What to expect from Mason Plumlee during the FIBA World Cup
After playing only one NBA season, Mason Plumlee will be representing the United States in the FIBA World Cup. After making the most of the opportunity when scrimmaging against the team, Plumlee was able to make it past the final cut and join Team USA in Spain. “Mason all of a sudden came to the forefront and made us say, Shouldn’t we look at this guy.” Coach K said.
Plumlee will serve as a backup on the team, but he will still play significant minutes for the team. Plumlee’s athleticism and ability to move up and down the court with ease should allow Plumlee to give quality minutes to Team USA every time he is on the court. Anthony Davis will start for team USA, but it will be interesting to see how Coach K juggles the minutes between Mason Plumlee, Demarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond.
“Plumlee’s a great communicator.” Tom Thibodeau told Tim Bontemps of the New York post. Thibodeau also compared Plumlee to teammate and mentor Kevin Garnett. The Garnett effect has certainly rubbed off on Plumlee and that is a huge reason for Plumlee’s booming and rapid development.
“He’s a man out there, he’s not scared of nobody.” Demar Derozan said of Plumlee. Derozan described Plumlee as “A tough, tough, big man. Honestly, it’s hard to find a lot of tough guys like him, especially at his age and being in his first year in the league.”
Plumlee’s toughness and lack of fear was shown during his rookie season when he blocked Lebron James’ dunk attempt at the buzzer (no it was not a foul). Although most players are afraid of failure, Plumlee is clearly not. He had the guts to try to contest LeBron James’ dunk and he succeeded.
Playing on team USA just shows how far Mason Plumlee has come since the Nets drafted him. Plumlee’s stock is rapidly rising and the Nets are lucky to have him on their team.