Paolo Banchero defends decision to pick Team USA over Italy / News - Basketnews.com

Paolo Banchero and USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill talked about the player's choice of national team.

Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images Credit Ethan Miller/Getty Images

It was roughly three weeks ago when Paolo Banchero first opened up on his decision torepresent Team USA in the 2023 FIBA World Cup instead of Italy.

The No.1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft had never even visited the European country before but was always viewed as the federation's top choice for a recruit. Banchero was born in Seattle to an American mother and an Italian father.

Thus, Banchero seriously considered representing Italy as a teenager. Although he had a chance to compete for a spot in Team USA's lineups, he never qualified for a final roster spot. The Italian Federation contacted him, offering then-17-year-old Banchero a chance to play for Italy.

"That was a time in my life where I felt like I couldn’t pass up on that opportunity because my dad’s side of the family is Italian. And I didn’t know much about my Italian heritage. So, I felt like that was the perfect way to get to know more and become closer with my Italian heritage, which I have since then," the playertold Tim Reynolds from Associated Press.

"But COVID kind of took that opportunity for me to play away, and that makes me think all the time about how different my life would have been if COVID never happened," he shared. "But I wasn’t able to play, went to Duke, had a great year, went No. 1 in the draft and, you know, circumstances change."

"It was a drawn-out process, choosing between (USA and Italy). I decided this is where I wanted to be. My mother played for Team USA, so it was always a dream of mine," Banchero told The Athletic's Joe Vardon during Team USA's first days of training camp.

USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill has connected with the Orlando Magic star since Banchero's one season at Duke in 2021-22. According to Vardon, the recruiting of Banchero began when Hill and the player's agent Mike Miller bumped into each other at a local high school game.

"When there was a formal ask, there was no hesitation (from Banchero)," Hill said. "I just know that he's an incredible talent, and he's a young man with an opportunity to be a part of this for multiple cycles."

The Italian Federationslammed the playerafter the choice was made official, sparking a controversy.

"Betrayal, especially in basketball, is a strong word," FIP President Gianni Petrucci told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Situations like this happen, and personally, I'm used to it. But he fooled us."

Banchero is thankful for what the federation did for him -- especially how they helped him in terms of getting his citizenship and learning more about the country.

"But no, I think it was respect on both sides. I was able to send them a message saying thank you and how much I appreciate it. So I think it ended up just fine," he told Vardon.

"You've got to pick one or the other. Someone's going to be left out," he told The Washington Post's Ben Golliver.

"It was a hard decision but it had to be made, and hopefully it was no hard feelings. I feel like respect was shown on both sides," he repeated.

Since he made up his mind, the main thing for Banchero is to get accustomed to a different environment and role than the ones he was used to while in college and the NBA.

"With Orlando, I'm the leading scorer, kind of the main guy," he said. "But here, I'm able to do other things, whether it's affecting the game defensively, on the glass, with my passing, whatever it may be. I think I can showcase the other parts of my game."

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