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Team USA Must Select 2012 Olympians Without Benefit of a Camp

February 18, 2011   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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LOS ANGELES — Chris Bosh does not envy Jerry Colangelo.

For the 2008 Olympics, Colangelo, USA Basketball’s chairman, had until July 1 to set the roster, which was shortly after Team USA had scheduled a minicamp June 27-28 in Las Vegas, although the players actually were decided upon before the camp. But, if the Americans want to have a camp before choosing the final roster for the 2012 Games in London, it won’t be possible.

Due to the upcoming Olympics starting July 27, 2012, as opposed to the Bejing Games beginning Aug. 8, 2008, nations must provide the names of 12 players and six alternatives by June 18, 2012. That won’t be enough time to have a minicamp to give Colangelo, with the help of coach Mike Krzyzewski, a final chance to evaluate players.

“There’s so many great players with the national team right now, I’m glad I don’t have to pick them,” Bosh, the Miami forward who played in the 2008 Olympics, said during All-Star Weekend on Friday when asked about the process perhaps being made more difficult due to the earlier start of the London Olympics.

The are 10 holdovers from the 2008 Olympic gold-medal winning outfit in Team USA’s pool of 34 players for 2012 and 12 off last summer’s World Championship team that won gold to clinch a a 2012 Olympic berth. The number should rise to 35 due to Colangelo saying Friday Clippers forward Blake Griffin is a good bet to be added.

 

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Blake Griffin Keeps Eye on John Wall in NBA Rookie of the Year Race

November 08, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Blake GriffinTom Petty might have sung “the waiting is the hardest part.” But that doesn’t mean it’s too late for Blake Griffin to be “runnin’ down a dream.”

If the Los Angeles Clippers‘ power forward is named NBA Rookie of the Year this season, he would join Hall of Famers Jerry Lucas, Larry Bird and David Robinson in a most interesting category. They are the only players to have won the award in a year other than the one immediately after being drafted.

Lucas, the 1963-64 winner, was drafted in 1962 but wasn’t active in the NBA for a year because he was going to play for the American Basketball League’s Cleveland Pipers until the league folded. Bird, the 1979-80 honoree, was drafted in 1978 but went back to Indiana State for a final season. And Robinson, who hoisted the trophy in 1989-90, was drafted out of Navy in 1987 but had to fulfill two years of military service.

That brings us to Griffin, the top pick in the 2009 draft from Oklahoma. He missed all of last season due to a knee injury, but is back and ready to battle 2010 No. 1 pick John Wall of Washington for rookie honors.

“It’d be an honor to win it,” Griffin said in an interview with FanHouse. “But I’d gladly give up that trophy to make a playoff run.”

 

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Colangelo Plans Gathering of 2008 and 2010 Team USA Gold Medalists

November 05, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Every time Jerry Colangelo turns around, another player from the 2008 Olympic team is committing through the media for the 2012 Games.

“I don’t even need to reach out to them,” the USA Basketball chairman said in an interview with FanHouse on Friday “They’re doing it for me. … The end of the story is the fact so many guys have been outspoken about wanting to play in (London) is wonderful and music to our ears.”

This week, key 2008 gold medalists Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard all told the media they were in for 2012. Last summer, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul publicly declared it at a USA Basketball event in New York, although Anthony has never wavered from that desire. And Deron Williams told FanHouse last week he wants to play in London.

So that’s six of the top eight scorers from 2008 to have said they want to make another run at an Olympic gold. Of the other two, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh say it’s too early to make a decision.

“I think back to 2005, when I was asked to take over USA Basketball,” Colangelo said. “A lot of players didn’t care about representing their country. History can speak for itself what has taken place. It’s fulfilling how players have come forward without any prodding.”

 

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Durant Leads Team USA to First Worlds Gold Since 1994

September 12, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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ISTANBUL — Turns out they were even calling themselves the B-team. Take it from American forward Andre Iguodala.

“We were the B-Team,” he said. “We beat everybody. That’s what we say.”

The Americans sure did. They finished off a 9-0 run Sunday at the FIBA World Championship with a resounding 81-64 win over host Turkey before a raucous crowd at the Sinan Erdem Dome. It marked Team USA’s first gold in the event since 1994.

But this one was hardly considered a formality. Whether it was called the B-Team, the junior varsity or the leftovers, all the talk about the top NBA superstars not being on hand fired up the guys in red, white and blue.

“That was everybody’s motivation,” said forward Kevin Durant. “Back in the United States, everybody doubted us and said it was going to be tough for us. But we came out and proved everybody wrong.”

The Americans arrived in Turkey without any holdovers from the gold-medal winning 2008 Olympic team, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard. But, as it turned out, Durant is as good as any of those guys.

The Oklahoma City forward continued his amazing tournament with 28 points Sunday. He averaged a U.S. Worlds record 22.8 points for the event, including averaging 33.0 in the final three games, which counted the most.

 

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Team USA Notebook: Importance of Winning Gold, Rose on Carmelo

September 10, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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Jerry ColangeloISTANBUL — It’s a weekend that will determine the next two years for Team USA.

If the Americans, who face Lithuania in a semifinal Saturday, win the FIBA World Championship gold medal Sunday at the Sinan Erdem Dome, they will clinch a berth to the 2012 Olympics in London.

But if Team USA falls short and an NBA lockout prevents NBA players from participating in an Americas qualifying tournament next summer in Argentina, there could be some anxious moments. With many observers believing there will be a lockout, FanHouse two weeks ago looked at what could happen if the Americans don’t win the Worlds gold.

