chasing away people who actually enjoy sport, which is mostly men because sport requires some testosterone. It has gotten so bad that the KwaZulu Marlins, former champions of the South African professional basketball league, currently only have their female basketball team on their Twitter profile & not both male & female teams. This is tragic.
Now, I don't have a problem in women having their own teams & leagues but it shouldn't be at the expense of men's sport.
In my ideal sport's system, there would be a non-relegation league of regional teams (for both men & women) who would have both a basketball & football team as well as volleyball, Seven's rugby etc. These teams would identify talent from their regional schools & put them in the regional academy. This would be how basketball could thrive. Teams like Petro de Luanda, Primiero de Agosto, Maxaquene & Ferroviário de Maputo of Mozambique, Al Ahly of Egypt, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Olympiakos, CSKA Moscow etc. all have both a basketball & a football team. I can imagine the same happening in South Africa with a Soweto Derby of basketball with Kaizer Chiefs & Orlando Pirates basketball team or a KZN basketball Derby of AmaZulu F. C. & Golden Arrows in a non-relegation league since we don't have the joy of seeing Duzi Royals vs KwaZulu Martins anymore. This would take the popularity of established football teams & use it to give associated basketball teams some viewership, popularity &, hopefully, finances. If South Africa can host the Netball World Cup, is it not time we see an Orlando Pirates women's basketball team? Just saying.
Yeah, basketball is only - maybe - the fourth most popular sport in the world & will always be in the shadow of football/soccer. My peer group of basketball lovers in South Africa know this. We grew up when Engen was still the sponsor of Basketball South Africa & LoveLife basketball courts were commonplace in townships. I grew up in a time where Michael Jordan had just retired, Kobe Bryant was at his prime, LeBron James was on the come up, Argentina beat Team USA at the Olympics, Tsakane Ngobeni was the only South African basketball player applying his trade in the USA & everyone was talking about AND1 for some reason. We see in South African football how things get over-politicised & it ends up ruining the game... people who don't, genuinely, love the game are administrators of the game for some reason. If basketball in South Africa is to succeed, we need to get people who understand the game (it's history, politics & fundamentals) in administrative roles. We need to see former players in admistrative roles also. There's no reason Flosh Ngwenya or maybe even Craig Gilchrist couldn't be President of Basketball South Africa in the near future should they depart from their jobs as Cape Town Tiger's coach & KwaZulu Marlins coach, respectively.
Refereeing in basketball
I've seen some strange calls from referees in the highest levels of basketball which made me wonder whether automated refereeing should not be implemented somewhat. But how would such assisted refereeing be implemented in such a free-flowing game as basketball? Is it already as good as it can be or are there improvements to be made? In cricket, captains are given two video reviews to be used along the course of the game. In basketball, I believe these should be three for the captain & two for the coaches because I believe a lot happens in basketball that often goes unnoticed by referees. This criticism comes after I saw a call from a referee in the Australia vs. Germany game in the 2023 FIBA World Cup which almost changed the outcome of the game.
Hope you enjoy the game of basketball as much as I do, #WinForAll. If you need a coach, you know where to find me. ✌🏽
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