USA Narrowly Escapes Serbia's Upset: Olympic Basketball and NBA Prospects You Should Know!

[00:00:13] It's Friday, you know what time it is. Front Runner Podcast Collective is back on the air and I am your humble host Vince. Thank you for joining us on this terrific Friday where we're going to talk hoops in a big way.

[00:00:31] And we're going to talk some Olympic basketball, we're going to talk some prospects, we're going to be in our fourth installment on the prospects.

[00:00:39] So if you're not hearing VJ Edgecombe, if you're not hearing Cougar Flag, if you're not hearing the names that you are accustomed to at the high part of the draft, don't trip. Go through the archive pods, 1, 2 and 3 are there and we will just continue this flow.

[00:01:05] As we start to get further into this now, we're going to start I think after this, there's two more batches of these I believe. And then we can start really getting into the prospects and whatever, you know, and going from there.

[00:01:23] So that's what we're looking for and that's what we're looking to do. Today we'll have another batch of prospects that we're dealing with today and we're also going to talk about a little bit of Olympic basketball.

[00:01:34] So I hope you guys are psyched and ready. We are, Bunch of Funch and Saraya are joining me so let's go ahead and do this.

[00:01:43] Before we get to everything, you know what we got to do here, we talk about the socials and the first thing that we're going to do is hit X. So at FrontrunnerPC, also if you can get with the producers and that's at rara underscore Funch FRPC.

[00:02:03] That would be greatly appreciated. The second thing is that we on the YouTube page. So in the search bar put Frontrunner Podcast Collective, put Frontrunner NBA, put Frontrunner Podcast Collective Hoops, put FRPC NBA and that should get us.

[00:02:23] That should get you us. And then go ahead and subscribe to the channel right now. There is the latest on the Lakers and what is going on with D'Angelo Russell.

[00:02:35] We talk about some of the strengths and weaknesses in his game and why people are really kind of sleeping on what he actually is. And then we have Reid Shepard and Zach Levine clips up there.

[00:02:52] I highly recommend all three of these as far as that's concerned. It's my channel so I definitely highly recommend it. But also there's some really good information in there and in the Reid Shepard clip for Houston, there's some interesting questions in there.

[00:03:10] And I would love for people to find those questions and answer those in the comments. And I will go ahead and comment back to you as well. So we have the YouTube page. We have the Twitter. Let's talk about the actual podcast itself.

[00:03:30] As you know, we've had a tremendous basically call to action for people to be a friend and tell a friend about the podcast. I can tell you that the numbers are fruitful and I have been just not just impressed but kind of blown away.

[00:03:51] Blown away by there are people out there who want to listen to us. There are people out there who enjoy the product, the podcast. I am greatly appreciative of your audience ship. So thank you so much.

[00:04:10] And if we can, let's continue this revolution. Let's continue to reach the masses that we need to reach. And let's go ahead and be a friend and tell a friend about the podcast that's given them the NBA.

[00:04:26] They're giving them prospects. They're giving them rumors, news and notes three times a week. Three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. So with all that being said, we can get into the podcast.

[00:04:39] So we're going to go ahead and do so. And we have started with some of these prospects. And of course, we've talked about Cooper Flack and we've talked about Nolan Traore and Vijay Edgecomb. We will continue that same kind of trajectory today.

[00:05:01] And we're going to get into some prospects that are on the higher end and also on, I would say a little bit further down the list.

[00:05:09] So it should be really interesting because we're starting to get into prospects that I usually start off with like the guys who are probably going to have to work their way up.

[00:05:24] But there's a lot of guys in this draft that I really, really enjoy and I really can't wait to just delve in and talk to as many people as I possibly can about them and see what makes them tick and bring it to you.

[00:05:39] So we're looking to get that going as quickly as possible. So how we're going to do this is we're going to start off with the prospects. And the first prospect that we're going to talk about is Kamen Malik. He's going to go to Duke this year.

[00:06:01] He is seven foot two, 250 pounds. He's 19 years old. He is from South Sudan. Great story on the Olympic team from South Sudan and making the Olympics. It's an incredible story.

[00:06:19] It's one of the most, as far as if you're talking about resources or whatever, this is one of the poorest Olympic teams that is currently there. If you know anything about the region, I'm not very well versed in what has gone on in South Sudan.

[00:06:47] I do know that there has just been civil war, strife, struggle.

