The United States won its first gold medal at the World University Games since 2005 on Monday in an effort spearheaded by the Kansas Jayhawks (minus Devonte Graham, who was injured, and Svi Mykhailiuk, Cheick Diallo, and Dwight Coleby, who are not American citizens) plus Nic Moore of SMU and Julian DeBose of Florida Gulf Coast. The United States went through the tournament undefeated, though the Americans faced stiff tests from Germany in the gold medal game, as well as Russia and Serbia earlier in the tournament.
The games impact will be felt for much more than the awarding of the gold medal, however. The most obvious way is in the fact that Kansas got unlimited practices to prepare for the Games, and while some members of the veteran heavy Jayhawk team surely don’t need to be drilled in Bill Self’s offense or defensive rotations, the improvement by freshmen Carlton Bragg and Lagerald Vick could be seen from the first game to the last one. Bragg looked comfortable passing the ball on the interior as well as handling it in the open court, and Vick showed off the athleticism that made programs like Kansas and Kentucky covet him in the first place, coupled with the fearlessness to attack 7 footers who play professional basketball.
The other fairly obvious way the team will be helped for next year is in team bonding. The Jayhawks took a trip to Europe before the 2012-13 season and ended up with a #1 seed despite losing two All Americans from the 2012 team that went to the national championship game, and this year’s team will be looking for a similar boost. Although Mykhailiuk, Diallo, and Coleby weren’t in South Korea for the World University games, the rest of the team got used to playing with, and being around each other, and that can only help the team in the upcoming season, even if they struggle to integrate the other pieces at the start of the season.
Lastly, and most beneficial long term, is this can only help recruiting. Obviously being able to show off a gold medal can only help recruiting players in the United States, but it should help international recruiting as well, even if the Jayhawks (who have had Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and now the trio they have this season) haven’t exactly struggled to recruit internationally. While the jerseys ended up saying USA across the chest, the original ones had Kansas, and even though FIBA requested they be changed, there is no doubt that getting the Kansas brand out there has helped tremendously. Germany and Lithuania had some NCAA talent, but most of the teams were made up of players playing in foreign leagues, and oftentimes were players not getting a ton of playing time for their club teams. One wonders if some teenagers in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia watched Kansas chew through the WUG and wonder if a few years in a program like Kansas might help them more than sitting on the bench for a pro team.
The Jayhawks were set to be among the favorites for the 2016 national championship before the trip to South Korea, but this only increases their chances. Facing multiple deficits where it looked like they weren’t going to beat Germany, the United States rallied to force overtime and then double OT, showing off a resilience that they’ll certainly need come next March. Thanks to injuries to Joel Embiid and Perry Ellis (as well as Cliff Alexander’s suspension) the last two seasons, it has been awhile since Kansas has been at full strength in the NCAA tournament, but if they are in 2016, it’s not hard to see them going a long way, and being helped by this experience along their quest for a championship.
