Iowa's Melsahn Basabe disappointed but upbeat after national team exit

NORTH LIBERTY - Melsahn Basabe was disappointed but not dejected Tuesday night, two days after he was cut from the national U-19 men's basketball team.

"I definitely enjoyed the experience," Basabe said before his Prime Time League game. "It was an honor that I got to try out. I gave a good effort. I felt like I could have played better. I have no regrets.

"I felt like I had a fair chance. Good luck to everybody who did make it."

Basabe, an incoming Iowa sophomore forward, was one of 21 players trying out for the 12-member team. Three other Big Ten players -Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan State's Keith Appling and Illinois center Meyers Leonard -also tried out, as did Creighton forward Doug McDermott.

Basabe, who stands 6-foot-7 and hails from Glen Cove, N.Y., said he neither received nor asked for feedback after he was cut.

"I felt like I was out of rhythm in the tryout," he said. "But to be honest with you, being around it, I thought I was just as talented as anybody. I wasn't overwhelmed by anyone or wasn't out of my league. It motivates me more that I needed to take more steps to get to the next level."

Basabe was a member of the Big Ten's all-freshman team last year. He averaged 11 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds a game. He scored 20 or more points five times and grabbed a freshman-record 210 rebounds.

This off-season, Basabe has compiled a smorgasbord of improvements ranging from perimeter shooting and ball-handling work to a conditioning and quickness regimen. That, he says, is only a beginning.

"I'm about to start watching film with the coaches so I can work on my basketball IQ," Basabe said. "The one thing I came back from this weekend is I need to focus on being a better defender and using my athleticism and stop being a pedestrian on the defensive end. (It's) beyond shot-blocking; (it's) rotating quickly, defending people on the ball.

"As a defender I'm kind of pedestrian, to be honest with you at times. I don't get destroyed; I never let anybody do that. But I think that it should be a plus. I want to go from being a neutral defender or a negative defender at times to being a plus. That's what I'm going to focus on."

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery touted Basabe's offseason work in his effort to gain a spot on the national team.

"He's in phenomenal shape, and he's worked on his overall skill set," McCaffery said last week. "He's a rebounder and a shot-blocker, a low-post scorer last year. He's working on his perimeter game putting it on the floor a little bit more - not excessively - and then his jumper, not from 3, but 17, 18 feet. He's really looking good from those areas."

Basabe said he became friends with each of the above players who became finalists for the national team. He'll also face each one of them during the regular season. That's where he says - with a smile - that he'll pay them back.

"My little revenge - so to speak - on those guys," he said.