AmeriCup Odyssey Impacted by Sioux Falls Skyforce

The journey begins for the chosen seventeen players who will first qualify then compete for the USA Men’s AmeriCup squad with significant Skyforce influence.

From players to coaches to support staff, multiple inputs with ties to the Sioux Falls Skyforce are set to build a winning combination. Guard Larry Drew II who is fresh off a stellar Summer League and guard Reggie Williams who spent a season in Sioux Falls are two of those intending to make the final twelve-man roster.

A Skyforce Hall-of-Famer will be on the bench to lend expertise gained at multiple levels as assistant coach. Mo McHone who has experience in the NBA, G League and internationally will be alongside coach Jeff Van Gundy and current Northern Arizona Suns coach Ty Ellis.

One of the crew who helped assemble the team is Skyforce General Manager Adam Simon who was named to the committee in May 2017. Sean Ford, Tony Bollier, Trajan Langdon and Gersson Rosas who have various NBA and G League experience as players or executives were also part of the committee. Skyforce team doctor Stephen Foley also joins the effort to help with medical needs of the players.

This begins the qualifying process for the FIBA 2019 World Cup which would normally use NBA players. A schedule adjustment for the qualifying rounds has put some of the games during the NBA regular season, thus the need for various G League players and free agents to bridge the gap.

After a training camp which will be held through August 24 in Houston, the team will head to Uruguay for three games on consecutive days. Panama will be the first opponent on August 28, followed by Uruguay on August 29 and the Dominican Republic on August 30.

The USA AmeriCup team is in one of three groups with the best team in each cluster advancing to the semifinals. Argentina will host the final round which will be held on September 2 and 3.

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