The 2012 Olympic games are fast approaching and for San Antonio Spurs fans, it will give them a chance to see some of their favorite Spurs players (and possible future players) in action before the new season kicks off.
One possible player is Ryan Richards, who was drafted by the Spurs in 2010, who was set to play for the host country Great Britain, but has shocked the British national team by announcing he intends to play for Jamaica and not Great Britain for the upcoming Olympics.
“Clearly Ryan is a talented athlete,” said British Basketball’s performance director Chris Spice.
“He’s been with both GB and England for quite some time. We’re disappointed that he’s made that decision. But we have to move on.”
Some doubt has already been cast on the 21-year-old’s eligibility to switch countries under restrictive FIBA rules.
This isn’t the first time Richards has made a questionable move. Recently, he left Swiss team Lugano Tigers citing personal reasons.
There is no doubt Richards has all the physical tools to be a good pro-player but now one has to question whether he has the maturity, and mental focus as well. Now he has left British Basketball to scramble for players to fill his spot right near the start of their pre-Olympic training camp. In other words, he basically quit on Great Britain.
The more he jumps from team-to-team, stunts his basketball development and it probably doesn’t look good in the eyes of the Spurs front office and coaching staff if they entertain thoughts of bringing him to the team.