Sources say Brand, Wallace chosen for US Team By CHRIS SHERIDAN AP Basketball Writer May 25, 2002 Ben Wallace and Elton Brand were selected to fill the final two roster spots for the United States team in the World Championships this summer, The Associated Press learned Saturday. The choice of two power forwards reflected the concern of the American team that it needed some size to match up with some of the better teams in the tournament. Wallace, the Detroit Pistons forward who led the NBA in rebounding and blocked shots, will give the American team another low-post player capable of doing the dirty work inside. Brand also is a tenacious rebounder, and a much better offensive player than Wallace. The selections were made Thursday by the USA Basketball Selection committee but have not yet been announced publicly. Two executives with knowledge of the committee's choices, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the selections of Wallace and Brand. The players who have already decided to play for the United States in the tournament, which is to be held Aug. 29-Sept. 8 in Indianapolis, are Jason Kidd, Ray Allen, Reggie Miller, Michael Finley, Shawn Marion, Antonio Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz and Andre Miller. The selection committee also was expected to select a player to fill an open spot on the roster as an alternate. Duke point guard Jay Williams, expected to be one of the top picks in the upcoming NBA draft, has already been named an alternate. George Karl of the Milwaukee Bucks will coach the U.S. team. Several NBA players will be competing for foreign teams in the 16-nation field, including six players from the Dallas Mavericks. In addition to LaFrentz and Finley, Steve Nash will play for Canada, Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Bradley for Germany and Wang Zhizhi for China. China's roster includes 7-footer Wang Zhizhi of Dallas, 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming -- expected to be a top lottery pick in this June's NBA draft -- and 6-foot-11 Menk Bateer of the Denver Nuggets. Yugoslavia, the European champion, has a front line that includes NBA players Predrag Drobnjak and Vladimir Radmanovic of Seattle, and Zeljko Rebraca and Ratko Varda of Detroit, along with shooting guard Peja Stojakovic of Sacramento, an NBA All-Star. Other NBA players expected to play in the tournament include Pau Gasol of Spain, Todd MacCulloch and Jamaal Magliore of Canada, Hedo Turkoglu of Turkey and Andrei Kirilenko of Russia.
Is it just me, or does Reggie Miller really look out of place on that team? I guess it's just that most of these players are up and coming stars, while Reggie's best days are clearly behind him. Antonio Davis and Kidd are getting older, but I don't think anyone would argue that they've had their best seasons this year or within the last several seasons. I guess the committee felt it needed another "assassin" nailing shots from the outside. The other countries' teams are starting to look more impressive for sure. It's safe to say "the world" may be closing the gap. USA still clearly has the advantage, but in a one game situation, it is much easier for the underdog to pull the upset.
Off topic but - From a Rockets perspective, is it better to have Yao preparing for the World Games or at the Rocky Mountain Revue?
From the Rockets' perspective, the Rocky Mountain Revue. His first NBA experiences should probably be against big men of his own draft class and the preceding draft class(Gooden, Bordchart, Curry, Chandler, etc... should give him a more reasonable task at this time), not against Wallace, Brand, Davis, and O'neal.
Why George Karl???? I think Scott Byron (spelling?) of the Nets should coach, he has done an excellent job with the Nets this season, How exactly do they choose the coaches?
I'm just glad Raef LaFrentz is representating all the white dudes in America, as being the only "caucasian" player selected on the team. YEAHHHHHHHh BABY <I>No disrespect intented, of course </i>
are these american teams sent to international play still considered "Dream Teams"???? if so, what are we on, like "Dream Team X" yet?
I have a feeling that the 'Dream Team' name only went up to the 96 Olympics, it was about number 3 or 4 if I remember correctly. They stopped using it because there was only one real Dream Team (1992 Olympics). I think. Oh, and it's good to see Big Ben finally getting some respect.
Wow, 13 replies and not a single rant on why Steve Francis wasn't selected... BTW, the 1992 Olympic team was the only "Dream Team". All others are just pretenders...
<i>Why George Karl???? </i><p> Given the Bucks' meltdown this year, and Karl's perennial instability, you gotta figure he wasn't their first choice. Most likely the gig is not a coveted one.<p> A lot of players probably passed as well: Shaq, Kobe, T-Mac, Iverson, just for starters. Team USA ain't what it used to be.
I know what the NBA is doing... You see, we could easily send Shaq, Kobe, McGrady, Duncan, Webber, Francis, Iverson, et. al. over to Indianapolis this summer and whack the other teams by 50 each time, but David Stern is in the midst of a HUGE global marketing campaign. If the games are competitive, then more international fans will watch. People in other countries also don't want to see the same players over and over again, so the NBA is sending new guys to international competitions. Additionally, If young foreign prospects see the international teams get beat down by a stacked United States team, they might get intimidated by our players and not want to play over here. More international players over here = more international viewers over there... The NBA is playing this perfectly...
That theory accounts only accounts for the players, not the addled coach, unless the potential for Karl to have a nervous breakdown is thought to even the playing field and enhance international fan interest.
Yeah ditto, I was hoping that it was Rasheed Wallace who in my opinion is one of the top forwards in the league. Don't get me wrong, I like Ben's shot blocking, rebounding, and over all defense but when it comes to offense, he flat out sucks. Rasheed could provide some unforgettable moments with his insane alley oops. But I guess its best because he could explode and cost us the game.
Rasheed Wallace's volatility is another phony issue. I don't know how many times he was DQ'd this year, but in 2001, when the right-wing sports press was most worked up about him, he got DQ'd all of 2 times on T's.<p> The cancer responsible for the Blazers' lack of success relative to their talent is, of course, Scott Pippen, who once said to his teammates of Mike Dunleavy "Don't listen to that *******."<p> But then being able to manage guys like Rodman, Pippen, and Wallace is the difference between winners like Chuck Daly and Phil Jackson, and losers like Dunleavy and Del Harris (who comically mismanaged the Rodman situation in SA).<p>
