“Stretch 4 who creates match-up problems”: Brian Windhorst claims Team USA wants Brandon Ingram to replicate Kevin Durant & Carmelo Anthony’s roles
Brandon Ingram will have some big shoes to fill as Team USA competes in the 2023 FIBA World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. The New Orleans Pelicans forward will try to help the Americans put on a better show than their surprising seventh-place finish in 2019 in China.
On the "Hoop Collective" podcast, ESPN's Brian Windhorst had this to say about the specific role Grant Hill and Steve Kerr wanted for Ingram:
(26:41 mark)
“I was talking to Brandon Ingram today and when Steve Kerr and Grant Hill and Sean Ford who's the general manager of the team came to him, they said, ‘We want you to play the Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant role which is that stretch-four guy who creates match-up problems because of your size’ and his game is similar to those two guys’ games.
“They told him the role they envisioned for him months ago. When he started getting ready for this, he was watching footage of how Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant played.”
When the legendary Mike Krzyzewski took over the Team USA head coaching job from Larry Brown in 2008, he emphasized a stretch four. The “Redeem Team” only had one true center in Dwight Howard but had forwards who stretched the floor like Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony and even LeBron James.
In 2012, Kevin Durant was added to the mix of an already potent roster. Tyson Chandler took on the Dwight Howard role while the stretch-fours were KD, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love and LeBron James. A young Anthony Davis backed up Chandler to man the paint.
Brandon Ingram is expected to be a key cog in Steve Kerr’s team
Steve Kerr and Grant Hill decided to form the 2023 FIBA World Cup roster without the benefit of trials. They reportedly targeted players they wanted two months before the start of the said event.
Kerr’s lineup only has Walker Kessler of the Utah Jazz as a traditional center. Bobby Portis can play a bit of that role, but he will be undersized in that position. Jaren Jackson Jr. will likely handle the big man part with Brandon Ingram and Paolo Banchero playing the stretch four.
Team USA has already played four pre-tournament games and expectedly remained unbeaten. They ran the Puerto Ricans out of the gym and then battered a Luka Doncic-less Slovenia. Spain presented a bigger challenge but the US still won 98-88. The Americans also just beat Greece in another tune-up match.
Brandon Ingram and Team USA’s true test, however, will come once the tournament starts. The Americans will start the competition in Group C together with Jordan, Greece and New Zealand. The Greeks would have been an irksome opponent but without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Team USA should be unbeatable.
The Americans could win the tournament or slump to another embarrassing campaign. How they perform could depend on Ingram's ability to replicate Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony's roles for Team USA.