“If we can come away with a championship, it would clarify things for us next summer,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in an interview Friday with FanHouse. “It’s not a matter of urgency. What it is is reality. The reality is if you win, you don’t have to be concerned with next summer because you’ve automatically qualified. If you don’t win, everything is up in the air because you don’t know what’s going to happen next summer (with the NBA collective bargaining agreement expiring June 30, 2011).

“I know the easiest thing for me is, let’s win. And then we can kind of ride the storm out, whatever that storm is. … The easiest path is win, and then everything else takes care of itself.”

 

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Lithuania a Familiar Foil for Team USA

September 10, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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ISTANBUL — Jerry Colangelo was the architect of the Redeem Team. But where did it all start that USA Basketball would need redemption?

Chinks in the armor began courtesy of Lithuania, a tiny nation of 3.3 million, about the size of Connecticut.

In 1992, the Dream Team rolled to a gold medal in the first Olympics with NBA players. That was followed by NBA stars leading the Americans to easy wins in the 1994 FIBA World Championship and the 1996 Olympics.

An NBA lockout stalled matters in 1998, and a group of minor leaguers and college kids took bronze at the Worlds. Then came the 2000 Olympics, when the Americans had a good team but one that was also missing some very top NBA players.

Entering the event, U.S. pro players had not played a game closer than 15 points while going undefeated in 1992, 1994 and 1996. In group play in 2000, they beat Lithuania by just nine. And in an Olympic semifinal Lithuania came close to providing one of the most shocking sports upsets ever.

A desperation three-pointer by Sarunas Jasikevicius at the buzzer fell short, and Team USA escaped with an 85-83 win. The Americans won the gold medal two days later but their aura of invincibility was slipping away.

 

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Lithuania a Familiar Foil for Team USA

September 10, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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ISTANBUL — Jerry Colangelo was the architect of the Redeem Team. But where did it all start that USA Basketball would need redemption?

Chinks in the armor began courtesy of Lithuania, a tiny nation of 3.3 million, about the size of Connecticut.

In 1992, the Dream Team rolled to a gold medal in the first Olympics with NBA players. That was followed by NBA stars leading the Americans to easy wins in the 1994 FIBA World Championship and the 1996 Olympics.

An NBA lockout stalled matters in 1998, and a group of minor leaguers and college kids took bronze at the Worlds. Then came the 2000 Olympics, when the Americans had a good team but one that was also missing some very top NBA players.

Entering the event, U.S. pro players had not played a game closer than 15 points while going undefeated in 1992, 1994 and 1996. In group play in 2000, they beat Lithuania by just nine. And in an Olympic semifinal Lithuania came close to providing one of the most shocking sports upsets ever.

A desperation three-pointer by Sarunas Jasikevicius at the buzzer fell short, and Team USA escaped with an 85-83 win. The Americans won the gold medal two days later but their aura of invincibility was slipping away.

 

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The Works: Luis Scola the Superstar and the Pending Death of USA Basketball

September 08, 2010   Bethlehem Shoals and Tom Ziller   No comments

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In The Works today: quiet assaults Jerry Colangelo’s grand Team USA plan; Angel McCoughtry, the woman who flies; and microfracture claims another victim.

Luis ScolaBut first, does Luis Scola or any international champion really matter?

The Great Examination: Luis Scola went into, as Rockets GM Daryl Morey described it, “video game god mode” against Brazil on Tuesday, dropping 37 points, including 10 in the final three minutes. Scola’s performance is a perfect battle line for those who love and hate international play.

On the one hand, it was an epic performance at a pretty high level of competition — Scola is a legit starter in the NBA, and he looked as good as ever against Brazil, a team with two NBA big men as well. And beyond that, it was really, really exciting. On the other hand, does anyone ever see Scola doing this in a big NBA game? (For the record, Scola once dropped 44 on the Nets. But this was last March, when the Nets hardly counted as an NBA game and when the Rockets were effectively out of the playoff chase.)

Critics of international basketball as entertainment use that line of reasoning — it’s not NBA-level competition — often, and it’s hard to argue it. It creates a weird double-standard when it comes to Team USA, though, especially when the Americans use a so-called B-team. If Eric Gordon and Kevin Love can play like champs for a virtual All-Star team, why wouldn’t their NBA coaches make them team focal points?

 

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Team USA Notebook: McMillan Preparing to Have Fernandez in Training Camp

September 07, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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ISTANBUL — Portland coach Nate McMillan wouldn’t mind at all seeing Rudy Fernandez stay with the Trail Blazers.

McMillan, a Team USA assistant, was asked by FanHouse if his hope is the disgruntled swingman will remain with the team.

“He’s a great player,” McMillan said. “He’s a good player. A talented player. Very talented.”

Asked further about the subject and McMillan said, “He is in my notes for training camp. All right.”

Fernandez, unhappy with his role in McMillan’s offense, wants to be traded and already has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for that demand having been publicly issued. Through his agent, Andy Miller, Fernandez told The Oregonian two weeks ago he intends to not report to training camp even though he has two years left on his contract.

 

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Team USA Notebook: McMillan Preparing to Have Fernandez in Training Camp

September 07, 2010   Chris Tomasson   No comments

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ISTANBUL — Portland coach Nate McMillan wouldn’t mind at all seeing Rudy Fernandez stay with the Trail Blazers.

McMillan, a Team USA assistant, was asked by FanHouse if his hope is the disgruntled swingman will remain with the team.

“He’s a great player,” McMillan said. “He’s a good player. A talented player. Very talented.”

Asked further about the subject and McMillan said, “He is in my notes for training camp. All right.”

Fernandez, unhappy with his role in McMillan’s offense, wants to be traded and already has been fined $25,000 by the NBA for that demand having been publicly issued. Through his agent, Andy Miller, Fernandez told The Oregonian two weeks ago he intends to not report to training camp even though he has two years left on his contract.

 

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