Additional Quotes >> USA 104, Argentina 64
June 23, 2011 • Cancun, Mexico
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Don Showalter, USA head coach
On the gold medal game.
We have a lot of respect for Argentina. They play hard and we know they are not going to go down easy. We had a pretty good idea of what they were going to do. Our kids knew it from the first time around that they were going to be a tough team. I thought we approached the game very, very good from a mental standpoint. We were ready to play.
When you play a team like Argentina, you’ve got to be ready for the physical part of and not let that you out of what we want to do. Our kids did a really nice job with that.
What’s the hallmark of this team?
The team has bought into what we asked them to do. When you have a team that buys into a system, that’s a lot of it right there. They bought into our system of playing defense, aggressive, no nonsense, just get the job done defensively. We got better defensively every game and tonight was probably the best defensive team we’ve played this week. That starts with having the kids understand what needed to be done and buying into our system, which they did.
This is your third gold medal in as many summers. Does this feeling ever get old?
Never. I told the kids that they appreciate it now, but as they get older they’ll appreciate it more. When you’re on the medal stand with a gold medal around your neck and you look up at the American flag, the reason they’re playing our national anthem is because we won the gold medal. And we’re the only team they’re playing the national anthem for. So, it never gets old.
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Rich Gray, USA assistant coach
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
There was so much pride. Watching these kids and knowing how hard they had to work to get to where we were and seeing all that effort come out today, where we were able to win by 40 points, and really represent the United States in such a way that was all about pride.
What do you take away from this experience?
It was an incredible experience to have such a great coaching staff to work with and have such great kids. One of the things that happened with this group was they were able to bond together. That bonding really made this team a special team. All of the work that we put into it just raised it to another level by how hard they worked, because they created a level of bonding that’s going to last for a lifetime with each and every one of these kids.
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How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It was an unbelievable experience. I could not really put it into words or do it justice. I’ve never felt anything like that. Just the pride in America and the pride in these young men, it was a tremendous experience.
What do you take away from this experience?
So many things. Again, I think it shows what teamwork really does. It was great to watch 12 tremendously talented individuals come together and make a true team. It was great to watch guys follow the leadership of a great coach. Being a small part of that was truly rewarding for me.
 Austin |
Larry Austin
(Lanphier H.S. / Springfield, Ill.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It feels pretty good right now. Our team was excited going into the championship game. We know we wanted to beat them. Argentina wanted to play us, but we wanted to play them again and blow them out by more. So, we accomplished our goal.
What do you take away from this experience?
We just had a great time together. The competition was good, practices were hard, everybody connected and came together. Our chemistry was really good.
 Collier |
Dom Collier
(Denver East H.S. / Denver, Colo.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It feels good. Winning a gold medal for the first time, first time being on a USA team. It really feels good.
What do you take away from this experience?
It’s just a great experience to win the gold medal and to represent our country like this.
 Frankamp |
Conner Frankamp
(Wichita North H.S. / Wichita, Kan.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It was a dream come true. It’s a little surreal. To have this around my neck is just amazing.
What do you take away from this experience?
That you always have to work hard at becoming a team is really important. The time with all these guys has been really good and having good chemistry on the team helps that a lot.
 Gordon |
Aaron Gordon
(Archbishop Mitty H.S. / San Jose, Calif.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It’s what we’ve been working for. We’ve been together for two weeks, putting in a lot of effort and hard work, and when it all comes together, there are just no feelings to explain it.
What do you take away from this experience?
Go 100 percent all the time and that’ll get you far in life. That’s my main advice that I’ve taken away from playing with this team.
On Jabari Parker’s MVP honor
That’s good. He’s a great player. I’m glad he got it. There’s nothing much else you can say. He’s just a great player.
On tonight’s game:
We went in knowing that it was going to be a physical game and that mentally prepared us for it. We were prepared for the game and we were able to figure it out and get the win.
 Jackson |
(Home School Christian Youth Association / Houston, Texas)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It felt wonderful. It’s a major honor. It’s something bigger than I’ve ever experienced in my life.
What do you take away from this experience?
On the court, just compete at the highest level that you possibly can. Off the court, just the choices you make can decide what you do and what others do. Just make sure you choose what you do wisely and don’t do dumb things.
 Johnson |
Stanley Johnson
(Mater Dei H.S. / Fullerton, Calif.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It’s very exciting. It was uplifting for the team. It’s such a great accomplishment. We worked so hard over our 16 practices and all the way back in October, this is what we’ve wanted the whole time. It’s a big accomplishment for us.
What do you take away from this experience?
The family. When I got injured our team helped me, they encouraged me. I was encouraging them from the bench and they all played great.
 Jones |
Tyus Jones
(Apple Valley H.S. / Apple Valley, Minn.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It’s an unbelievable feeling. First off, to be playing for your country is a great feeling. To bring back a gold medal while representing your country is just unbelievable. I’m loving every minute of it.
What do you take away from this experience?
It’s been a great experience. A lot of stepping stones. A lot of life lessons. The coaches pushed us hard. We became a family. These guys, we’ll be close for a long, long time. It’s been a great experience.
 Nunn |
(Simeon H.S. / Chicago, Ill.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
Man, it’s awesome. It’s everything ... it’s the best game I ever played and On we won the gold medal. It feels great.
What do you take away from this experience?
On the court I became more of a leader, more vocal. I played defense more. Off the court I got to know a couple more guys. We’re closer now, like brothers.
 Okafor |
(Whitney Young H.S. / Chicago, Ill.)
On the game:
It wasn’t that tough. I am very confident in our team. We played really hard and the game took care of itself.
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It was amazing. It’s probably one of my best experiences. To stand on the top of the podium, have our national anthem play and have everybody else listen to it was great.
What do you take away from this experience?
Hard work. Hard work and listening to the coaches. Everybody loves everybody on this team. We’re all brothers. Hopefully we can all come back and do this again next year.
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Jabari Parker
(Simeon H.S. / Chicago, Ill.)
On being named MVP:
It’s an honor. I felt surprised because all these guys, each and every one of them, everybody deserves this MVP trophy. When I got it, I just felt a sense of accomplishment.
On the game against Argentina:
It was very tough, because even though we won by a substantial amount of points, we just had our individual goals. We set goals and we were trying to prove a point that we are the best team in the Americas.
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It’s very good, because we accomplished our goal. Since October, we’ve been practicing so hard just to win the gold. Coach Showalter always told us that there’s no other goal than winning the gold medal, so this feels really good right now.
What do you take away from this experience?
Just to be more physical, because it can get very tough out there. You have to just transition yourself to playing another game. When I get back to the States I’ll be playing more aggressive.
 Pinson |
Theo Pinson
(Oakridge Military Academy / Greensboro, N.C.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
Good. It’s like a big accomplishment for all of us to win a gold medal, knowing all the great players ahead of us and knowing we’re gold medalists, too. It’s really great.
What do you take away from this experience?
Defense wins games all the time. You have to be ready for the physicality around here. You have to be real physical with these teams. It’s really a fun game.
 Williams |
Johnathan Williams
(Southwind H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.)
How does it feel to win the gold medal?
It feels pretty good. We accomplished a lot, coming together as a team, as a family, to win the gold medal.
What do you take away from this experience?
I’m with a fun group of guys and I’m just going to take this, go home and work harder so I can come back next summer and try to go to the (U17) Worlds.
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