USA Mens Basketball

[Karma]

Re: USA mens bball squad

Will be interesting to whether your young players can adjust to the different rules of international basketball. Team USA were schooled numerously last time, and it wouldn't shock me if it happened again. Team continuity goes along way.

Go the Aussie Boomers!

 

[bomber]

Re: USA mens bball squad

hmm my lineup would probably be

PG: Arenas or Billups, probably Arenas

SG: this is where it gets tough, Wade or the Black mamba(Kobe). Gimme mamba

SF: Bron, other options Kobe, then wade at sg, lebron at pf.. Talk about small, or marion here or PF

PF: Howard, Marion, Brand, Bosh.. Brand

C: Amare, Brand, Bosh, Miller, Howard. Howard

PG: Arenas
SG: Kobe
SF: Bron
PF: Brand
C: Howard

 

[jason436]

Re: USA mens bball squad

Kobe will probably be out with his recent surgery, so put Wade in the starting line up.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Re: USA mens bball squad

Im surprised there isnt more talk about Team USA here. I am PUMPED!!!

Nice article here from Bobby Finnan...

Olympic aim begins with stint in Vegas
Bob Finnan, RFinnan@News-Herald.com
07/19/2006

New-look men's team, which includes Cavaliers' James, hopes 'to restore American basketball'

LAS VEGAS - It's officially called the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team, and its 24-man roster is converging on Nevada for training camp, which opens this morning at Cox Pavilion.
But Team USA has only one objective.
"This group is challenged to restore American basketball to its rightful spot in the world," U.S. Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski said.
Team USA has tapped into the NBA's power source - namely Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Toronto forward Chris Bosh - to return to prominence. Its last international competition - the 2004 Olympics - didn't exactly go as planned. It finished third in Athens - almost a slap in the face to American fans.
Jerry Colangelo, Team USA's managing director, is the man in charge of naming the coaching staff and players.
"Other countries do not have an NBA," he said. "To represent their country is pinnacle. That's the top of the heap. World basketball has gotten better and better. It forced USA Basketball to look at who they were, how they operate. It gave me the opportunity to make things different. Hopefully, what we've done is put us on solid footing. We have a new infrastructure. Hopefully, it's something USA Basketball uses for a long, long time. It looks good on paper. Hopefully, it works."
In the past, USA Basketball tried to pick all-star teams to compete on the international level. It clearly hasn't worked.
"Once we took inventory of what's happened in the past, what seemed to make sense was to develop a new infrastructure," Colangelo said. "For the first time in history, we now have a national team. Autonomy was given to me to select the coaches. Then, in conjunction with Coach K, we selected the players."
The first week of training camp runs from today until July 25. The players will get a week off and come back for a second week starting July 31. They face Puerto Rico in an exhibition game in Las Vegas on Aug. 3.
Team USA will compete in the China Basketball Challenge in Guanqzhou, China. It will face China on Aug. 7 and Brazil on Aug. 8. Then it's on to Seoul, Korea, to face Lithuania on Aug. 13 and Korea on Aug. 15.
The FIBA World Championships are Aug. 19 to Sept. 3 in Saitama, Japan.
Colangelo said Team USA will trim the roster to 15 before the trip to China. The roster will be pared to 12 for the World Championships.
"We're not picking an all-star team," Colangelo said. "We'll have scoring, size, shooters and role players. We need people who are prepared to step in and give us whatever we're looking for."
Krzyzewski said everyone on the team should think of himself as a role player.
"It's not the Lakers or Cavs or Heat, it's USA Basketball," he said.
He said he doesn't care if the players signed max contracts or not. It's about how the pieces make up the whole.
"I like the versatility of our team," Krzyzewski said. "I wouldn't call any of those guys like LeBron and Dwyane a '4' or a '3.' They are good basketball players. We wanted guys who were versatile and have the ability to play good defense."
Krzyzewski said there are no actual cuts. Team USA has a fluid roster culminating with the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
"I would rather not call it a tryout," Krzyzewski said. "No one will be cut. We have a three-year period."
Said Colangelo: "When you create your own rules, it's easy to be flexible. We can add and subtract at any time."
Several players have dropped off the roster for this summer, including Ohio State University freshman-to-be Greg Oden, who had surgery on his wrist. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant had knee surgery, which knocked him out of competition. Teammate Lamar Odom opted not to play because of the death of his infant son. Celtics swingman Paul Pierce will have impending surgery on his elbow, Magic shooting guard J.J. Redick has dropped out because of a tender back and Suns forward Amare Stoudemire is recovering from knee surgery. Also, Pistons guard Chauncey Billups' wife is pregnant, and Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd is getting married.
These players will remain on the roster for future years.
"If there was a legitimate reason why they couldn't participate, we addressed that," Colangelo said. "We built in a plan. These things happen in life - injuries occur, babies are born. Each situation was looked upon on a one-on-one basis."

