http://www.espn.go.com/oly/summer00/columns/wojnarowski_adrian/791701.html Saturday, September 30 Coaches lead Dream Team in poor sportmanship By Adrian Wojnarowski Special to ESPN.com SYDNEY, Australia --- As it turned out, this was a perfect picture, these United States coaches screaming and swearing, chasing the game officials off the SuperDome court. Why wouldn't Alonzo Mourning need a member of the United States delegation to wrap his arms around him and get him out of harm's way? Why wouldn't Vince Carter spend his time preening in the face of a Lithuanian instead of shaking his hand? Ultimately, it comes down to this: Why wouldn't there be chaos on the court, when it can be found on the bench? All they had to do was watch Rudy Tomjanovich screaming a profanity to an official on his way off the floor of the United States' 85-83 victory, when he should've been insisting his players take the time to congratulate Lithuania for one of the great performances in the history of basketball. He should've tackled his little buddy, Larry Brown, when the phony Philadelphia coach chased the referee off the floor with the ferocity he usually saves for a plumb job opening. Another assistant, Kentucky's Tubby Smith, had to grab Brown and physically pull him out of the ref's face. This is setting a standard for sportsmanship? Brown can spend the summer ripping Allen Iverson on issues of accountability, and yet Brown can behave this way at the Olympics while the U.S. players get ripped to the ends of the earth? Remember, they won't let Iverson into the Olympics. Just imagine the national furor if Iverson chased a ref off the court and had to be restrained. And to understand why the NBA players are running around Sydney so sure the world hates them, so sure they've got to bring this nasty edge to the Olympics, is to know that Tomjanovich has been beating this "Everyone hates us," mantra into the team. It just isn't true. The rest of the world wants to love the Dream Team. The rest of the world asked for it. Yet, the NBA players refuse to let them. And this was never the intention of sending pros to the Olympics. The harder the coaches pushed the United States' problems off on the officials, the easier to mask how ill-prepared and ill-advised the U.S. team has been as it struggled throughout this tournament. Most of America can live with the rest of the world working the angles of international basketball, running impeccable offensive sets, packing tight zones and clutching and grabbing American uniforms to slow the game to a sluggish speed. They can live with Lithuania delivering a game for the ages and threatening to bring the walls crumbling down on the Dream Team. Nobody likes it, but they can live with it. Yet, where is the outrage today over the embarrassment of this coaching staff. Everyone loves Rudy Tomjanovich, but the most embarrassing elements of the unforgettable night started and ended with him and his little helper, Larry Brown. For all the grief John Thompson had to endure for bringing home a bronze medal with college kids in 1988, he never embarrassed the country. He just a lost a game to the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Olympics. Looking back, Thompson had the team at a most difficult crossroads. Early entry had started to crush the colleges, at a time the Soviet Union had been dissolved and the top Russian players weren't scattered into breakaway republics. Looking back, there was good reason for the loss. There was a telling scene on the United States sideline with 29.5 seconds left in the Lithuanian game. There was a stoppage of play, the U.S. shooting free throws, and Ray Allen heard a voice telling him to get into the game for Antonio McDyess. After rushing to the floor, there was a wild scene on the bench. Brown screamed to Allen to get back to the bench, and Tim Hardaway screamed to Tomjanovich that the lineup on the floor was too small, and they needed McDyess back in the game. "I didn't just hear someone tell me out of the blue sky to get in the game," Allen said. "One of the coaches told me. It got to be a cluster on the sideline. Everyone was jumping up and down. The coaches didn't all agree on it. Luckily, the players caught it. Tim Hardaway said to Rudy, 'We've got to get Antonio back into the game.'" "...We had confusion at that point. We didn't know who was supposed to be in the game. It got out of hand." As best as players could remember, the coaches hadn't spent much time on these end of the game scenarios in practice. Understand: Before the Games, the rest us can tell Tomjanovich that the Dream Team will never play a close game, that they'll breeze by in the Olympics, but this is his job. He has to have this team prepared. It isn't. "I don't think it should ever get to that point," Allen said. "The coaches need to make it clear to the players how many timeouts we have, who's on the floor, who's the guy we need to stop on the other team, how are we going to play defense. We've got to be in a situation where there are four coaches who need to be able to tell us what we're doing --- and that starts with the head coach on down." In the end, the Dream Team will get beaten and blooded for its performance in these Olympics. Winning a gold medal on Sunday night won't change it. Just this time, people shouldn't stop there. ------------------ Save our children from the TAAS test: TAAS test report card TAAS test fact sheet
Yeow. I was waiting for this to come. This is going to hurt Rudy big time. I wonder where all the players who would swim to Australia for him are now? It's kind of sad that Rudy is being made the scapegoat for this, because it should never have come down to coaching. I hate when Rudy gets bashed. ------------------ I got nothin'.
