By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

I can remember a time when I was watching the famed 2009 Kentucky Wildcats team, filled with four stud freshmen and Coach John Calipari directing the ship. While John Wall’s brilliance was breathtaking and Demarcus Cousins physical build and deft touch was poetry in motion, there was plenty of times I saw my attention gravitate to the smallest guy on the court.

Eric Bledsoe, the backup point guard who started at the two-guard because of Wall, the man who sacrificed his own personal gain for the betterment of the team, was still able to constantly get my attention.

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By Eduardo Maisonet, III / @edthesportsfan

For FOX Deportes

Team USA gathered up a total of 35 rebounds on Saturday afternoon in their 99-94 victory over Lithuania. They out-rebounded their opponent by just two. Their leading rebounder was an obvious one in Kevin Love, but their second-leading rebounder and the one who grabbed the most important deflection off the rim was much more compelling.

That would be Chris Paul, with 7 rebounds on his ledger (along with 7 points and 6 assists), along with a huge rebound late in the 4th quarter that prevented Lithuania from possibly taking the lead, and allowing the Americans to score on their next possession to put the game out of reach.

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By Jose M. Romero / @RomeroJoseM

For FOX Deportes

One thing USA Olympic men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski would like to see from his team going into the London Games is defensive intensity. He broke it down with the points Brazil scored in four quarters against the Americans.

“If this team doesn’t have that, we’re going to get scored on,” Coach K said. “Twenty-seven points in 10 minutes and 42 in 30, it’s a huge difference.”

The squad of NBA stars went from out of sync in the first quarter to forcing turnover after turnover throughout the rest of the game. The USA won 80-69.

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