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Oladipo Slams Michael Carter-Williams’ Team USA Dreams

By Paul Bressler

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Michael Carter-Williams saw his USA Men’s National Team hopes disappear faster than it took Victor Oladipo to hit him with the crossover and slam it down in his face.

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Oladipo made it embarrassingly clear that he fully intended on walking away with the highlight of the night and let the world know about it with a shimmy to boot.

Down five with 2:42 left in regulation, Oladipo sized up Carter-Williams at center court and hit MCW with some slick footwork.

Oladipo started left and before anyone knew it he had already gone back to his right hand with one of the quicker crossovers in today’s game.

At this point, Carter-Williams was at Oladipo’s mercy, and the only thing MCW could hope for was that one of his teammates were going to bail him out by rotating.

It’s safe to say that in a Team USA scrimmage there is little to no chance of that happening. MCW was going to be all on his own on the way to the rack for the facial that followed.

The fluidity at which Oladipo executed the maneuver was a little surprising given the fact he’s not known as an elite ball handler by any stretch of the imagination and his reputation as a turnover-prone guard.

Carter-Williams endured the valuable lesson of “You reach, I teach” and even appears to have gotten away with the and-1 that could have easily been called which would have only prolonged the frenzy.

It’s been suggested that Oladipo might still be bitter about losing out on the 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year award.

Even if that was the motive behind the public shaming, Oladipo doesn’t have much of a case at least as far as that award is concerned.

However, Oladipo is clearly the early front-runner for the poster of the year. Not an award one can place above the fireplace but still one that will live in infamy.

Carter-Williams, who won the award, had one of the more impressive rookie debuts in recent memory.

PlayerSeasonAgeGGSMPFGAFG%3P%2P%eFG%FTAFT%ORBTRBASTSTLBLKTOVPTS
Michael Carter-Williams2013-1422707034.515.1.405.264.440.4315.2.7031.46.26.31.90.63.516.7
Victor Oladipo2013-1421804431.111.7.419.327.448.4584.0.7800.54.14.11.60.53.213.8

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/16/2015.

All kidding aside, Carter-Williams’ chances of actually making the squad are zero to begin with and one play wasn’t going to change that. It certainly didn’t help though.

Realistically, MCW would have to beat out multiple top-level guards to secure a spot anyway.

The talent pool is extremely deep this year with the likes of Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant, John Wall, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson.

Hell hasn’t frozen over just yet.

That is an elite group of guys and a few of them are going to be left off the final roster due to the fact the team only has 12 spots to fill the entire national team.

That being said, it wasn’t all bad for MCW. In a night full of highlights, Carter-Williams had a few of his own including an off-the-backboard alley-oop to Blake Griffin.

In the end, Carter-Williams making the cut doesn’t matter. The opportunity for MCW to learn and grow among the NBA’s very best is the key takeaway.

A minicamp with that much talent in one place is bound to rub off on an impressionable young guy such as Carter-Williams.

It’s a place for him to learn about work ethic and dedication to one’s craft. A place to find out what it really takes to be elite in this league and the value of consistency.

Consistency has never been MCW’s strong suit. That is going to have to change, and it starts with his lack of ability to knock down shots with confidence.

MCW may have even learned a trick or two on his way to hopefully becoming the floor general for the Milwaukee Bucks this upcoming season.

Donna Ditota of Syracuse.com received a response from Carter-Williams via phone that would certainly suggest MCW is soaking everything up.

"I’m excited that I’ve worked really hard this whole summer to come here and show what I’ve worked on, also to watch and to learn. It’s great learning from these guys who have already gone through it, who are stars. I’m just trying to take it all in"

Carter-Williams reaching his potential is just as important to the Bucks’ long-term championship aspirations as Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo reaching theirs.

One highlight that shouldn’t have gone unnoticed during the US national team’s intrasquad scrimmage, at least to Bucks fans, is the ease at which MCW swished this transition pull-up three.

Carter-Williams’ lack of range is the one thing that’s really preventing him from taking that next step, but it looks like he’s been working hard on it during the summer.

Bucks fans shouldn’t hold their breath, nevertheless it’s a good sign.

Next: Jabari Parker's Potential Impact for Next Season

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