COLORADO SPRINGS (Colo.) — Joe Johnson answered USA Basketball again.
Johnson, who is now 40 years old, was one of 12 players selected Tuesday for a pair basketball world cup qualifying games.
Also selected: Tarik Black, Brian Bowen II and Jordan Bell. Langston Galloway, Jared Harper, Juwan Morgan, Matt Ryan, David Stockton, Rayjon TuckerJustin Wright-Foreman and Paul Watson. The majority of the players come from the G League and have some NBA experience.
Jim Boylen was the one who led the Americans in Mexico to a record of 1-1 in their qualifying games. He will coach again the U.S. at these qualifiers. The Americans will open camp Friday in preparation of their games against Puerto Rico and Mexico on February 24th and 27th respectively in Washington.
Johnson, a seven-time NBA All-Star and who only played with Boston this season, was last seen playing for USA Basketball in AmeriCup qualifiers in February 2021. Bowen and Stockton have also had USA Basketball qualifying-game experience.
Next week’s two games are games three, four and five of the six first-round qualifying matchups by the U.S. The Americans, who will likely need only one win to move into the next round, are also scheduled to face Puerto Rico on July 1, and Cuba on July 4.
Four teams are divided into four groups for qualifying from the FIBA Americas. The top three qualifying teams in each group will advance to the second round, which begins in August and continues through February 2023.
The U.S. (1-1) was drawn into Group D to begin qualifying from the Americas region. This group includes Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Group A is made up of Venezuela, Argentina and Paraguay. Group B is composed of Brazil, Chile Colombia, Colombia, and Uruguay. Group C includes the United States Virgin Islands, Canada, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.
The World Cup is where teams can qualify directly for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It runs from August 25 to September 10, 2023. There are games in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines.