DeMarcus Cousins admits he would be 'crushed' to miss out on Team USA roster spot

Team USA invited 20 players to their training camp in Las Vegas ahead of the upcoming FIBA World Cup, but coach Mike Krzyzewski will soon be forced to cut down his roster to 12.

While some of the impending selections are more obvious than others, the debate over who should start at the five was brought to a head when it was reported that Mason Plumlee, who was invited to the training camp as part of an extended younger select team, would make the team over DeMarcus Cousins.

And, well, that apparently didn't sit too well with Boogie.

Per the Sacramento Bee:

SB: What is it like playing for Krzyzewski?

DC: It’s different. I can’t say I can’t run, because at Kentucky we ran. I am not sure know what my role is. I’m still trying to figure out what that means.

(At this point, Cousins’ friend Andrew Rogers joins us and displays tweets from ESPN and other news outlets indicating that Colangelo and Krzyzewski favored Plumlee over Cousins. My sources suggested that the competition among Cousins, Drummond and Plumlee remained wide open and that Friday’s scrimmage and ensuing exhibitions would be crucial. Yet when he saw the tweets, Cousins appeared visibly shaken.)

SB: Have you heard anything about your chances?

DC: Nothing. They don’t really tell us much. I saw Coach K in the elevator, but we just chatted.

SB: How disappointed would you be if you don’t make the team?

DC: I would be crushed. Everyone knows how much I want to do this. This is my third year here (two with Select Team), and I don’t run from any challenge. I would be crushed, but I’m not a quitter. I would come back and try again.

Team USA will tip off their FIBA World Cup campaign on Aug. 30 against Finland, before contests against Turkey, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, and Ukraine.