Kenneth Faried ‘Extremely Surprised’ To Make Team USA
Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets has made the final cut for Team USA. But according to Aaron J. Lopez, a beat writer with the Denver Nuggets, Faried was “extremely surprised” not only to make the cut, but to also be named a starter:
#Nuggets F @KennethFaried35 enjoying experience with #USAMNT; says he was "extremely surprised" to get starting role.
— Aaron J. Lopez (@AaronLopez) August 21, 2014
Faried also shared his excitement with Lopez who tweeted the following quotes from Kenneth:
More from @KennethFaried35: "I’m excited about this whole experience… I’m very anxious to go out there and win this gold." #Nuggets
— Aaron J. Lopez (@AaronLopez) August 21, 2014
#Nuggets F @KennethFaried35: "I can't wait to take the court w/ these guys & come back home a gold medalist!"
http://t.co/hCK402LMEl
— Aaron J. Lopez (@AaronLopez) August 23, 2014
Not to be undone, Kenneth Faried also took to his own Twitter account to announce his excitement:
Alhamdulillah!! I'm so bless to be on this USA team & represent my country in Spain words can't… http://t.co/cWXKBKhMjJ
— Kenneth Faried (@KennethFaried35) August 23, 2014
Feels amazing to be back home & representing that RED, WHITE & BLUE at that. Feels like I'm getting… http://t.co/MR7qY5gOV0
— Kenneth Faried (@KennethFaried35) August 20, 2014
His teammates in Denver, along with his college head coach, also wasted no time congratulating their star, dubbed “The Manimal”:
Congratulations, Kenneth Faried!
The Manimal will represent @usabasketball in the World Cup! pic.twitter.com/JybrzNZcxU
— Go Faried! Go USA! (@denvernuggets) August 23, 2014
So proud of @KennethFaried35 for making the USA team! What I love even more is he is still that same HUMBLE APPRECIATIVE THANKFUL man! #HAT
— Donnie Tyndall (@UTCoachTyndall) August 22, 2014
So how exactly did Faried make the cut? Was it his boundless energy and hustle that earned him a spot in the rotation? Or is it more likely the devastating injury to Paul George that caused a ripple effect on Team USA?
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the latter is more likely the reason Faried cracked the roster, citing that once “Kevin Durant left the team [it] changed the complexion of the roster” for Coach K. When George went down, both Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin left Team USA. In fact, as reported by The Inquisitr, Paul George’s injury has drummed up talk of eliminating Dream Teams altogether.
Regardless, Kenneth Faried doesn’t care how he cracked the starting line-up. His only concern is representing Red, White, and Blue in next week’s FIBA World Cup.
[Kenneth Faried pic courtesy of Denver Nuggets Twitter Account]
