In preparation for its final chance to qualify the United States men for the 3×3 competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, USA Basketball and Red Bull have partnered to create a unique training opportunity for the 2021 USA Basketball Men’s 3×3 National Team.
A residence in Beverly Hills, California, has been secured and converted into a Red Bull 3X House, a living and training space for the USA Men’s 3×3 National Team between May 1-18.
The same half-court playing surface that will be used this summer for 3×3’s debut will be installed for the team’s training on the residence’s existing outdoor tennis/basketball courts.
The Red Bull 3X House will include commissioned art, murals and photography celebrating the legacy of USA Basketball, the World of Red Bull and the team’s journey.
From the camp, the USA team will travel to Graz, Austria, to compete in the 2021 FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament from May 26-30. Featuring 20 national 3×3 teams, the top three finishing teams will earn qualifying berths.
The USA 3×3 National Team includes: 6-foot-6 Canyon Barry (Iowa Wolves/Florida/Colorado Springs, Colo.), 6-foot-8 Robbie Hummel (Purdue/Valparaiso, Ind.), 5-foot-9 Dominique Jones (Fort Hays State/Harlem, N.Y.) and 6-foot-8 Kareem Maddox (Princeton/Los Angeles, Calif.).
“The USA Men’s 3×3 National Team has an exciting and incredibly important opportunity coming up at the end of May in their quest to qualify,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “The Red Bull 3X House will allow our team members an extended period of time to train and live together and have everything in one place in an environment with health and safety protocols at the forefront. USA Basketball is grateful for the support from Red Bull.”
The USA team that included Barry, Hummel and Maddox finished 7-0 and captured gold at 2019 FIBA 3×3 World Cup, while Jones and Maddox were members of the 2019 USA 3×3 Pan American Games Team that also claimed gold.
“We’re preparing for something that’s bigger than all of us,” Maddox said. “We’re being provided with the resources and avenue to pursue something that is a big part of USA Basketball and the world’s biggest sporting event. What can it be but fun?”
Beginning on May 5, five select USA 3×3 athletes will join the team for training camp including: Zahir Carrington (Lehigh/Philadelphia, Pa.), Damon Huffman (Brown/Petoskey, Mich.), Joey King (Minnesota/ Eagan, Minn.), Dan Mavraides (Princeton/Los Angeles, Calif.) and Craig Moore (Doylestown, Pa.).
The USA men will compete at the FIBA 3×3 OQT in Pool B and on May 27 will play Lithuania at 8:10 a.m. (all times listed are EDT) and South Korea at 9:50 a.m. On May 29, the USA will wrap up pool play against Kazakhstan at 8:10 a.m. and Belgium at 9:50 a.m. The top two finishing teams from each preliminary pool will qualify for the quarterfinals. Quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals, and the semifinal winners and the third-place finisher will qualify.
In 2019, USA Basketball and Red Bull created the Red Bull 3X program, a series of 3×3 tournaments across the country to identify elite players to potentially represent USA Basketball 3×3 men’s and women’s national teams.
3×3 basketball is played with a 12-second shot clock on a half court. Baskets inside the arc and free throws are worth one point, and baskets made from outside the arc are worth two points. The winner is the first team to score 21 points, or the leading team at the end of the 10-minute game clock.
For more information on Team USA fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
The National Governing Body for Men’s and Women’s Basketball in the United States (usab.com)