SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – Less than 12 hours after the heartbreaking end of the NBA season, Joe Ingles received a message from the Australian national team.
“I just got a text message from the assistant coach,” Ingles said during his media availability.
Ingles is a regular with the Boomers, as the Australians are called, and plans to compete in the Tokyo Olympics next month.
He says getting back on the pitch will help ease the sting about the end of the season for jazz.
“It’s hard to think about the boomer stuff right now,” Ingles. “I just want to take a step back and enjoy these few days with the kids. I’ll be home for about six days over the next seven weeks, or something like that. When I get there on the 24th, I think that will change a little because that way I will focus on the goal of winning a gold medal. So I’ll start focusing on that. I think that will help not to have to think about jazz things a lot. “
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Rudy Gobert will try to lead France to their first ever Olympic gold medal, which in his opinion will only help their game.
“It’s a great goal that we have as a team to win a medal in the Olympics,” said Gobert. “For me, it will be another great opportunity for me to keep getting better and try to achieve something great at the same time.”
Bojan Bogdanovic has also signed up to play for the Croatian international in Tokyo. Both Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley are in the US pool of Olympic hopefuls. Mitchell didn’t say what he was up to. But Conley said, despite his hamstring strain that limited him in the playoffs, if he’s selected, he wants to play.
“Absolutely,” said Conley. “If I manage to say my name or at some point be called to be part of this team, I will definitely be ready to accept it.”
As supportive as the jazz organization supports their boys at the Olympic Games, there are legitimate concerns about injuries, especially after a shortened season.
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“I’m not trying to hypocritically say that I don’t want them to attend,” said Dennis Lindsey, executive vice president of basketball operations. “But there is no question that we all hold our breath, that nothing happens. There’s no general manager or head coach in the league who can’t say he’s holding his breath. “
“The guys we have play in their national teams and they are really proud of that,” said head coach Quin Snyder. “I know how important this is to them, and above all, I want to wish them the best of luck because I know how passionate they are.”
The Summer Olympics begin on July 23rd and last until August 8th.
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