USA players shine once again at Vegas minicamp

LAS VEGAS (2016 Olympics) - USA Olympic hopefuls capped a national team minicamp with a glamorous intra-squad scrimmage on Thursday in Las Vegas.

On the day that USA Basketball surpremo Jerry Colangelo revealed that the final 12-man group of players for the Rio de Janeiro Games is to be announced in June 2016, plenty of the players aspiring to wear the shirt of United States thrilled fans.

Among them was Andre Drummond, a member of last year's title-winning side at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

The Detroit Pistons center led all scorers in the USA Basketball Showcase with 27 points and 16 rebounds but his Blue squad lost 134-128 to a White team that got excellent efforts from two of its World Cup winners.

Kenneth Faried, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay and Klay Thompson were other World Cup winners from last summer to feature in Thursday's game.

Olympic champions LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul attended camp this week but didn't take part in the game.

We were going hard, we were competing, not against each other, but we were competing, period. And, we were having fun. - Faried

"We didn't have everybody for the game, but guys were at the camp," Faried said.

More important the result in an offensive-minded game was the gathering of many of America's top players.

"We got the chance to come back and rekindle the fire that we had from last year, winning the gold medal," Drummond said.

"Being out here with the guys again, getting the chance to work out with them, get up and down, laugh and kind of celebrate the win that we had last year, it was a good time for me."

There were plenty of dazzling offensive performances, including ones from Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (25 points) and a couple of Golden State Warriors who are coming off an NBA championship-winning campaign.

One of those Warriors, Harrison Barnes, had 25 points and 10 boards for the Blue and Draymond Green had a team-high 10 assists to go with his two points for the White.

Colangelo, the USA Basketball chairman and national team managing director, was pleased with the atmosphere and the game.

"We had a great crowd, which is very appreciated, and I think the guys put on a nice show," he said.

After the NBA Draft in June, Colangelo will announce the 12-man roster instead of bringing 16 or more players in for a tryout camp, as happened in 2012.

There will also be a USA Men’s Select Team to practice and train against the men’s national team at next summer’s camp.

"That's the beginning of the next wave of players," Colangelo said.

FIBA