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Nuggets point guard set to provide more than just leadership

Billups anticipates being on final Team USA roster in Turkey

By Aaron J. Lopez, Nuggets.com, 7-30-10

As the old soul at the heart of Team USA, Chauncey Billups welcomes the opportunity to serve as a mentor for a squad that was too young to remember much of the 1980s.

That doesn’t mean the 33-year-old is going to concede playing time to Generation Next.

Recognized as one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA, Billups – a.k.a. Mr. Big Shot – plans to be more than just an elder statesman when the FIBA World Championship for Men begins in Turkey on Aug. 28.

“I do embrace my role,” Billups said Thursday from Kansas City, where he was attending his daughter’s soccer tournament. “One thing I love about it is, yeah it’s a leadership role, but a lot of my leading is going to be done on the floor.”

Billups is one of 15 finalists to play for Team USA, and it would be extremely surprising if his name isn’t listed when USA Basketball submits its final 12-man roster shortly before the tournament starts.

Billups, a five-time All-Star and the 2004 NBA Finals MVP, averaged a career-high 19.5 points and 5.6 assists for the Nuggets in 2009-10. He is a smart defender who can create for others or knock down shots at the off-guard position.

“I feel pretty confident in everything,” he said. “You know me. The process is the process, but I feel confident I’m going to be on the final roster.”

Billups was a member of the U.S. Senior National Team that went 10-0 while winning the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in 2007, but he did not play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of personal reasons.

“It’s funny because a lot of countries think the World Championship is bigger than the Olympics – for basketball,” Billups said. “It is going to be a lot of fun. We haven’t won (a world championship) since 1994. I was a junior in high school. It would be an amazing feat.”

Whether it’s the world championship, the Olympics or a week-long training camp in Las Vegas or New York, Billups simply relishes the chance to represent the United States in any capacity.

“I just consider it an honor to have an opportunity to play with those three letters on your chest and represent the whole country – not just a city or a region,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue going forward this summer and summers to come and end up with a gold medal.”

Because of the travel and practice demands on players, there’s always concern that international competition will have a residual effect over the course of the NBA season, but Nuggets coach George Karl is not discouraging Billups in any way.

“I’ve always been one that believes in representing your country and playing for your team,” Karl said. “From what I saw, Chauncey will be an asset. I don’t know how much playing time he’ll get, but I think they’re trying to groom a very young squad into a winning team very quickly. That’s not an easy challenge. I think he’ll be a bridge between the coaching staff and the players.”

Even before Billups was named as a Team USA finalist, Karl planned to manage his minutes in 2010-11. Billups averaged 34.1 minutes last season, down about a minute per game from 2008-09 but nearly two minutes higher than in his final full season in Detroit in 2007-08.

Wear and tear shouldn’t be a problem for Billups in Turkey, given that the U.S. roster currently is loaded with young guards such as 21-year-olds Eric Gordon, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, 22-year-old Stephen Curry and 24-year-old Rajon Rondo.

U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski wants to take advantage of the team’s depth and athleticism, so he likely will be shuffling in players frequently to avoid fatigue.

“I don’t see any of the players being in there for longer than five-minute stretches because of how hard we would want them to play defensively,” Krzyzewski said.

Of the 15 players who will train Aug. 10-16 in New York, Billups (33) and Lamar Odom (30) are the only two in their 30s. Krzyzewski spoke glowingly about Billups’ leadership and versatility during a conference call Wednesday.

“Chauncey and I have a very, very good relationship,” the Hall of Fame Duke University coach said. “He is going to be one of the leaders of the team and has helped me tremendously. He’s one of the top point guards but also he can play off the ball and shoot the ball and defend off the ball. He’ll be one of the key guys that we’ll be counting on.”

Contact Aaron J. Lopez at alopez@pepsicenter.com