USA – Gay: Representing my country helped me raise my game

MEMPHIS (2010 FIBA World Championship/2012 London Olympics) – Rudy Gay is having a banner year for the Memphis Grizzlies and credits that to playing with the Team USA last summer.

Gay played a key role as Mike Krzyzewski’s side took the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey back in September and is currently averaging career highs in most statistical categories for the Memphis Grizzlies, who are in the thick of the NBA’s playoff battle in the ever-competitive Western Conference.

“I learned so much from different players,” the 24-year-old forward told Yahoo! Sports. “I think I took a little bit from everybody.”

The fifth year pro out of Connecticut relished the opportunity to play outside of the United States and doing so for the national team.

“We played Greece in Greece, we played Spain in Spain and played Turkey in Turkey for the championship and there’s nothing like being in a different country and representing your country,” he added.

Gay embraced the challenge of proving his worth not only to the rest of the world his worth, but also to his own team-mates.

“To be in practice and how competitive the practices were, it made you raise your game to another level,” he explained. “You didn’t want to be the guy who over and over gets beaten off the dribble.”

FIBA