RSS
@
Twitter
Facebook
It’s déjà vu for the Great Britain Men’s National Team after London-born NBA star Ben Gordon virtually decided not to play for them in the upcoming 2012 London Olympics.
Given all the chance he needed to report to Great Britain’s training camp, Gordon failed to show up until the deadline given to him by head coach Chris Finch during their training camp in Houston.
Gordon, who was recently traded from the Detroit Pistons to the Charlotte Bobcats, was given a spot in Great Britain’s roster despite not being with them since day one, but the Brits decided to move on without him.
“It’s really disappointing as he’s a world-class player who would have made a huge difference,” British Basketball director Chris Spice said. “We are disappointed that Ben is not joining us however we are still on track to select our best ever roster this year.”
The sharp-shooting guard expressed his excitement earlier this year, saying that playing in the Olympics in front of their home-town crowd will be a huge honor, but the recent trade involving him could have impacted his decision not to play for Great Britain anew.
“We knew he might be traded and that it would impact on us,” Spice admitted. “So we always said to him just join us as soon as you can before the end of the month, before we left Houston and before we had to get the team into the Olympic association.”
Gordon became the second key player to miss Great Britain’s campaign in the 2012 London Games after Byron Mullens, who recently acquired British citizenship, opted out due to a toe injury.
Without Gordon and Mullens, Luol Deng, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Robert Archibald, and Joel Freeland are expected to step up their game a notch higher to become as competitive as they can be in the 2012 London Olympics.
Buzz