[00:06:57] And to see just the spirit of these people and just allowing them to have some joy and be able to kind of ignite a spark in their countrymen and have them dare to dream about maybe becoming NBA basketball players.

[00:07:21] And it has to start somewhere. In 1992, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird led a complete all-star team. And the birth of what they did is all of these international players, all the players that we're seeing now. Yes, have there been other iterations or whatever? 100%.

[00:07:49] But that 1992 dream team was so important to global basketball as a whole that we are really seeing the fruits of it. And we've been benefiting from the fruits of their labor for a long, long time. But we are starting to see real difference makers now. Right?

[00:08:14] We got Jokic, we got Luka Doncic, we have Giannis. All three of these guys have won MVPs. I'm sorry, Luka has won an MVP. He has won an MVP for us.

[00:08:28] But Luka, Embiid, people like this, this is the germination process of 30 years of what that dream team did and then the iterations after. LeBron joining, Mello joining, Kobe joining, D-Way joining. You know, so kudos to basketball just being grown across the world.

[00:08:59] And now we get to talk about a young man in the name of Kamen Malik who's going to go to Duke. We talked about his size. He has a 7'6 wingspan, by the way. 12.5 points a game, 8.3 rebounds, 3.1 blocks, 55% field goal percentage where he was playing last year.

[00:09:20] Strengths. Defensive prowess. Malik is already being dubbed as one of the best rim protectors in college basketball. His shot blocking ability is elite and he alters shots even when he doesn't get them blocked.

[00:09:40] Potential is a stretch big. This is interesting. While developing, he has shown flashes of a capable outside shot which could make him a floor spacing big man in the NBA. Now I'm going to tell you this has been very sparse. Okay?

[00:09:57] So if you are looking for this as a regular weapon in his game, I haven't seen it really. It's very rare but they're telling us that he has it which is good because if this can be brought out, this is a very different player.

[00:10:22] Some of the weaknesses on Malik. While his defense is NBA ready, Malik's offensive game is still raw, primarily scores on put backs and dunks.

[00:10:34] His post moves need refinement. Physicality. At 250 pounds, so 2-5-0, not 2-15, 2-5-0. He still needs to add muscle to handle physicality in the NBA especially against stronger bigs.

[00:10:54] Here's the question. He already has a head start because he's 250 pounds. Now if you're telling me that he's not 250 pounds and he's more on the 230 range, then we have something to talk about.

[00:11:10] But with Malik already being 250 pounds, I feel really good about him and even if for some reason he's not able to add on any substantial weight in college whatsoever, at 250 pounds I think he'll be just fine in the NBA.

[00:11:29] This is what the Scouts are saying. Jonathan Gavone of ESPN, Malik's defensive potential is undeniable. The NBA teams are looking at how well he can develop his offensive game over the course of the season if he can show even moderate improvement in his scoring abilities.

[00:11:51] He's a top 10 pick for sure. Our guys at No Ceilings, I want to give them love. This game from the own Scouts are particularly interested in the ability to stretch the floor. If he consistently knocks down the mid-range and 3-point shot, Malik can be a game changer at the next level.

[00:12:12] I'm going to tell you right now, if we see it this year at Duke, it's in a situation where either Duke is trying things, they're being experimental or it's a blowout type of situation.

[00:12:35] I do not see Malik as somebody who is going to end game this year, be able to stretch the floor. The shot doesn't look as refined as it needs to be but there are components to the shot that look great. It just needs work.

[00:12:56] Just like his whole overall game needs work. So I would be hard pressed to think, now if you told me in two or three years that he would be able to shoot the 3, then okay, I can wrap my head around that situation.

[00:13:13] But if you're telling me we're expecting Malik to come into Duke of all places, who didn't let really Paulo Bencaro shoot from the outside if you think about it. Do we think that Malik is going to get that same opportunity? We shall see.

[00:13:34] What the Scouts want to see in Malik this year. The Scouts are keen on Malik to develop a reliable offensive game. This is an underlining situation with his game. He's very, very raw on the offensive side.

[00:13:52] He doesn't dive to the basket with enough force. It's almost like he doesn't know how strong he is or athletic he is sometimes. There's a tendiveness. It's almost like he's big and he doesn't want to hurt anybody sort of thing.

