At this point in 2014, Mason Plumlee was coming off a rookie season in which he averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in just over 17 minutes per game with the Brooklyn Nets. Among names like Stephen Curry, James Harden and DeMarcus Cousins, the Duke product was a bit of a surprise on the invite list for USA Basketball's pre-FIBA World Cup training camp.
Plumlee was rather "unknown" ahead of the camp by his own account. But the 6-foot-11 center relished the opportunity, not only surviving the camp, but making Mike Krzyzewski's elite 12-man squad for the tournament in Spain.
Making the team alone was substantial development ahead of Plumlee's sophomore season with the Nets.
"Everybody (in the camp) had done a lot," he said at Monday's introductory press conference. "Really, I was probably the most unknown coming into that training camp because everybody in that camp had done a lot of stuff in this league. Just to be able to pick up things from them and learn from them, it was very beneficial. ... To me, the great part about (playoing with) the USA, it wasn’t the games. It was making the team. The tryouts to make it, it was very competitive. The practices were competitive, and everything leading up to the games. In the games — you’re playing with Steph Curry, Kyrie (Irving), James Harden — things are going to come easy. You learn from it, but… There’s not a whole of resistance when you have those guys on the floor.
"To me, the practices, the training camp was what was beneficial."
For a young player -- just 24 years old at the time -- sharing the court with some of the NBA's top players for a summer and learning their practice habits was crucial to Plumlee's development.
"It was great for me, playing with other guys who’ve done a lot in this league and picking up on their habits from kind of what they use to score the ball or to set-up a teammate," he elaborated. "Just seeing how those guys play with other great players was really good for me. It was a great experience and I tried to carry that into last season, and even now.
Representing his country and winning a gold medal at the 2014 FIBA World Cup paid off for Plumlee as his points, rebounds and minutes per game all increased last season in Brooklyn, especially when his role became more prominent when Brook Lopez missed time to injury. Though a newcomer in Portland following last week's draft-night trade, the experience of playing with the country's elite on the international stage a year ago will surely be beneficial as the Trail Blazers prepare for the 2015-16 season with increased responsibility for Plumlee in his third season as a pro.