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."