 

[highplainsdrifter]

Re: USA mens bball squad

Team USA Begins Training for World Championship in Vegas
Before Heading to Korea and Japan
Seoul Searching
by Joe Gabriele
cavs.com

For years, USA Basketball was an international juggernaut. The Dream Teams of the 1990s – featuring the likes of Michael, Magic and Bird – were practically unbeatable. But heavy is the head that wears the crown, and the world caught up with American hoops as the century turned.

Although the men’s senior team struggled to a bronze medal in Seoul in 1988, the first *****s in the armor appeared in 2002, when George Karl’s USA team roared to five straight wins before dropping three of their last four and finishing at 6-3 – good for a disappointing sixth place finish in the FIBA World Basketball Championships. Making matters worse, the squad underachieved before the home folks. (The FIBAs took place in Indianapolis, marking the first time in the 52-year history of the event that it was held in the United States.)

Determined to bounce back, the USA assembled a young, but talented team for the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens. Among the roster of stars was Cavaliers star, LeBron James – the NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year. James didn’t get much run – averaging a scant 12 minutes per game in Greece – and Team USA didn’t get much love. Lithuania topped the U.S. in the preliminary round and Argentina dropped Larry Brown’s club in the semifinals.

Underachieving once again, Team USA finished with the bronze medal.

Countless reasons and rationales were given for Team USA’s disappointments. Despite the world’s surge in basketball know-how, America still had the most talented team in each tournament. But the operative word is “team” and although the senior men’s team boasted one superstar after another, they were simply not a cohesive unit.

But as Team USA prepares for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan – beginning with their first practice this afternoon in Las Vegas and heading to Seoul, Korea – there is a new philosophy to go with their new coach and some diverse new faces.

The new watchword for USA Basketball is ‘cohesiveness’ and this year, instead of a team being selected by committee, there is a commitment to continuity, year in and year out. The players chosen for this year’s team have committed to playing in this summer’s World Championship, next summer for practices if they win in 2006, or for the Olympic qualifier in Venezuela if they finish second or lower in Japan. And of course, in 2008 for the Olympics.

Every member of this year’s team – from established veterans like Paul Pierce to rookies like Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick – passed a face-to-face interview with Jerry Colangelo, the managing director of USA Basketball Men’s Senior Team.

”The players I was looking for are glad to have a chance to give back,” said Colangelo. “At the same time, there is a lot of anti-American sentiment in the world at the moment. If we can represent the country with class, dignity and respect for the world basketball community, then that plays an important part in making people proud of the U.S.”

In the early stages of training, up to 24 players are expected to report. The roster will then be trimmed to about 15 by the end of July and those players will play some tune-up games in Asia. For the World Championship, rosters are capped at 12, so an additional three will be part of the traveling squad and ready to go, but on the sidelines.

Mike Krzyzewski's coaching staff will have to select their dirty dozen from among the following list:

Carmelo Anthony, Gilbert Arenas, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Bruce Bowen, Elton Brand, Kobe Bryant, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Brad Miller, Adam Morrison, Lamar Odom, Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, J.J. Redick, Luke Ridnour, Amaré Stoudemire and Dwyane Wade.

Krzyzewski will seek not simply the “best” players among the pool of stars, but the most versatile 12. He’ll be looking for chemistry and those who can adapt to – and excel under – international rules.

Coach K has his choice among defenders like Kobe, Bowen, Marion, Battier and Hinrich. He’s got a litany of dead-eye shooters like Redick, Redd and Morrison. He’s got pure scorers like LeBron, Kobe, Dwyane Wade, Anthony, Pierce and Johnson. And this squad has something the 20004 Olympic squad was sorely lacking: ball-handlers like Chris Paul, Billups, Arenas, Ridnour and Kirk Hinrich. Coach K also has his choice of versatile big men like Brand, Bosh, Marion, Howard, Miller.

The USA seems loaded again, but once again, the international competition is stacked to stop them.

Spain boasts Grizzlies’ All-Star Pau Gasol and Raptors’ rookie, Jose Calderon. Lithuania will not have the services of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, but will have Pacers guard, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Bulls forward Darius Songalia. Serbia and Montenegro will feature the Nets’ Nenad Krstic and Magic forward, Darko Milicic. France boasts a trio of young NBA stars – Tony Parker, Boris Diaw and Mickael Piertrus. Leandro Barbosa and Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao will represent Brazil. And of course, Germany claims Dirk Nowitzki and China, Yao Ming.

Practices for Team USA begin today in Sin City and the schedule begins to become grueling in mid-August. The U.S. takes on Puerto Rico – who knocked them off in Athens – on August 19 and then plays five games in the next six nights.

The whole World Championship tournament will be completed by the evening of September 2. That makes nine games in 15 days. Fatigue will be a factor, so a deep bench will be critical to any team’s success.

The USA men’s squad is tough, versatile and deep. But they’ve had those components before. Now it’s simply a matter of lacing them up and taking on the world.

 

[cdt]

Re: USA mens bball squad

Only post the first few sentences of the article and then put the link to read the rest

 

[The Oi]

Re: USA mens bball squad

Hahaha. It thought the article was racist...deleting ch1nks in the armor and all.

BTW I hate Chinese people...what with their reckless, unattentive driving and rat-like eating style.











































Kidding, Kidding.