The U.S. men’s team was knocked out of the 3×3 competition on Sunday at the Paris Olympics after finishing 2-5 in pool play, with their last five games played without star Jimmer Fredette.
“We fought hard, but we just ran out of energy playing with only three players,” Canyon Barry said. “It’s tough… my heart still breaks for Jimmer. It’s not fair that someone with his character has to go through this.”
Fredette was added to the team to help after they missed qualifying for the Tokyo Games. His performance helped the U.S. enter the Paris Olympics as the No. 2 seed. However, he injured his leg in the team’s second game and didn’t play again.
The U.S. started pool play with four losses. Big performances by Barry, son of Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry, helped the team secure victories against France and China. However, the Americans were eliminated on Sunday after a 21-6 defeat by the Netherlands.
The U.S. team is left wondering what could have happened if Fredette hadn’t been injured.
“Most of our offense was centered around him,” Barry said. “We had to completely change our game plan when he was out.”
The U.S. had the same number of wins in pool play as Poland but lost the tiebreaker because Poland beat them in the second game of the tournament.
“It’s tough because, no matter the situation, we expect to perform at our best and give it our all,” Kareem Maddox said. “We can be proud of our effort, but we’re disappointed with the results.”
Despite the early exit, U.S. coach Joe Lewandowski is proud of the progress the team made after missing the last Olympics.
