USA – Deron Williams, Americans to home in on gold in Turkey next year

SALT LAKE CITY (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams is going into this NBA season with one eye firmly on the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Williams helped restore American credibility in international basketball last year when he and his USA teammates went undefeated en route to a gold medal at the Olympics in China.

In no way, the playmaker says, will Team USA treat the FIBA World Championship in Turkey with less importance than the Beijing Games.

"Not at all," Williams said in the Salt Lake Tribune.

"We want to keep it going."

A lot will be at stake for the United States in Turkey.

For starters, the country has not dominated at FIBA World Championships over the years the way it has at Olympics.

The Americans have captured the gold medal on just three occasions, the last in 1994 in Toronto.

Victory in the title game could allow Team USA to gain FIBA's number one ranking, which is currently held by Argentina.

Another incentive for the Americans to win is the automatic qualification for the 2012 London Olympics.

If they fail to do so, then Team USA would have to go through qualifying at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship.

"You don't just get to be in the Olympics just because you're the U.S.A.," Williams said.

"You've got to go out there and earn your spot. So we have to qualify first, and hopefully we can do that next summer."

There is a good chance that Williams will go up against other members of the Jazz in Turkey.

Kostas Koufos played for Greece at this summer's EuroBasket in Poland and Andrei Kirilenko has said he will play if Russia are granted a wild card.

Mehmet Okur could also represent the host nation, Turkey, though he hasn’t played for the national team since EuroBasket 2007 in Spain.

"We'll beat up on those guys a little bit," Williams said, poking fun at his Jazz teammates. "It'll be fun."

The USA would appear to be fully focused heading into the FIBA World Championship.

At the recent EuroBasket, USA Basketball had scouts looking at potential opponents.

Williams has said that he and other players have already received a preliminary schedule leading up to the event.

FIBA