LOS ANGELES — Disappointing.
Embarrassing.
A reason for reevaluation.
Just a few of the words and phrases that flooded the internet in the aftermath of USA Basketball’s seventh-place finish at the FIBA World Cup. It was the U.S.’s worst finish in a major international tournament, slipping below the humiliating sixth-place Team USA picked up at the World Championships in 2002, widely viewed as rock bottom for the pro version of the U.S. squad.
So: Has Team USA hit a new low?
“You can’t compare the two years,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo told SI.