Almighty Zews Earns a Spot on the Pan Am Games USA Team
Twelve players made the cut for the final USA team for the Pan Am Games last Sunday, Arizona’s seven foot center senior Kaleb Tarczewski made the list.
Weeks ago Kaleb Tarczewski’s Head Coach and new teammate Arizona freshman Allonzo Trier‘s USA U19 team played in the Championship game in Crete Greece and beat Croatia in overtime to win gold medals. Now it’s Kalebs turn.
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Zews will train with USA team from July 13-16 in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Bulls practice facility this week, then travel to Toronto Canada to play in the Pan Am Games. The basketball part of the Pan Am Games will start July 21st and last through the 25th.
According to USAB.com about game times and initial opponents:
"“The U.S. men have been placed into Group A and will play all three of its preliminary round games at 9 p.m. EDT, including Venezuela on July 21, Puerto Rico on July 22 and Brazil on July 23. Competing in Group B will be Argentina, Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico.The top two teams from each preliminary-round group will advance to the medal-round semifinals on July 24, while the third and fourth-placed teams will play for fifth-eighth places. The semifinal winners will compete for the gold medal on July 25, and the semifinal losers will play for bronze.”"
Mar 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats center Kaleb Tarczewski (35) dunks to score a basket against Wisconsin Badgers forward Frank Kaminsky (44) during the first half in the finals of the west regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
What’s interesting is that his head coach is Gonzaga’s Mark Few, assistant coaches are longtime former NBA coach Mike Brown (Lakers) and University of Colorado Buffs Head Coach Tad Boyle. This will give Kaleb some insights into how these coaches strategize and maybe pick up a few things to educate Coach Miller, but also these coaches will also get to know Arizona’s big man Wildcats fans admiringly call “Zews.”
The Pan Am Games happen every four years. Multiple sports are played throughout the games. The last time the USA won the basketball championship was in 1988. In the last games in 2011, USA brought home the bronze medal beating the Dominican Republic 94-92 in Mexico. The players and coaches from that team were composed of NBA Development League staff.
It seems this USA team has its work cut out for them as this team is a mixture of professional and college players, but mostly college players:
"Ron Baker (Wichita State/Scott City, Kan.); Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia/Atlanta, Ga.); Bobby Brown (Dongguan Leopards, China/Los Angeles, Calif.); Ryan Hollins (Sacramento Kings/Pasadena, Calif.); Keith Langford (UNICS Kazan, Russia/Fort Worth, Texas); Shawn Long (Louisiana/Morgan City, La.); Taurean Prince (Baylor/San Antonio, Texas);Anthony Randolph (Lokomotiv-Kuban, Russia/ Pasadena, Calif.); Kaleb Tarczewski(Arizona/Claremont, N.H.); Romelo Trimble (Maryland/Upper Marlboro, Md.); Denzel Valentine(Michigan State/Lansing, Mich.); and Damien Wilkins (Indios de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico/Orlando, Fla.)."
What an eclectic group! Should be a great experience on a global stage for all involved. Coach Few had some thoughts on his collective team, “They came into camp with a great attitude and mindset to really work, and now we’ve got to start formulating and playing to our strengths. This is a group that’s got some versatility, and I think we should be able to play a couple different ways.”
We wish them all great success and we will keep you up-to-date on their progress as usual.