Tulsa66ers.com recently caught up with Nate Tibbetts, head coach for the 66ers and Team USA for the 2011 Pan Am Games, on the progress of his team after several days of training camp in Tulsa. The Pan American Games, held every four years in the year prior to the Olympics, are being held Oct. 13-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The men’s basketball competition, which features eight teams, is being conducted Oct. 26-30.

On the players’ focus thus far:
We aren’t going to be able to be a good team if we aren’t focused. We are trying to put a team together in a short amount of time. It is extremely important to have guys that are focused in and ready to go every time we come out. We have to play hard and value the basketball to give ourselves a chance.

On if he is pleased how the players have responded to his staff’s expectations:
Yes, I do. We have really good guys here trying out that are committed to do what we are trying to do as a team. I think we have to trust each other. We have to trust our plan and what we set out to do.

On players battling fatigue throughout training camp:
I thought we have been tired to start practice a couple days. We have to battle through it. Tuesday was more of a thinking practice, working on execution. I liked our energy. Overall, our effort has been unbelievable. We have to be able to fight through some of our fatigue because we will play five games in five nights.

On the total of offensive and defensive sets that have been installed thus far:
Defensively, I think we have installed 70 to 80 percent. Offensively, it is still coming along but it probably is about the same. So we are coming along at a great pace. Offense might come a little slower because our big emphasis so far is defense. We want all of our players to play hard at the defensive end. Offensively, it will take some time.

On the initial round of cuts on Sunday:
Cuts are never fun. These are all guys that are very talented. We started training camp with 21 players and we had to get down to 15 on Sunday night. We still have to cut down to 12 guys. I appreciate everyone that came to training camp and the energy and attitude they have shown.

On the experience for his staff to lead the USA Team in the 2011 Pan Am Games:
It has been great. Every day after practice we get into our offices and say ‘We are really doing this.’ It is great as a staff to work with USA Basketball and show how we do things here in Tulsa.

On the excitement of traveling to Mexico and playing the games:
I haven’t really thought about it yet. I need to start. But we still have a lot of work to do in order to be a good basketball team. It is going to be a ton of fun and a huge challenge later this month. We are looking forward to it.