[00:14:14] Watch the YouTube videos. That's what I can tell you about that. There's also watching how he handles more physicality and mature opponents in the paint. Now obviously, again, if you're telling me he's 250 pounds, he's going to be okay in college.

[00:14:36] Now if you're telling me that 250 is not distributed right, like he's really light in the behind or whatever in the hip area, then I can understand what you're talking about.

[00:14:48] Now he is a sleek looking athlete. He is 7'2", 250, but it's not like the shoulders don't look like he is able to put on weight. We've seen guys come in, what was it, Adai Mara for UCLA last year. He came over from Spain 7'3".

[00:15:11] This dude was like 230. He was like a theme pole. So at 250, I'm not as worried about Malik as others are. Let's get into our next guy and kind of weird it out that we didn't talk about him last time because I remember mentioning that we were going to talk about him.

[00:15:32] And we're going to talk about Liam McNeely. He's going to be playing for UConn. Well, it was great. Dan Hurley getting away from the Lakers. Always really happy to relive those times.

[00:15:47] Liam McNeely is a 6'7", 190 pound wing. He will be attending UConn as we said, his stats from last year. He averaged almost 16 points a game, 15.8. He was a 41% 3 point shooter. He averaged 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals a game.

[00:16:12] Here are some of his strengths. He's an elite shooter. McNeely is one of the best 3 point shooters in the class. His release is quick and he's comfortable with shooting off the catch or off the dribble.

[00:16:27] He's a versatile defender. He's strong enough to guard multiple positions and smart enough to know when and where to apply pressure. This is something we talked about with one of the other prospects.

[00:16:42] And I want to bring this up again. What they're talking about right there is two things. As a wing, especially as a wing and when you have this kind of size, you're looking at somebody who's trying to guard the short corner 3 and also provide some paint kind of just assistance.

[00:17:06] You just don't want somebody to be able to drive right down the lane and be able to score. What they are saying, or also dive down on Biggs who have the ball. So basically what you want to do is you want to collapse on the big if he gets the ball because normally bigs are not really good ball handlers.

[00:17:27] Now Jokic and there's a couple others out there in the league that do have that capability. But not every center is very lightning quick with decision capabilities and what have you.

[00:17:44] So I think with something like that, what they're saying with McNeely is that he has his timing on crashing down on the big right. He has that right locked in and also he has the capability of providing assistance when there is a rogue driver from the offense trying to go into the paint.

[00:18:03] He can leave his assignment, which is the corner 3 and crash down and provide some assistance on the defensive paint side. So that's what they're talking about there.

[00:18:15] Weaknesses, creation off the dribble. While McNeely is a great shooter his ability to create his own shot off the dribble is still a work in progress. So dribble package not fantastic. That's okay.

[00:18:31] Athletic ceiling. He's not the most explosive athlete which could limit his up side as a primary scorer in the NBA. Well let's see what Jonathan Gugbani says. McNeely's shooting makes him a lottery pick in most drafts but scouts want to see more from him in terms of creating an offensive play.

[00:19:01] If he can prove he is more than just a shooter, his stock will soar. We're particularly interested in McNeely's defense. This is from no ceilings. His ability to guard multiple positions could make him invaluable to any NBA team.

[00:19:20] This is what scouts want to see. Scouts are focused on McNeely's ability to create off the dribble and his defensive versatility. There's also watching how he handles being the focal point of Yukon's offense. So there you go.

[00:19:37] So now you know. Because we were talking about in one of the, I think it was the first one, the first installment of the prospects, I think we talked about Alex Kerrigan. Alex Kerrigan has been a long time Yukon player. I believe this is his senior year if I'm not mistaken.

[00:19:56] And he has provided everything that Yukon has ever needed from him. Whether it was, hey we need you to lock down their offensive dude. Or we need you to get on the boards tonight. Or we need you to really hone in on this defensive assignment or this defensive principle that is going to basically allow us to be successful this year.

[00:20:26] Or this night, I'm sorry. Now Kerrigan is now also being put in a position where another five star guy is coming in. Castle last year. The previous year you had, he wasn't a five star but you had Jordan Hawkins. So it's going to be interesting to see where Kerrigan lies because that is also a guy that the scouts want to see if he can create off the dribble.

[00:20:56] And with a more expanded role of responsibility because from what I have heard is that Kerrigan is expected to get a little bit more of the offensive load. But Liam McNeely is here to carry the mill. This is a dude who's going to get all the shots.

