after watching the Rockets play the Bulls tonight, I'd like to invite everyone to submit logical answers to this fill-in-the-blank question: USA Basketball selected Kirk Hinrich for its final World Championship roster instead of Gilbert Arenas because ____. I'm anxiously awaiting responses because, as of yet, I haven't found any answers that doesn't include the term "stupid"
they felt the team would be more productive with someone who is comfortable even though they're not the #1 option on offense.
TeamUSA wanted a 1's 1 instead of a 2 in 1's body. IMHO they should have taken Arenas as his shooting would take a great burden from LBJ and D-Wade. BTW - I like Hinrich. Man do I wish he were the Rox 1.
Yeah, that's probably true. Arenas is a high volume shooter and they obviously had a lot of those already.
I think they are looking for a team and not the best individual group of players. I thought Hinrich could fit in that mold he's just having a sub par season this year.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Arenas spoke out afterwards about how he wasn't injured, it was all made up BS. Also Hinrich is a better role player.. at least for that USA squad.
Nah, he got cut. Team USA is a joke anyhow, I'm glad Arenas wasn't on that Bronze squad. Coach K is overrated...
They wrongly thought Hinrich would be a better role player on the team. With that short-porch international 3 point line, for Gilbert it would be like stealing candy from a baby. He, Michael Redd & Kobe will turn that team around.
They need to make Rudy T the full time coach of the US squad. He can deal with the egos and gets the best out of star players abilities.
Hinrich is an above-average PG and a mediocre player overall. Unreliable shooting is his biggest weakness.
eh? wasn't the 2000 squat being mocked because that team started fights and how Carter and Garnett acted after Carter dunked over that 7 footer? yea, they did get the gold, i guess it just wasn't as bad as the 2004 games.
because hinrich was a better team player. he was a better defender actually, he did pretty well for team USA too.. so its not a bad decision by coach K actually.
So generalizing what I've heard so far: (1) Hinrich is a pure 1, Arenas is a combo 1/2, they wanted a pure 1; (2) Hinrich is a better team player because he knows how to defer; (3) Hinrich is a better defender; and (4) Coach K is a good coach. I'll address these in turn: (1) Hinrich is also a combo 1/2, even on his team, he starts at the 2 with Duhon at the 1. He switches to the 1 with Ben Gordon in the game. He is not a great passer; he is not a great ball handler. What he is best at, penetrating and finishing, are skills more befitting a 2. (This I've learned from watching Hinrich from 2002-2005 while I lived in Chicago) (2) How does anyone know that Arenas wouldn't flourish when he's not the number 1 option? Every single player USA basketball chose for its roster, except Shane Battier, is the no. 1 or no. 2 option on their team. There is no basis to think that Gilbert wouldn't adapt to his role. This guy leads the NBA in 3s, hanldles the ball, and penetrates at will. (3) Arenas' can be a great, not good, but great defender in certain situations, i.e. crunch time. But he saves most of his energy for offense, because he plays a huge amt of minutes. On Team USA, since he'll be asked to play fewer minutes, he is potentially the team's 2nd best 2 way player after Kobe. (4) Having graduated from Duke and having followed the team for the last decade, I'll say this: Coach K is a great recruiter and a great program builder. He is NOT a great coach: not in terms of Xs and Ox, and not in terms of in-game adjustments. Certainly, he failed to make any adjustments to Greece's pick and roll offense during the World Championships. I think, in this case, he (and Colangelo) probably had a preconceived notion about what Arenas can be and what Hinrich can be: and made a spectacularly poor decision.
If you're basing this evaluation on NBA performance, especially pre-summer, you've picked the wrong comparison. Arenas shouldn't have been taken in place of Hinrich. Arenas should have been taken in place of Joe Johnson. Now Joe Johnson defended the perimeter brilliantly and was one of the better shooters for Team USA, but nothing he had done in the NBA would have made me believe that.
I couldn't disagree with you more. JJ was a great 3rd cog in the Phoenix machine. He could shoot, attack the basket, pass (sometimes even played backup PG) & defend. In fact, he was one of their most clutch players. There was a reason the Hawks offered him so much money. His first year in Atlanta he did quite well. Of course this season, he is a legit star player who scores a lot of points efficiently without an NBA-level PG on his sorry team. Hinrich is a good player but no way in the world should he have been chosen over JJ or Gilbert. Not even close. Not within-a-mile close. JJ must have been completely off your radar until this summer.
The best coaches reside in the NBA. It's much easier to win when you always have the best recruits in the country. If these college coaches were great why do they always falter when they get to the big leagues? Winning 9 NBA championships. Now that's something. Coach K couldn't do with these Lakers what the zenmaster is doing The difference in talent between the future NBA players of Duke, UNC, Kansas etc and the rest of the players who have no aspirations to be basketball players, but have found a good scholarship is stark. In the NBA there is a lot of PARITY. Much more difficult to win
How much NCAA basketball have you watched in the last five years? There is just as much parity in the college game as there is in the NBA. Ten years ago, yes I would say there were certain teams that always got the big recruits every year, but now, they are spread all over the country, can you say Gonzaga? George Mason? Those are schools that clearly defined the parity in the college game. I am not going to say there still aren't teams that are expected to win, Duke being one, but you can say that about the NBA as well, Mavs, Suns anyone? Coach K has done a lot of good things and understands the mentality of college players well. and gets them to overachieve... most NBA players have a different mindset, so he took players that he knew he could coach in his style. At least that's how I understood it. This all comes from a person (me) who pretty much despises Duke and Coach K, but I have to give respect where its due. Back to the original question.. you probably saw Hinrich's worse game ever last night. And as someone said before, Coach K had a limit of "star players" on that team because he wanted a team, not a group of players with a lets see how many I can shoot and make on my own mentality. Again.. just my opinion
