Luke Winn thinks that the lack of star power was the reason for the USA team finishing in fifth place at the Under-19 world championship in Riga, Latvia recently.

According to Winn, USA basketball invited 49 players and only 20 accepted. 29 players said no, including three players from Duke: Quinn Cook, Austin Rivers and Josh Hairston.

These three players could not have been expected to play for USA then come back and start practice early for a summer trip to China and Dubai.

Because of the trip, the NCAA allows Duke, or any team that qualifies for a foreign trip, an extra ten days of practice.<...

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