[00:21:16] And however they go, he goes. You know what I'm saying? So we'll see. I'm excited. Dan Hurley, another good team. And now he's starting to get five star prospects. So this is, he's got the machine rolling and now let's just see how long he can keep it rolling.

[00:21:38] Now for our third guy. We have another Frenchman joining the ranks. Noah Asengue, a power four out of France. So here's Wael. He's 6'10". He's 195. Geez he's small. He's thin.

[00:21:57] 19 years of age. He's playing for St. Quentin in France. Sounds like a prison. But they had another guy who we spoke about in a previous podcast that is playing with the, for the same team. Traore. Traore is playing for St. Quentin as well.

[00:22:17] So this is going to be really cool to see both of those guys play together, play off of one another. How they'll handle their developmental path. You got two guys on the same team. Basically the same age with the same aspirations. It should be interesting.

[00:22:35] Let's give you some stats on our guy Asengue. He is a 14.2 points game score, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 blocks. Some of the strengths. Asengue is a freak athlete with ability to cover ground quickly and finish above the rim with ease. His defensive potential.

[00:23:02] He's a versatile defender who can switch onto guards and hold his own against bigger players in the post. Can't wait to see this in progress but we'll see. Some of the weaknesses. Asengue relies heavily on his athleticism rather than refined skills. His jumper is inconsistent and he needs to improve his post moves.

[00:23:29] Also another weakness. Decision making. He sometimes struggles with reading the game especially half court settings. So let's get what Jonathan Gavone thinks of him.

[00:23:48] Gavone says Asengue is an upside through the roof but he is a project. Teams drafting him will need to be patient as he develops his offensive game. Here's what the no ceiling guy said. Scouts are fascinated by his defensive potential. If he can add some polish to his offensive game, Asengue could be the steal of the draft.

[00:24:13] What's scouts looking for? Scouts are looking for improvement in Asengue's decision making and consistency in his shooting. Performance in the upcoming international tournaments will be closely watched and monitored. Makes a lot of sense right?

[00:24:32] Well here's the thing. I've seen a little bit of him because I was looking at Traore. He is a...how can I put this? It's not that he's just super athletic. He loves to run. He loves to be able to...anything out in space is good for him.

[00:25:03] Notice that they talked about his decision making and what they're really trying to say is his decision making in the half court. Because now the game has slowed down. Now what athleticism can you use if the guy is paying attention to you as his defensive assignment?

[00:25:25] So he's going to have to unlock that jump shot to be able to get to the rim where he does a lot of his damage. He's a crazy bounce. I'm trying to think...well I'm not going to do comps but he's super...he's just a real pogo stick athlete.

[00:25:46] And it all works when we're just playing fast break basketball, open court basketball. When we get into the half court that's when some of the struggles happen. You can see him thinking. Like you can see him processing when he's doing it.

[00:26:05] And it slows down everything and it comes to a halt. And then now you've got the ball getting held for more than 3 or 4 seconds. Let's get the ball some energy. Let's move.

[00:26:17] And here's the thing. This could be a quick little thing as...with Nolan Traore on the team and a single A playing...they're both playing together. This could be as simple as, hey listen. If your first move when you get the basketball...if your first move, your first step isn't getting you the result that you want it to.

[00:26:43] All you really need to do is just pass it back to Nolan. And if he can somehow get that or be in a situation where okay, Nolan's being double teamed because he's like the guy guy. And then just kick it to the corner or whatever and just kind of reset the offense.

[00:26:59] It's the processing speed that he has a problem with. So it's something to work on. He's young. Sometimes things happen quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But the athlete himself...this is where...you know when I say I'm out on Ron Holland, this is where the NBA scout and the NBA executive will never be out.

[00:27:28] Because it's too hard to get somebody who's that athletic. Right? Because if you get him for it...think about Jalen Brown. When he came into the league, he was theoretical. Jalen Brown was an athlete and then all of this stuff has...with time and putting the work in, he has become a more complete player.

[00:27:54] Even the handle has gotten a little bit better. So keep that in mind. Now we get to Michael Ruzic of Croatia. He is a power forward. He is 6'9". We do not have any weight on him as of yet.

