COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The gym at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center is filled with basketball players from across the country this week, but they\u2019re not preparing for the traditional five-on-five game.<\/p>\n
Instead, athletes are sharpening their skills in 3×3 basketball, the half-court version of the sport that has exploded in popularity internationally and continues to gain momentum in the United States.<\/p>\n
Throughout the week, USA Basketball is hosting established 3×3 teams alongside a group of developmental players hoping to earn future opportunities on the national team circuit. For some, it\u2019s a familiar environment. For others, it\u2019s an entirely new challenge.<\/p>\n
While the game may feature the same ball and basket, players say 3×3 basketball demands a different approach than its five-on-five counterpart.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really fast. It\u2019s a lot faster than you think, especially because it\u2019s half court,\u201d said player Max Murrell.<\/p>\n
Former NBA and G League standout Briante Weber quickly noticed the pace as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is fast. It ain\u2019t going to take long for the game,\u201d Weber said. \u201cYou look up and it\u2019s game over. The pace is real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond the speed, players say the physicality of the game can catch newcomers off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot more physical than five-on-five,\u201d said Malik Hluchoweckyj. \u201cThey allow a lot more pushes and shoves, and people are trying to seal you in the post. You\u2019ve got to be able to do multiple things on the court.”<\/p>\n
The camp features a wide range of experience levels.<\/p>\n
Hluchoweckyj is one of the more seasoned 3×3 competitors in attendance, having spent more than four years competing on the tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really just fell in love with the game and got addicted to trying to be a good player on the tour, getting to national team events and doing stuff like that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Weber, meanwhile, is still adapting to the format after building his career primarily in five-on-five basketball with stops in the NBA, G-League and overseas.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting in shape is numero uno,\u201d Weber said when asked about his focus this week. \u201cHealth. And then to see how this goes and continue to build and turn this thing into a Jenga block and just keep stacking bricks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whether players have years of 3×3 experience or are just beginning their journey, the motivation remains the same: the chance to represent the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, when I put the USA jersey on, if I get the chance to, I want to make the country proud and win some gold,\u201d Hluchoweckyj said.<\/p>\n
Murrell added, \u201cRight now I\u2019m treating this as kind of the main thing. After this week, we\u2019ll kind of go from here.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Weber, the format could also offer a way to continue competing at a high level as his career evolves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could play this,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m 33 now. I\u2019m not a young buck. I need to be in a half court a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
As 3×3 basketball continues to grow in the United States, camps like this one provide a pathway for athletes looking to extend their careers, compete internationally and potentially wear Team USA across their chest on the world stage.<\/p>\n
The camp features other professional 3×3 teams from overseas as well as domestically. Competition begins Monday and goes through July 31.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The gym at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center is filled with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":826517,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-826516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}