To hell with the media! I really can't stand the way they are so shady! The true meaning of "bandwagon"...see definition of media. This are the same guys that complain that seeing the pros in the Olympics is boring because all the games are blow outs. These are the same guys that ride the very same jock straps that they complain about. Thess are the guys that will talk bad about V.Carter's attitude or Rudy's frustrations, and then kill for an interview with the person when things are going well. I just wish that there were no so many fans influenced so strongly by what these guys say. Don't get me wrong, all the media isn't bad, but we have to also understand that things are not as clear and cut as they make it. Like does this writer know why Rudy and Larry were upset with the officials. Was the writer standing on the court to possible hear something said to piss them off so? We see Rudy coach all year long and he is not the type of person to just go off on an official for no reason. This is not Bobby Knight we are talking about here. But as B. Knight states, the officials are not always right! Just because the USA has the best basketball players in the world doesn't mean that they should settle for b.s. officiating. Their job is to call the game fair on both ends of the court, and not to have any direct effect on the games' outcome. This writer says we can except the players being grabbed....if that is the case I also expect to hear a whistle blow for a foul! I can't just live with it. I am not blaming the refs for the play of the US, but I have seem some bias and sometimes fantom calls in the games that I have saw. This witer questions if Rudy had the team ready for a game this close, I wonder if he had the same question for Chuck Daily years ago. ------------------
I may get flamed, but if everything the report says is true, they are correct to blame the coaching staff and in essence the head coach. They should have been prepared for end of game situations. He should act in a sportsmanlike manner and remember that he is representing his country. I can only assume he was screaming about the fact that the last second shot was released after time expired but it may have been a culmination of things. Bottom line, act with dignity and respect and demand the same of your players and coaches. ------------------
So why is Rudy T. and company singled out for not acting with dignity and respect? These Olympics have been over-run with classlessness and one-upmanship. To wit: Amy van Dyken spitting in the lanes of her opponents; The American 400 meter runner (the name escapes me at the moment) taunting his other runners with his "c'mon, try to catch me" wave at the finish line; The Russian gymnist Korkina (sp?) ripping her silver medal off her neck because it was not "good enough" for her. The American men's 4x100 meter relay team showing off and clowning around during the playing of the National Anthem. I could go on and on, but you get my point. Sure, Rudy has made mistakes at these olympics. But I just think it is unfair that he gets singled out as showing a lack of dignity by you or by the media. ------------------ Save our children from the TAAS test: TAAS test report card TAAS test fact sheet [This message has been edited by Behad (edited September 30, 2000).]
I don't think Rudy has been singled out. I have read about the other issues you cited, so they are being reported. In particular, the men goofing off on the medal stand during the National Anthem was reported on negatively. Plus, regardless of how others behave, you should carry yourself with dignity and respect. I like Rudy. He is a good coach and the players generally love him, but he is not a saint. There was a very positive article written about him either right before or early in the Olympics. When you're in the public eye, you've gotta take the bad with the good as long as the reporting is accurate. ------------------
My take on this. Maybe Rudy is just too nice a guy to handle this much egos out of control. The player´s coach approach doesn´t exactly fits these players personalities. It´s just like being a boss. If your personell has the maturity to police themselves without being kept on a short leash, fine. But if you are a nice boss and that is perceived as a lack of authority, things can quickly get out of control. Look at Shaq. He never accomplished anything till he got a disciplinary coach. He has said this himself, that he NEEDED the discipline. Being nice can only take you far if you are working with mature people, not with snobs like Vince Carter. Actually, i´m quite surprised at how much leadership Carter has taken in this team. Can you picture Riley in this predictmament? No way. I´m sorry for Rudy, but it´s hard for any non-rocket fans to NOT bash him at this point. Not that it´s his fault, not really. He´s just too nice a guy to handle this bunch . ------------------ By moonlight, we RIDE ten THOUSAND side by side...!