[00:28:13] He will be playing for Real Madrid in Spain which is awesome. One of the best teams in Euro League. Stats last year...16.7 points a game. He shot the ball fairly well. 38% from 3. Now keep in mind that's an international 3 so it's a little bit shorter. 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

[00:28:40] Here are some of Ruzic's strengths. Ruzic is a modern day stretch 4 with a reliable 3 point shot. He is comfortable in pick and roll or pick and pop situations. He has a smooth shooting stroke.

[00:28:57] His basketball IQ is also a strength. Ruzic understands spacing and has good feel for the game making him an effective floor spacer. Some of the weaknesses...

[00:29:10] Defensive concerns. Ruzic needs to improve his defense particularly in the post. He is not a natural shot blocker, struggles against stronger opponents. Well he is 19 and he is not the super-duper athlete so he is going to have to learn taking charges.

[00:29:29] He needs to add some strength to compete with the physicality in the NBA especially with the bigs. Well we just talked about that. Let's hear what Jonathan Gaboni and some of the No Seemings guys have said about Ruzic.

[00:29:45] Ruzic's shooting is his biggest asset. It's something the NBA teams are always looking for however his defense needs a lot of work and that's from Gaboni.

[00:29:57] The No Seemings crew said we love Ruzic's potential as a stretch 4 but his ability to defend at the NBA level is a major concern. So he has a lot to work on when it comes to defensive end.

[00:30:13] This is basically, hey can we get you to shuffle your feet faster? Can you get some more lateral quickness? And sometimes all it is is just foot placement.

[00:30:27] Sounds weird but a lot of us, and I know I do it on this podcast sometimes and I'm really trying to work on it, is we are very not efficient with our steps, sometimes with our words, sometimes with how we breathe.

[00:30:51] So he's going to have to get with a coach. They're going to have to basically teach him some basic principles like here's your man, this is space and you're going to need to stay far enough away from him so then when he starts to attack you downhill you have enough space to be able to not get blown by.

[00:31:16] These are things that he can be taught. Now a couple other things. This is what the Scouts want to see. Scouts are interested in how Ruzic handles physical matchups and whether he can improve defensively.

[00:31:29] They're also watching his performance in high pressure situations and the European leagues. Well again it's really going to come down to his defense. His shot is good, he has the capability of being a floor stretcher.

[00:31:45] When it comes to that. But you can't get on the court and show your shooting ability unless you can play some defense and everybody mentioned defense.

[00:31:59] Scouts, people who are in the league, people who are not in the league. Everybody mentioned defense and when that is literally the first thing that comes up in every conversation, when it's regarding you, that says there's a real legitimate issue and it also says that this is going to be your,

[00:32:26] this is going to be basically your locked door to get into the league or to be really successful in the league. You might be able to come in off the bench, hit a couple threes or whatever and then go back to the bench.

[00:32:41] But if you want to play significant minutes in the NBA they got to be able to trust you somewhat on the defensive side of the ball.

[00:32:49] So now our last guy that we're going to talk about here on Frontrunner Podcast Collective and thank you for joining us is Ian Jackson.

[00:32:59] And Ian Jackson is a small forward or a wing or a guard, however you would like to call it. He is going to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He's a freshman. He averaged 17.5 points a game last year, 37% from three, 5.4 rebounds a game and 3.2 assists.

[00:33:25] Here are some of the strengths in Ian Jackson's game. Ian Jackson is one of the most athletic players in his class. He's capable of highlight field plays and transition and finishing above the rim.

[00:33:40] He's improved his shooting. He's worked hard on improving his shooting, making him more of a complete offensive player. Some of the weaknesses that he needs to kind of clean up. Inconsistent decision making. Jackson can be turn over prone and sometimes forces the issue.

[00:34:01] Well usually when you're an elite scorer in whatever case it may be you might have some of that guard complex in you a little bit. Leading to poor shot selection. So okay, yeah exactly what I was talking about.

[00:34:15] So what he does is if for some reason let's say the team has scored like six points in a row and he can feel the momentum switching.

[00:34:25] He turns into I don't trust my teammates the last time I give you the ball you do it with air ball so you're never seeing the ball again. That leads to turnovers and bad shots by him.

[00:34:39] But good news he's going to North Carolina where they look at what Caleb Love went through at North Carolina. And then he had to go to Arizona because they couldn't deal with that. Hubert Davis couldn't deal with that.

