ESPN To Provide USA Basketball Men's National Team Coverage

ESPN will provide coverage of the USA Men’s Basketball National Team as they prepare for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, the network said Friday.

ESPN tonight will air an intrasquad exhibition game, part of four exhibition games and a practice session it will televise this month. Exhibition telecasts include ESPN’s coverage of the the Aug. 16 USA-Brazil game and ESPN2’s telecast of the Aug. 22 USA-Puerto Rico game and the Aug. 26 USA-Slovenia contest, said network officials.

ESPN2 will also televise a two-hour USA Basketball practice session from West Point on Aug. 18,said the network.

The exhibition slate leads up to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which begins Aug. 30 and runs through Sept. 14. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes will combine to carry every game throughout the tournament, said network officials.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.