Steve Kerr: ‘I Did Not Do a Great Job Preparing’ Team USA for South Sudan Exhibition

Men’s national team head coach Steve Kerr took some of the blame for Team USA narrowly avoiding an upset loss to South Sudan during a Saturday exhibition game in London.

“I did not do a great job preparing our team,” Kerr said after Team USA’s 101-100 win, per Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. “We did not focus enough on what they’re capable of, and that’s on me. I think that really allowed South Sudan to gain confidence early.”

Kerr continued: “They were great. They played a wonderful game and the ending was good for us, just to feel that, to feel what it’s going to be like in Paris and Lille.”

Team USA trailed South Sudan by as many as 16 points, and faced a one-point deficit with 20 seconds left on the clock.

Even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ layup with eight seconds left wasn’t enough to put their opponents away entirely. Moments later South Sudan came within inches of a late game-winner of their own.

The one-point win over South Sudan was the closest Team USA has come to losing an exhibition contest in the lead-up to the Olympics.

The Americans dominated in a 105-79 win over Nikola Jokić and Team Serbia on Wednesday. In two previous exhibition wins, Team USA held six-point margins of victory in wins over Canada and Australia.

Saturday’s game is particularly notable for Team USA given that the two teams are slated to meet again in Olympic competition.

Kerr will likely be keeping a closer eye on matchups for Marial Shayok, who led South Sudan with 24 points, and Carlik Jones, who narrowly missed the late game-winner while posting a triple-double, when these two teams reunite during a Group C battle on July 31.

First up for Team USA is one more exhibition contest against Germany in London on Monday. Kerr will look for a more consistent game from his team of NBA All-Stars during the Americans’ final competition before the 2024 Paris Olympics.