USA Takes A World View of Basketball I like this approach but I wonder if they are going to stick to it. Edit: Should I have put this in the College, International Hoops & NBA Draft forum?
Just to start i am from Australia but i root for USA in Olympic B-Ball because i've grown up with these players-i am an NBA fan and therefore a fan of the players. But it really dissapoints me to see how disrespectful these players are towards the gold medal- Let Argentina, Yugoslavia and whoever else who thinks they are the best team in the world know this: To be the best, you have to beat the best, If the USA send inferior players they will get inferior results-the team they sent to Athens (with the right amount of training, and a different coach) should have won gold-no excuses. However, if they sent a starting 5 of Duncan, KG, Tmac,Kobe and D-Wade, with players like LBJ and Iverson off the bench, they would destroy any team put out there against them-just based on talent alone, just like Barcelona. (Just imagine what they can do with the right training time) I'm tired of hearing how the USA's dominance has ended when they haven't fielded a team of their absolute best since the Atlanta games-if they want the gold, bring on the team that can do it. I was excited to hear how the best of the league became very patriotic when the USA came third at Athens-i thought we'd finally see a team worthy of being called a 'dream team'-but it seems as though alot of them have cooled off- i don't like the idea of team full of role players going to the games-every country sends ther best-the USA should do the same, the very notion that they think they can win gold with role players is more insulting than sending an untrained team of stars. The sky is blue, grass is green, team USA wins basketball gold. It's just that simple. Tmac, Kobe, Amare,Duncan,JAmes, KG,Wade,Allen - make it happen.
The way I see it, a big part of the challenge is to get the right players to form a team. If you can't get the best players, that is your own problem and it CANNOT be used as an excuse. US lost in the world championships and it lost in the Olympics. As far as I am concerned they have to prove to the world they are the best by at least winning one of these two tournaments. Basketball is a team sports. I don't care if US has the best individual players at EVERY position. What matters is if they can put together a winning team. Who is the World Champion? It is Argentina, not US and certainly not Spurs (ONLY a champion of NBA).
The US isn't sending inferior players. It's just that most are shrugging it off and exhibiting inferior play. If this plan is set in motion, these pampered players would have to break a sweat and form a long term commitment over their vacation. It'll be a totally different break from the summer camp mentality we saw in '04. They'd have to work and function professionally instead of acting like pickup team for a celebrity tournament.
Hey now, I understand your point. Really I do. But reign it in a little there. No team will ever match that one. Ever.
paul pierce wants to get paid to represent his country? after that world championships performance?!?! are you freakin kidding me?!?
I like the approach. And, it may mean that Francis will get to join. He's been asking to join for years.
Seems to me that if the guys at Athens didn't want to be there-they wouldn't have come. A team like that can't expect to show up and win Because the talent wasn't of that caliber (it was a 3rd rate team by my standards except for LBJ, Tdiddy and Iverson)-but if USA Basketball really wants to stamp their dominance on the game-they should send the best, train them like they are intending to do with the next team and win the damn thing, because nobody could say they'd lose. Richard Jefferson? c'mon
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/26/AR2005072601649.html this article goes pretty in depth about the steps they've taken in selecting the new team. guys we're sending to the dominican to qualify for 2006 japan: HTML: <div align="center">2005 USA Men's World Championship Qualifying Team Trials Roster</div> </td> </tr> <tr align="center"> <td class="roster-head" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%"> <div align="left"><b>NAME</b></div> </td> <td class="roster-head" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center"><b>POS</b></div> </td> <td class="roster-head" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center"><b> HGT </b></div> </td> <td class="roster-head" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center"><b>WGT</b></div> </td> <td class="roster-head" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center"><b>DOB</b></div> </td> <td class="roster-head" bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left"><b>PRO TEAM/COLLEGE</b></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="white" width="27%">Michael Batiste</td> <td bgcolor="white" width="7%"> <div align="center">F</div> </td> <td bgcolor="white" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-8</div> </td> <td bgcolor="white" width="11%"> <div align="center">235</div> </td> <td bgcolor="white" width="13%"> <div align="center">11/21/77</div> </td> <td bgcolor="white" width="31%"> <div align="left">Panathinaikos (Greece) / Arizona State '99</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Jerome Beasley</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">F</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-10</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">224</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">05/17/81</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Sioux Falls (CBA) / North Dakota '03</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="27%">Charlie Bell</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="7%"> <div align="center">G</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-3</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="11%"> <div align="center">175</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="13%"> <div align="center">03/13/79</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="31%"> <div align="left">Leche Rio (Spain) / Michigan State '01</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Ernest Brown</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">C</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">7-0</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">255</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">05/17/79</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Fayetteville (D-League) / Indian Hills C.C. "00 </div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="27%">Tyus Edney</td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="7%"> <div align="center">G</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="11%"> <div align="center">5-10</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="11%"> <div align="center">160 </div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="13%"> <div align="center">02/14/73</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#ffffff" width="31%"> <div align="left">Lottomatica Roma (Italy) / UCLA '95</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Corsley Edwards</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">F</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-9</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">275</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">03/05/76</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Sioux Falls (CBA) / Central Connecticut State'02</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="27%">Noel Felix</td> <td width="7%">F</td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">6-9</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">225</div> </td> <td width="13%">10/04/81</td> <td width="31%"> Yakima (CBA) / Fresno State ‘03</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Lynn Greer</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">G</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-1</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">175</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">10/23/79</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Dynamo Moscow (Russia) / Temple '02</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="27%">Jimmie Hunter</td> <td width="7%"> <div align="center">G</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">6-5</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">210</div> </td> <td width="13%"> <div align="center">12/24/77</div> </td> <td width="31%"> <div align="left">Sebastiani Rieti (Italy) / Life ‘00</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Kris Lang</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">C</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-11</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">247</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">12/12/79</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Unicaja Malaga (Spain) / North Carolina '02</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="27%">Aaron McGhee</td> <td width="7%"> <div align="center">F</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">6-8</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">250</div> </td> <td width="13%"> <div align="center">06/28/79</div> </td> <td width="31%"> <div align="left">Pusan KTF (Korea) / Oklahoma '02</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Marque Perry</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">G</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-1</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">180</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">01/28/81</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Olympicos (Greece) / Saint Louis ‘03</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="27%">Melvin Sanders</td> <td width="7%"> <div align="center">F</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">6-5</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">210 </div> </td> <td width="13%"> <div align="center">01/03/81</div> </td> <td width="31%"> <div align="left">Dakota (CBA) / Oklahoma State '03</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="27%">Alex Scales</td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="7%"> <div align="center">G</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center">6-4</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="11%"> <div align="center"></div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="13%"> <div align="center">07/03/78</div> </td> <td bgcolor="#cccccc" width="31%"> <div align="left">Samsung (Korea) / Oregon '99</div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="27%">Ron Slay</td> <td width="7%"> <div align="center">F</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">6-8</div> </td> <td width="11%"> <div align="center">225</div> </td> <td width="13%"> <div align="center">06/29/81</div> </td> <td width="31%"> <div align="left">Asheville (D-League) / Tennessee '03</div>
well that html didnt work so here's a link instead...bunch of cba guys and americans in europe http://www.usabasketball.com/men/2005/05_mtoa_roster.html
