Jim Boylen has not spent any time thinking about what the World Cup qualifying standings might look like after USA Basketball鈥檚 game against Brazil on Friday.
He just keeps thinking how the Americans have four qualifying games left.
鈥淎nd in my brain, I鈥檓 acting like we鈥檝e got to win four to get in,鈥� Boylen said.
He knows differently. The U.S. (7-1 in qualifying) can clinch a berth in next year鈥檚 World Cup with a win Friday, when it hosts Brazil (5-3) in Washington. The national team will be wearing the nation鈥檚 colors in the nation鈥檚 capital on Veterans Day, with a chance to lock up one of the 32 spots for the tournament to be played next summer in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
For the U.S., qualifying started nearly a full year ago in late November. For some teams in the FIBA Americas region, it started in April 2021.
It鈥檚 been a long road, but Boylen and the Americans are finally in position to clinch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 never easy,鈥� said Boylen, who has coached the eight previous U.S. qualifying games 鈥� all held in two-game windows, often with a different roster each time. 鈥淓xpect the unexpected. Expect to make adjustments. You just roll with it, keep it simple. I believe we have to be superior at the defensive end of the floor. You hope shots go in, but we have to defend and rebound. That鈥檚 what we can control.鈥�
The World Cup provides the most direct path for teams to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Americans have used primarily G League players in qualifying games; those players know top NBA players will take their roster spots in the World Cup and the Olympics.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very humbling when we have repeat guys and they said, 鈥榊eah, Coach, I loved it and I want to be part of it,鈥欌�� Boylen said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really hard. It鈥檚 almost a thankless job. If we win, nobody talks about it and if we lose, it鈥檚 on the ticker. But I don鈥檛 sell it like that. I sell it as, in the last 30 years, there are 293 guys who have worn the senior men鈥檚 national jersey. They鈥檙e part of the most elite group of guys in the history of the game. People don鈥檛 realize that.鈥�
The Americans have used 37 different players so far in the qualifying cycle. That number will rise Friday; only five players on the roster for both the Brazil game and Monday's game against Colombia have appeared in 2023 qualifying.
Langston Galloway, DaQuan Jeffries, David Stockton, Will Davis II and Michael Frazier II all have played with the U.S. previously in this qualifying cycle; Galloway has the most appearances with six. The rest of the roster is Charlie Brown Jr., Chris Chiozza, Rodney Hood, Alize Johnson, Elijah Pemberton, Henry Sims and Craig Sword.
There are 12 teams remaining 鈥� two groups of six 鈥� from the Americas region, all vying for seven World Cup spots.
The U.S. leads its qualifying group (Group F) by two games with four remaining on the qualifying schedule; the last two-game window of qualifiers is in February. Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay are all 5-3; Puerto Rico is 4-4 and Colombia is 3-5.
Canada rolled past Venezuela 94-56 on Thursday night to become the first Americas region team to clinch a World Cup berth; the Canadians lead Group E at 9-0, followed by Venezuela (7-2), the Dominican Republic (6-3), Argentina (6-3), Panama (2-6) and the Bahamas (2-6). The Dominican Republic topped Argentina 80-69 on Thursday.
The top three teams in each Americas region group, along with the best fourth-place team, will receive World Cup berths. The World Cup draw takes place in Manila in March and the tournament runs from late August through mid-September.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