[00:34:58] The next thing ball handling. While improved his ball handling it is still not at the level it needs to be for him to consistently create on his own shot. So he's reliant on others.

[00:35:12] At 6'6, 180 this is somebody who primarily should have the ball in their hands and can't. So this is kind of a Jalen Brown type situation because Jalen Brown came into the league without a dribble package.

[00:35:29] And if he's as athletic as he is and as explosive as he is, and I'm talking about Ian Jackson here. He can be a too dribble guy too just like Jalen Brown. You know what I'm saying? Make sure you work on your left hand.

[00:35:47] You know don't wait till year eight like our guy JB but it got him a title so what the hell. No shade on JB. Here is what Jonathan Gavone is saying about our guy Ian Jackson.

[00:36:02] Jackson has all the tools to be a star. He needs to put it all together. His decision making and his consistency will be key.

[00:36:12] Guys from No Ceilings chime in. We're excited to see Jackson develop as a playmaker. If he can refine his game, he has the potential to be a top pick.

[00:36:23] We're asking a lot. We're asking for that guy to really hone in some sort of dribble package in one year. Scouch are looking for how Jackson handles being the primary option at North Carolina and whether he can reduce the turnovers while maintaining his aggressive style of play.

[00:36:45] Key factor. If you're going to have the ball in your hands because they're going to develop him.

[00:36:52] I'm sure he knew about his deficiencies last year and he probably went to the team and said hey so you know Coach Davis how are you going to help me improve my ball handling skills?

[00:37:06] Are you going to give me the opportunity to hone my skills or do I just go to St. John's and play for Rick Pitino who allowed me to do what I want to do?

[00:37:19] So, Hubert Davis is at the west. We're going to see if our guy can handle the ball. He'll be doing it in the non-conference games I believe once we get to conference. We won't be seeing Ian Jackson handle the ball as much.

[00:37:37] Unless he takes a huge leap. So let's see if he got into the lap. Let's see if he made some adjustments. But right now he's just an athlete, two dribble guy and get to the explosiveness, the athleticism and see what you can do from there.

[00:37:55] So that's what kind of guy he is. And look again when we talk about these prospects keep in mind a lot of these guys. And you know I think I said even with Ian Jackson he's 18 years of age. All these guys that we just talked about 18, 19, 18, 19.

[00:38:17] I don't think one guy we talked about today was 20. Let me go back real quick just to make sure because I don't like being wrong. Not when it comes to something I can control. Yeah all these guys were 19 and 18 years of age.

[00:38:33] So obviously there's going to be tremendous time for them to grow. The problem is instead if you're a one and done that means that production will have to come after next year.

[00:38:45] So really for these guys what you're looking for is like whatever the one thing is that you know scouts have been you know really honing in on. Do some work there to make that reasonable. Then you made huge leap to them.

[00:39:07] You know so that is what we're looking at. Again thank you guys. It's been a blast doing it. The producers Serea and Funch have been helping me gather people to talk about some of these guys that you are going to be seeing on your screen very shortly.

[00:39:27] So basketball is coming back. And speaking of basketball coming back it really never left and we're about to talk about the Olympics.

[00:39:40] And the first thing that I want to say is the reason why Front Runner Podcast Collective stayed away from the Olympics until basically right now is because honestly to tell you the truth we have an embarrassment of riches on our U.S. men's basketball team.

[00:40:00] When you have Bam Adebayo, Jason Tatum, Kevin Durant and others coming off the bench. Jason Tatum can't even play right now because once he gets the ball he's not literally reacting as soon as he gets the ball.

[00:40:21] What they want to do is get the ball, make a decision. If your decision don't work drive it to the basket and kick out. Right? That's what they want. They want quick decisions made decisively.

[00:40:38] And for some reason whether he's just tired from playing all these games which were like 100 total or he's just you know it's just not his deal. He's just not mentally there to be this quick deciding decision maker.

[00:41:02] And if he's not going to play for the Olympics then they don't really have a use for him. And there's going to be some DMPs and there has been. But he's playing in France and unless France goes super huge or whatever I do expect that Jason Tatum will play.

[00:41:17] So there is that. But the reason why I say that we didn't talk about him is because honestly to tell you the truth we again we got we're complaining about Jason Tatum.

[00:41:31] When you think about that we're complaining that he's not getting playing time. We're complaining that you know what is it? Why is it not working for him? Keep in mind it's like oh hey don't worry about Jason we got KD. KD you can't get it right now? Don't worry KD will handle it.

