There will be two former Blue Devils headed to Spain with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Team USA basketball.
Center Mason Plumlee tweeted early Saturday morning that he would be headed to Spain to compete for Team USA and his former head coach in the FIBA World Cup, which begins next week.
Kyrie Irving was also named to the final roster, but was a shoo-in in comparison to the battle for the spot that now officially belongs to Plumlee.
Plumlee beat out Gordon Hayward, Damian Lillard, Chandler Parsons and Kyle Korver for one of the coveted final spots on the American roster. The final whittling down of the roster was announced by Team USA in the hours following its 112-86 victory against Puerto Rico Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
The 7-foot center played well in his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets, but several voices have questioned whether Plumlee was worthy of a spot on the national team. But due to the depleted Team USA frontcourt—Kevin Love, Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin have all declined or withdrawn from training for the event, and swingman Paul George suffered a gruesome leg injury that will likely sideline him for the entire 2015 NBA season—Krzyzewski needed to keep size on the roster, and opted to give the nod to his former four-year player.
Plumlee will be joined on the roster by fellow 7-footers Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons.
Irving competed against the Team USA squad that went on to win Olympic gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London as a member of the Team USA Select Squad. The FIBA World Cup, which begins Aug. 30, will be Irving's first international competition since he helped the U18 national team to the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Rounding out the Team USA roster are Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Kenneth Faried, James Harden and DeMar DeRozan,
Team USA opens the group stages of the tournament with Finland Aug. 30.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.