USA Basketball managing director did not hold back: "Kevin Love was not in shape" / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP – Scanpix Credit AFP – Scanpix

Jerry Colangelo, the USA Basketball managing director spoke about the reason Kevin Love left Team USA's camp. He admitted that the big man was out of shape.

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"I didn’t think Kevin Love was gonna play. I wasn’t even sure he had much left to play. He reached out to us and said he was in shape and said he felt he owed us. And on the basis of that, we’re looking at someone with international experience who at one time was a heck of a rebounder and could still shoot the ball," Colangelo said.

"You know, being like a 12th man on a roster. Well, it didn’t work out. He wasn’t in shape. And he was way behind as it turned out. So you move on. Call it a mistake. Call it giving someone an opportunity. Someone who had equity with us. Guys who play for us get a little plus."

Kevin Love left Team USA two weeks ago, supposedly because he did not recover from a calf injury in time.

Jerry Colangelo also predicted that the USA would win gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics: "If we win, that’s going to put to rest a lot of the things that have been said. Doom and gloom. If we don’t win, people will have their opportunity to take shots. I’m the one that has to look in the mirror and know that I did my best. I’ll tell you in advance the answer is yes. I believe we’re going to win”.

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