July 11th, 2008 – Dr. J-Water
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad begin on August 8th, 2008. For Team USA men’s basketball program it is the beginning of a chance for redemption. Some folks have even called this version of Team USA the “Redeem Team.” After an embarrassing 6th place finish in the 2002 World Championships and only a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens (breaking a streak of 3 straight Olympic gold’s for Team USA who have won gold in 12 out of their 15 Olympic appearances), in 2005 Team USA was looking to change the culture of the program back to a winning one.
In comes Jerry Colangelo of the Phoenix Suns. His task when hired was to ensure Team USA regains the crown as the country with the best basketball players on earth, although that may not have ever been in doubt, it was certainly to prove they can put together the best basketball TEAM on earth. Colangelo took a bit of a different approach in that he asked the player pool he was working with in his selections to commit to a 3 years to the program in order to play for Team USA. That span from 2006-2008 would cover the 2006 World Championships, the 2007 FIBA Americas Qualifier, and the ultimate goal of winning gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The concept was well received by everyone involved, as it is widely believed that the international teams have a distinct advantage over the USA of playing together regularly, sometimes for years on a regular basis and getting to know each others game on the court. Although the US players may never be able to achieve the sheer volume of practice and game time together as international programs, Colangelo’s new concept certainly goes a long way to filling the gap.
In the years since the original ‘Dream Team’ of NBA players dominated the international basketball stage to easily win gold at the 1992 Olympic summer games, the world has been steadily catching up. That theory began at the 2002 World Championship where the USA finished 6th, but then was solidified four years ago at the 2004 summer games in Athens. It could be heavily debated what caused the improvement in the international competition that Team USA faces. Was it the increase in global communications through the internet? The popularity of basketball through Euroleague and other pro leagues throughout the world? The increase in the number of star international players in the NBA that can be seen as role models for their fellow countrymen? Players such as Manu Ginobili, Hedo Turkoglu, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, etc.?
Well regardless of the reason, the fact remains that the playing field has been leveled and the USA is going to have to face stiff competition to find redemption and once again win Gold. Don’t be fooled by their domination at the FIBA Americas tournament last summer. The Olympic tournament will feature much stiffer competition and with the stakes much higher the competition will be much more motivated. This time they will have to play through Spain (Garbajosa, Calderon, Gasol, Navarro), Argentina (Ginobili, Nocioni, Herrmann), France (Parker, Diaw), China (Ming, Lianlian), Lithuania (Ilgauskas, Jasikevicius), Germany (Nowitzki, Kaman) etc.
Don’t get me wrong though, I believe strongly that the USA is still the team to beat in the Olympics. They were a strong ball club last summer, but after another year of huge development and growth for Dwight Howard, Carlos Boozer, and Chris Bosh, the team now seems a bit more balanced inside and outside to me. Dwight Howard will undoubtedly be the biggest/strongest competitor in the paint the international competition has had to face since the 1996 Olympic gold medal team with Shaquille O’Neal. Throw in a motivated Kobe Bryant coming off a recent NBA Finals let down against the Boston Celtics; he is sure to be looking for some personal redemption on the hardwood while the entire country is watching.
There is less than a month to wait for Team USA to once again take the floor on their road to redemption. I’m interested to see if Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant will once again set the tone for the team offensively and defensively as they did last summer, or if the younger generation of superstars of Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade, and Dwight Howard will firmly take the torch and show the world that the USA is once again the most dominant basketball country in the world. I would be satisfied if Team USA wins gold and redeems themselves. But what I am really hoping is for Team USA to win each game by a significant margin of victory like the dream teams of the past.
08/08/08
One month till “REDEEM TEAM”!
