SHANGHAI — As Gregg Popovich and his esteemed assistant coaches for Team USA sit each day to discuss just what they have to work with and who they can count on in the upcoming FIBA World Cup, the conversation keeps coming back to Harrison Barnes.
It may sound harsh, but Barnes is the only player for Team USA who “knows how to win,” if for no other reason than Barnes is the lone player on the American roster who has won an NBA championship. He also won a gold medal in the summer of 2016 with TUSA at the Olympics — he’s the only player on this team with one of those as well.
“Pop trusts him,” said USA assistant Steve Kerr, who was Barnes’ head coach with Golden State for two years. “Pop talks about it all the time with our staff. He knows he can count on him to make the right play and to execute under pressure.”
Barnes, at 27, is not the Americans’ oldest player, but he is the most decorated. He averaged 10.4 points for the Warriors in the…
