Clarkson might play even better in the FIBA World Cup.
Gilas Pilipinas waited patiently for Jordan Clarkson. And now that he is officially part of the crew preparing diligently for the FIBA World Cup, it is full-steam ahead for the national team—finally.
This early, the expectations on Clarkson are already sky high, and it appears the Gilas coaching staff is quite confident both in what Clarkson brings to the table and in how well he can assimilate himself to the team again.
Coach Chot Reyes, for one, believes Clarkson will be even better this time around for Gilas, and that’s saying something because in the two games the Utah Jazz guard played in the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, he posted per game averages of 25.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.
“I'm sure the Jordan Clarkson we had in the windows is not the same,” Reyes told One Sports’ The Game on Thursday. “We're going to get a much-improved Jordan Clarkson this time just by having more practices with us.”
Clarkson, who played in the fourth window last year, will get about two weeks or so to practice with Gilas this time around, and both Reyes and Cone are bullish that time will be more than enough for the former NBA Sixth Man of the Year to get used to his teammates.
“I’m not too worried about that [two weeks preparation],” assistant coach Tim Cone previously told News5’s Martie Bautista. “Jordan in the past times he’s been here, he’s been open to coaching and he’s been open with his teammates.
The Fil-Am guard is quite confident himself, telling Bautista upon his arrival on Tuesday that Gilas has a good chance “to win some games.”
Of course, a stellar, much-improved Clarkson will have to lead the way.