[00:41:48] You know what I'm saying? So like you got these the backups are future Hall of Famers. The backups backup is a future Hall of Famer. And you know that's not going down on all the international teams.

[00:42:03] Like the most put together other national team was Canada and they got smoked. And we're going to get to them in a second but let's get to some of these games.

[00:42:17] The last game was a barn burner. I mean Serbia, Jokic that team got hot from three and the United States was down by like 17-18 points.

[00:42:32] And Steph Curry who had been struggling the entire Olympic like whatever you want to call the friendly games, the qualifying games, whatever to get to the medal round our guy struggled.

[00:42:50] But last night just came out and just shot nothing but threes and it was great. It was glorious. It was a glorious situation. It was a glorious situation to celebrate as an American knowing that Steph Curry was going to hit all these threes.

[00:43:06] Nine threes in total, 36 points. He was one of the standouts. He was one of the standout moments in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Steph Curry's 36 point incredible performance which included nine threes helped the United States overcome a 17-point deficit and to secure a 95-91 victory over the Serbs.

[00:43:34] The thing that I want to talk about with this game is that, well we talked about Jay Statham just a second ago.

[00:43:54] But we just, even though we like get mad or argue about like how to develop the young American basketball player and we do see an eroding of actual skills.

[00:44:19] And what I mean by that is I'm not talking about your dribble package buddy. I'm not talking about your side step three pointer or your euro step. What I'm talking about is like boxing out.

[00:44:32] What angle do you need to be in to cut off the offensive personnel so you can be in good defensive position? Things like that. Just like little nuances of the game. Free throws. Are you squaring up your body to shoot your Jay? Just those type of things.

[00:44:59] And albeit we do argue about all these things, unfortunately the other teams across the world just don't have what we have on the bench. No shade to them. We've been doing this a long time.

[00:45:20] But Germany who has Schroeder and Daniel Thies and a couple other dudes or whatever. Schroeder looks like Trey Young. This dude looks like the second coming of Damian Lillard out here for Germany.

[00:45:39] But they just don't have the depth and they just don't have the overall talent to deal with teams like this. Serbia put up a hell of a show. I mean they had the best player in the world, Jokic. That's always a step forward.

[00:45:56] And then Bogdan Badanovic who I have been, that's my white well. If anybody wants to know what my white well is for the Lakers, Bogdan Badanovic, I've been wanting him since when he was in Sacramento. And year after year. I never hear his name pop up in Laker rumors until now.

[00:46:22] Just saying. Yeah, but they just don't have the type of talent to, I mean United States is just rolling out all NBA player after all NBA player after all defensive first team. It's crazy. But that's what we have.

[00:46:46] It was interesting to see this type of situation. Now they will play France because Canadian, the Canadian national team had a disappointing exit. Despite their best rostered bill team in the history of the country's existence in the Olympics, the Canadian national team fell short against France 82 to 73.

[00:47:16] This defeat drew sharp criticism from Bill Simmons as described the loss as embarrassing questioning team's preparation and ability to perform under pressure. That was a missed opportunity for Canada especially given the high expectations surrounding their team. Or one Bill Simmons.

[00:47:43] Now France, who they have. Victor Wimbayama. Now Victor honestly has had not the greatest, you know, performances but he has helped his team get to the gold medal round so here we are.

[00:48:01] France has been formidable throughout the tournament. Their victory over Canada which included solid performance from Victor Wimbayama 10 points, 7 rebounds. Not great. It was solid. It set them set them up for a gold medal game against the United States of America according to basketball news.

[00:48:22] Wimbayama's impact on both ends of the court has been crucial for France and keeping them in it. Now they've gotten some home cooking.

[00:48:34] Some of these whistles because that game against Japan was ridiculous. That four point play where the dudes sneezed on them and they said oh yeah total foul, definitely going to the free throw line.

[00:48:46] And we probably wouldn't even be talking about France being even in this position to compete for a gold medal if things happened differently in that Japan versus France qualifier game.

[00:49:02] So now with all that being said, here we are. Victor Wimbayama he's on the international stage. He's playing Joel LNB who the French wanted Joel LNB to play for their national team until the Americans went in and said listen dog.

[00:49:21] We got a bunch of money and whatever else you need dog we gonna help you. We gonna hook you up but you ain't playing for France.

