Team USA Thanks Knicks Ex Langston Galloway For FIBA World Cup Qualifying Effort
The United States' men's national basketball team set to compete in the FIBA Basketball World Cup deservedly received tons of media attention for their efforts. However, in order to appear in the prestigious tournament, which tips off this week in Asia, a team must play through six windows to clinch its spot.
With Team USA's World Cup roster working through their NBA duties, a Qualifying Team was sent do the job. Former New York Knicks point guard Langston Galloway was a member of that Qualifying Team and averaged a team-high 15.9 points (fifth overall) in 10 contests and five windows.
Team USA rewarded Galloway and his fellow qualifiers John Jenkins (a fellow Knicks alum) and Eric Mika for their efforts by inviting them to participate In their World Cup practices.
"Playing five windows and the buildup to this, I think that sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle because you show up and say 'Hey we qualified, let's get the gold medal,'" Galloway, now playing professionally in Italy, said. "For (USA Men's National Team Director) Sean (Ford) and the whole USA staff to say 'we want you guys to be a part of this because you guys were the culmination of getting us here,' is truly an enjoyable moment for myself and (teammates) Eric and John.
Ford explained why Galloway and his teammates were practicing with Team USA.
"Having John, Langston, and Eric here has multiple purposes and all are benefits," Ford said. "First and foremost, it's great because it's a reward for them. They're worthy of this experience because of their contribution to getting this team qualified for the World Cup."
Galloway, who played for New York in 2014-16, gets to practice with current Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson and small forward Josh Hart. His last NBA experience came with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022.
Team USA begins World Cup play on Saturday morning when they face New Zealand to open Group C play in Manila (8:40 a.m. ET, ESPN2).
You can follow Hunter De Siver on Twitter @HunterDeSiver.
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