EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — Donovan Mitchell sprinted from one end of the court to the other, weaving in and out with his teammates, when Gregg Popovich raised his right hand and stopped the drill.
Not good enough, the coach said. Do it right.
For the past few weeks, the story of Team USA has focused on the All-Star talents who won’t be wearing red, white and blue when the 2019 FIBA World Cup tips off later this month in China. But as Mitchell and his teammates got to work at the UCLA Health Training Center on Tuesday night, the start of Team USA’s second week of training camp, the Utah Jazz guard understood why Popovich had stopped a simple weave drill: this team still expects excellence.