[00:49:31] Now Joel LNB has come out and said that and I don't know if he's trolling being completely Joel LNB but he said in 2028 he might want to play for Cameroon which is obviously his home country.

[00:49:46] So if this is a situation where we're just gonna have musical chairs of NBA players and who's recruiting who and whatever.

[00:49:55] Now you have to be some sort of tie to the nation. It's not like Jason Tatum could go and say I want to play for the Chinese team. Unless his grandmother somehow some way there's a Chinese person in there somewhere you can't play for them.

[00:50:14] But if you have some sort of legacy tie to whatever nation you can appeal and you can present your case in front of the IOC and get it all squared away. So who knows but I am looking forward to Saturday's game.

[00:50:35] Three reasons LeBron is gonna be playing and this is not a Laker thing this is now history now. We're getting to the point where we know we got less days than more with LeBron.

[00:50:52] I mean that's state not obvious right. So let's appreciate him while he's here because the time is growing near where he will not be here anymore. And then Steph as well and KD you know this is probably their last Olympics.

[00:51:10] Now KD is gonna decorate it Olympian. He has the most points scored in Laker history for the United States and Steph this is his first time but you know just due to injuries and whatever the case may be it just wasn't right.

[00:51:26] But I'm really glad for those guys to get that opportunity. Now I saw on Twitter where I saw the youngsters were salty saying like LeBron and KD and really more LeBron and Steph or take the shine from the youngsters.

[00:51:43] Do you guys know how it fucking works in the locker room? If Jason Tatum will be the best player on that team then guess what a dude would get minutes. Anthony Edwards seemed to have no problem finding minutes.

[00:52:07] So I don't want to hear no complaints about oh Jason Tatum won the title and he can't get on the court because LeBron is holding him down and Steph is holding him down and blah blah blah and all this other stuff.

[00:52:19] Listen we told you about Jason Tatum. We told you. We said on this podcast that he invokes mongrel mentality rhetoric and vibes and I'm telling you right now Jason you walk a real thin line my brother.

[00:52:40] You can't be bringing up Kobe's name and getting DNPs in the Olympics because Kobe would not do that. Kobe would not do that player because Kobe would run through his teammate just to prove a point. Go watch the video.

[00:53:07] Palgasol is a teammate of his they won a championship that dude went right through Pal went right through him said hey man it's about the United States right now so we trying to win. No offense to you right now but I'm gonna put you in the dirt.

[00:53:25] When have we ever seen Jason Tatum have that type of mentality ever. It's okay. It's okay you don't need to have it. You have a great team Boston has insulated you well. You have a killer in Jalen Brown.

[00:53:45] You got you got assassins in Drew Holiday and Derek White. You got another just incredible weapon in Kristoff Porzingis and you have one of the brightest minds running your team and Brad Stevens. So congratulations man go ahead drink a Mai Tai put the little umbrella in it.

[00:54:07] You know I'm saying get you whatever whatever snack you want to you know grow up on or whatever and just chill bro. But you ain't gonna never be Kobe. Understand that. Keep Kobe's name out your mouth. Don't bring up mob mentality.

[00:54:28] Don't bring up how he's your go when you truly don't play like him. You don't and stop acting stop cosplaying. I hate that. I hate fraudulent behavior. I'm saying just don't do that man. It's so wrong. Bro count your money. Get into your third team all NBA.

[00:55:05] Make your all star teams. Win you a couple more championships. But when you talking about low I'm trying to get like Kobe Bryant. Get the hell up out of here with that. Okay. I don't even know if I'm gonna keep that in.

[00:55:23] I might have to take that out. We'll see. But I want to I want to tell you guys thank you again for your participation. Be a friend. Tell a friend about the podcast. Keep that momentum going. Go to the YouTube channel. Go to front runner podcast collective.

[00:55:40] Subscribe to the channel and then follow us on Twitter. And with that being said enjoy your Friday. Enjoy the games that are coming up this weekend and we'll see you back on this feed on Monday.

[00:55:54] And as always the best part of you is you please keep surrounding yourself with people who are just going to for lack of a better term. Brighten your light. You know saying brighten your light and for those who are diminishing your light. Leave them alone.

[00:56:15] Don't have them in your life. And do good do some good in this world and we'll see you back on this feed on Monday.