Additional Quotes >> USA 116, China 47

July 4, 2012 • Kaunas, Lithuania

USA head coach Don Showalter (Iowa City High School, Iowa)
On tonight’s game:
We looked at the tapes and we were impressed with China. I take nothing away from China, because I think they’re a nice team. They’ve got a better team than two years ago (at the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship) in Germany. They have some good personnel and our kids took it to heart that we were both at the top of our pool. Had we dropped this game, we would have dropped down. We might not have won our pool. We wanted to be able to finish first in our pool in order to play the fourth place team in the other pool. So, our kids were ready. They had intense defense right off the bat.

On the USA’s defensive effort, especially from Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow:
We kept telling both Justise and Stanley, they showed us in training camp what kind of defense they can play. Tonight you saw both those guys play phenomenal defense today. Justise was ... that’s what he can do. That’s how he helps the team. We don’t really care if those two score points. They’re going to get points on rebounds and breaks, but we don’t really care because their defense is just so strong. Now, they’re kind of starting to know what to do in rotations. I think we’re playing much better team defense than we have been up to this point.

On playing Canada in the quarterfinals:
Canada is probably more like us from a standpoint from being athletic, being able the kind of ball we’re used to playing in the States, even more so than some of the other international teams. Obviously they’re going to be ready for us. We have to be strong with the ball. I know they’re going to be very physical and they’re very well coached. It’ll be a good game for us.

Stephen Domingo (Saint Ignatius Prep / San Francisco, Calif.)
On tonight’s game:
It really just starts with the way we prepare before the game. If we can play like this for the start and make them tired, then bring in our second rotation, which is just as good as our first rotation, that’s when we really put it away.

What is the key to this team?
Our depth, definitely. We had two of our really good players out tonight, but we subbed five for five almost every time. We have two equal line-ups and that’s how we did it. Because you put one team in, then the other team gets tired out there and you put in another one with high energy, they get layups and steals, there’s no letdown.

Did you want to play especially well today because it’s the Fourth of July?
Definitely. There’s nothing better than representing your country, especially on a day like Independence Day.

What have you been doing off the court?
We’ve been walking around the hotel, meeting some of the people here. Obviously, with a bunch of tall basketball players around here, it’s a little different. But, the people are very nice around here. It’s been fun to interact. I’m excited for tomorrow. We’re going to go tour and see some other parts of the city.

Conner Frankamp (Wichita North H.S. / Wichita, Kan.)
On tonight’s game:
We came out fast in this game, which we haven’t been doing much. If we do start like this, we can blow teams out all the time. We just have to keep the intensity up the whole game.

China was averaging 66.2 points a game, but you held them under 50 points. How were you able to do that?
Just keeping the intensity up the whole game, I would say. And being aggressive on the press.

On the USA’s depth:
It’s really nice to have our depth. You can work as hard as you can out there and then somebody will come in for you and do the same thing that you did. There’s no let up.

Were you trying to make a statement heading into the medal round or was it about being the Fourth of July?
I think both of those things were why we played so good.

What do you need to work on before the medal round?
We need to keep the defense up. Our offense will come. We just have to keep playing hard on defense.

Kendrick Nunn (Simeon Career Academy / Chicago, Ill.)
On tonight’s game:
We tried to give 100 percent because it’s July fourth. But we also had to come out with the win because it’s the game to decide the first place in our pool.

Once you pulled away, were you looking to make a statement to the rest of the teams?
Definitely. We try to do that every game. We know that if our 10 guys come out and bring their ‘A’ game, we’re going to be successful.

You have to win three games in three days. What do you need to do from here?
First of all, we need to stay healthy, eat right, get a lot of rest and keep going hard. Never give up.

How fun is it, playing with these guys?
It’s awesome. It’s the top players in the country all coming together as one. This is a once in a lifetime chance.

Off the court, what have you been doing?
We’ve been hanging out a lot. We’re going into each other’s rooms and laugh, joke around a lot.

Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young H.S. / Chicago, Ill.)
Were you happy with getting another good start to a game?
Yeah, I’m very pleased. We were accustomed to getting slow starts in our first couple of games. But with Dakari (Johnson) and Jabari (Parker) being out, we know we have to pick it up. We’re focusing more at the beginning of the game and that’s why we’re getting out to fast starts.

On the defensive efforts of Justise Winslow:
Justise, that’s why he’s on the team. They tell him all the time that was the reason he is on the team, because of the defense he played in Colorado Springs. He realizes that and he just goes really hard on the defensive end.

Were you looking to make a statement heading into the medal round?
Yeah, definitely, and it’s the Fourth of July. So, we wanted to come out hard. Also, this is the game before the medal round, so we wanted to let all the other teams know we are ready.

What do you still need to work on before the next round?
Never letting up. A lot of games we’ll go up by 30 but then we’ll let them score and they’ll get about 20 or so. I think we’ve got to never let up and play all 40 minutes.

Justise Winslow (St. John’s School / Houston, Texas).
On tonight’s game:
I don’t think anybody expected to play this well. We knew China was a good team. I think in the first quarter we really intimidated them. From there we just got a jump on them and kept pounding them. Their confidence went down and our defense was relentless today. Everybody was swarming to the ball. We got a lot of steals. We just had fun.

There were very few let downs today:
I think it was in part due to the bench. The bench came out really strong. Well, everybody came out strong, but we had no letdown. Everybody played aggressive and the defense was really good today.

How much does this build your confidence heading into the medal round?
It builds our confidence a lot, because we’ve been building up to this point. We could still do things better, but we seem to really be focusing and concentrating on getting the gold medal.

Do you think your game is suited to the international style of play?
Yeah, I think it’s pretty good. I’m a pretty versatile player and athletic. It seems to fit pretty well.

What have you been doing off the court?
We’ve just been chilling in the room, going to the main street, relaxing outside, getting something to eat and just hanging out with each other.