It ain't Rudy's fault the Players are playin like Sh*t ------------------ This signature space for rent call 555 ...
OHH **** THE ESPN ! They had to go blame on someone and its rudy. Wait ESPN, Didnt the players all die over rudys coaching style and how didnt they talk about how they would do anything for him? Besides I know USA has the best players, but **** they make it sound like the other teams are like crap and usa has to beat them by 50. If maybe the insane , overhyped , mj wannabe wasnt there then maybe we could actually blow the teams out and get cheers. ALOT OF PLAYERS ON THE TEAM DONT BELONG ON THE TEAM, this is he worst team that they could put together. ------------------ "You look a team that's been to the mountaintop like the Houston Rockets, I'm going to put pressure on myself to be the best possible player that I can be. With the pieces they already have in place and myself, we can do some amazing things next season." Maurice Taylor
how many times does a Player/Asst Coach Overrule a head Coach? Rudy wanted Allen out there GET HIS *SS OUT THERE! Rocket River ------------------
What the hell are players like Baker and Smith doing on the dream team to begin with. Timmy Hardaway also sucks now. What do they think is going to happen when they cant put the best NBA players in there. No Shaq, Duncan, Hill, Kobe, Iverson, and Webber. Those six players are probably the 6 best players in the league rite now. And none of them are on it. Only Kidd, Payton, Zo, and Garnett are deserving enough to be on the Dream Team, not people like McDyess. ------------------ Fun Police Says: 1. Stupid threads & Stupid BBS names are not FUN! 2. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure are not FUN! 3. Conduct yourself in a FUN way! The Fun Police are Watching. Vote for the Rockets & Have FUN! REDSKINS SUCK!!!!!!!!
You go boy! Thats the way I feel Rockets o3! And the Redskins do suck!! ------------------ Rockets For Better, For Worse......'til death do us part!
Rockets03, the thing is that Duncan and Hill were supposed to be on the team, but they pulled out due to injury. Shaq declined an invitation and no way the olympic committee would allow Iverson to represent the US. Kobe declined an invitation as well cause of marriage. I have no idea why Webber was not asked though.... ------------------ "See they pick and pick and pick. Man they picked me to death." -Steve Francis on the Utah Jazz
I guess it's Rudy's fault that the US can't make layups or can't shoot worth crap. This isn't a one game aberration, the US hasn't looked good in any games, imo. This "dream" team would get killed by the 92 and 96 teams. ------------------ "Only Hakeem Olajuwon is a better athlete." Dick Versace, when referring to Antonio McDyess before the draft.
MY OH MY! how much i wanted to say that!!! very well-said R0ckets03 ------------------ How Sweet it is!
And just to think that Tom Gugliotta was supposed to be there...sheesh! what were the they thinking??? ------------------ How Sweet it is!
There could have been a lot of better candidates for the US team. Aside from Shaq, Kobe, Hill, and Duncan, all of whom were invited but dint play, there is Webber(who'd be much better than Vin Baker) there is Michael Finley(who'd be better than Houston) there is Rasheed Wallace or Karl Malone(who'd be better than Mcdyess) there is Eddie Jones(who'd be better than Smith) there is any number of people like Marbury, Van Exel, T. Brandon, etc. that are better than Hardaway. The point is, as people have already stated, the team just wasnt as good as it could have been. If you put a team out there like this, then there surely will be a lot more close games. Close games, that you just arent prepared for. I suppose Rudy is also to blame for all this, but if you had put a better team out there, all the craziness associated with the close games wouldnt have happened at all. ------------------ president of the dan langhi fan club. [This message has been edited by alaskansnowman (edited October 01, 2000).]
