During the course of USA Basketball training camp, players will be checking in on a regular basis to give you the scoop on what's going on in Las Vegas and in the minds of the team as they prepare for the 2006 FIBA World Championships.

Chauncey Billups | Kirk Hinrich | Luke Ridnour
Previous Player Blogs: July 21 | July 20 | July 19

Billups and the team scrimmaged Saturday. Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

It was good to get back and get the juices flowing a little bit today, get some scrimmaging in. Yesterday was kinda light. We got shots and kind rejuvenated our legs a little bit. Today, we got up and down and got after it and worked on a couple of different things that we hadn't worked on before. So, it was a good day.

It ain't no walk in the park either. This is very, very competitive. Nobody wants to go home. Everybody is very qualified. Everybody deserves to be on this team, but the reality of it is that everybody won't. So, it's a competitive situation.

We had a very humbling team meeting this morning. Some troops that have been terribly injured in the line of battle shared their experiences with us. To be able to see with your own two eyes and shake hands with them is a very humbling experience. They let us know that they look up to us. That's kinda funny because it's the other way around for me. I just play ball, you know what I'm saying.

Those are the real heroes. Those are the role models that people should be looking up to. Not myself or D.Wade or LeBron. Not that we're not worthy, but I think their cause is much bigger than ours.

It's horrible watching. I pulled my hamstring a little bit and the trainers thought it would be best for me to sit down and just try to get better as soon as possible, so it won't be something that bothers me throughout the summer, and worse case, into next season.

These guys are fun to watch, but I definitely want to play. That's what I came out here for. It's frustrating sitting out, but my hamstring was bothering me pretty good after the first night of scrimmages.

I just want to get it better as soon as possible and get back out there. My mindset was that I was going to go today. I wanted to see how it reacted in a game-type situation. It's hard for conditioning as well. It just stinks to sit out. I plan on going tomorrow until I know otherwise.

When I found out about the invitation to play here, I was just excited about the opportunity. This is huge. It's a real big deal to have a chance to represent my country.

Today's team meeting with the troops was great. For me, you don't get a chance to hear stories like that enough. You really appreciate what they do and it's great that they can come and show support for us, because we obviously support them and appreciate what they've done. It's really admirable and you really gotta appreciate the people that allow you to live the way that you do.

We scrimmaged today and anytime you get to scrimmage, guys go at it. It's been a lot of fun just to see the intensity of everybody. Even though it's not the regular season, everyone wants to be here and plays hard.

Coack K just wants me to come out, work hard and pressure the ball. He wants to pick up the ball full court and get people involved. I need to be an energy guy.

The fact that none of these guys have played much together puts a little extra emphasis on the point guard, but the system that they have put in is pretty easy to pick up and it gives guys freedom just to play. There's no exact spot for one person to be. Everyone is so talented here, you just got to let them go free.

Today's presentation by the soldiers was awesome. Coach told us yesterday that he was going to have a guest speaker for us and that one really hit the heart. Sometimes, we get caught up in our own little world, but those are the guys that really get it done for us. They let us have our freedom, so any encouragement we can be to other people is huge.