Is Anthony Edwards ready to take the mantle from the NBA old guard?

Team USA begins its showcase schedule tonight vs. Canada as it prepares to go for the gold in Paris later this month.

Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill joined Mike Golic Jr. and Jason Fitz this morning on GoJo and Golic to share his thoughts on everything he’s seen from Team USA at training camp in Las Vegas.

Anthony Edwards has made himself the self-proclaimed No. 1 option for Team USA, which is currently a -500 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook to win the gold. GoJo wants to know if Ant-Man really thinks that or is it just braggadocio? Vince says he doesn’t think it really matters, and in fact, Edwards was more deferential to Kevin Durant and Steph Curry when Vince caught up with him later. Vince thinks Ant-Man, in that setting, was just saying what he thought would get attention. Can he be the No. 1 option? Absolutely! And there may be an element of Ant, as the young guy, thinking it’s time for him to take the mantle from the old guard on this team and in the NBA.

What has stuck out so far for Vince watching this team come together up close? Should we expect them to throttle the competition? Vince points out that head coach Steve Kerr has tried to pour cold water on this notion every single day, going as far as to point out that Chuck Daly and MJ played 36 holes of golf on game days back in 1992, which Kerr says won’t be happening with him and Steph in Paris. The rest of the world is much better than it was back in 1992. Vince says that while we may think of some of these players on other squads as role players, inevitably there is some backup that turns into Super Mario with the star in this tournament. Plus, have you seen France? Those are some big dudes, and Vince says Team USA better have their jump shots on point for that contest. So while Vince, thinks it’s likely that the U.S. wins gold, it’s not as much of a sure thing as some expect just because some see the Avengers on one side.

One of the surprises in camp was arguably the performance of 17-year-old Duke commit Cooper Flagg for the Select Team in scrimmaging against those Avengers. Vince says he takes his cues from what he’s seen and what he’s heard from NBA players and personnel. Vince pointed out that the bar was low for Flagg, being that he’s just 17, but he proved he belonged from Day 1. Then on Day 2, not only was it that he belonged but he could make an impact. Moreover, Vince says Flagg isn’t sneaky athletic, he’s REAL athletic. The fact that he went out there and didn’t play scared was what impressed the NBA coaches and USA Basketball as well as earned him the respect of the players.

GoJo points out that men’s college basketball NEEDS a star to get people excited about. But Vince says basketball as a whole needs this. The basketball world needs this. And while he isn’t necessarily comparing Flagg to Larry Bird, he does think he’s the best American-born, while prospect to hit the scene since Larry Legend.

Watch or listen to the full show below and make sure to tune into GoJo and Golic weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.

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Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.

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