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LAS
VEGAS—Frustrating. Disappointing. Comical.
Which of
those words best describes the US men’s basketball team
in the 2004 Olympics?
For
Dwyane Wade, it’s all of the above.
 “It
was very comical,” said Wade, a member of that team and
the 2008 squad. “You just had to shake your head.
Everybody on that team was a good individual player, but
when you tried to put it together, it didn’t work. It
was like a bad mix of food.”
Bad
enough to finish with a 5-3 record, good enough only for
a bronze medal. Appalling considering that, in the 14
previous Olympics in which the US had competed, dating
to the start of basketball competition in 1936, the
Americans had lost a total of two games.
“There
were so many tough moments for that 2004 team, that I
can’t even single out one,” Wade said Tuesday at Valley
High, where the Olympic team is holding a final week of
practice before heading to China.
“I think
the main thing was, everybody wasn’t connected, wasn’t
together,” he said. “From the first team to the second
team, there was no commitment. We weren’t rooting for
each other. We were fighting against each other because
everybody wanted to play. I was fighting for five
minutes a game. I loved all the guys on the team, but it
just wasn’t the right combination for an Olympic team.
“Now I
look at the team we have now, look at the mix. Look at
everything we are doing. We are getting along so well. I
think it’s because we understand we need each other to
make this work. It’s not going to be five guys. It’s
going to be 12 guys who are going to get this done.”
There
were other factors four years ago. There was a process
based on the belief that the US was so superior to the
rest of the world that merely rolling the ball onto the
court and lining up five All-Stars was sufficient. And
there was a pervasive fear of terrorism that caused some
players to stay home.
“Since
the Dream Team [in 1992], they picked an All-Star team
which practiced for a couple of weeks and was good
enough to win,” said Jerry Colangelo, managing director
of this year’s squad. “As the gap with the rest of the
world closed, you couldn’t do that anymore.”
When
players dropped out, replacements arrived but it was
late in the process.
“Wade,
LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony were
added,” said Colangelo. “But they were young, way before
their time. And none of them really played that much. So
almost from day one, it wasn’t a healthy situation.
“And
when we got blown out by Puerto Rico in the first game
by 19 points, that was more than a wake-up call. That
was a death blow.”
Colangelo was brought in to run the show and he made
Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski head coach. Players were told
they had to make a three-year commitment if they wanted
to be on the 2008 squad.
“If the
2004 team had been together for three years,” Krzyzewski
said, “[Coach] Larry Brown and his staff and those kids
would have had a better chance. That’s just not the way
we did it in the United States. That’s why I don’t think
you can ever blame those guys or that coaching staff.
“Now
with this type of commitment, you have a chance to
succeed. It doesn’t mean you are going to succeed, but
at least, you have a chance.”
Although
he has gone on to superstardom since 2004, Wade again
won’t be a starter. Those roles will be filled by Kobe
Bryant and Jason Kidd in the backcourt and James,
Anthony and Dwight Howard up front.
Will
that be a problem?
“Not at
all,” Wade insisted. “I’m happy with my role on the
team. It’s not about me. I’m a starter with the Miami
Heat. I’m a franchise player there. This is the USA
Olympic team. This is bigger. I’m enjoying my role on
this team. I’m not trying to play 40 minutes.
“I’ll be
happy with whatever the game calls for. One game, you
might play 15, 20 minutes, the next, you might play five
minutes. It’s just about us winning. We’ve got just over
30 days to dedicate ourselves to this team and then,
after that, you go back to your respective teams and
play 40 minutes a game. But it’s not about that right
now.”
Bryant
says it’s wrong to even focus on a starting unit.
“It
doesn’t really matter,” he said. “We are playing in
units. We don’t really look at it as first unit, second
unit. We just play in waves. I don’t think anybody
really cares about who is starting.”
No
argument from Wade.
“I see
the guys on this team giving themselves for everybody
else,” he said. “It’s a totally different feeling from
four years ago.”
Not the
least bit comical.
Sprained
James
AS Team
USA’s practice ended, LeBron James reclined on a table
with trainers tending to his sprained right ankle. A
horde of television cameramen surrounded James and the
trainers before team officials shooed them away.
The
Americans described the injury as minor. It occurred
Tuesday when James landed on Kevin Durant’s foot during
a closed scrimmage between Team USA and a select squad
of young National Basketball Association (NBA) players
at Valley High School.
Coach
Mike Krzyzewski said he would know more on Wednesday,
after James has had a chance to rest.
“He
thinks it’s a mild sprain,” Krzyzewski said. “Our
trainers think it’s a mild sprain. So we’ll find out
tomorrow. But I don’t think it’s anything serious.
Obviously, we’ll look and see what happens tomorrow.”
Spain beats
champs
MADRID,
Spain—Manu Ginobili missed a key free throw and Spain
hung on to beat Olympic champion Argentina, 90-88, on
Tuesday in a matchup of two sides expected to contend
for the gold medal at Beijing.
World
champion Spain improved to 3-0 in Olympic warmup games.
Jose
Calderon led Spain with 18 points. Spain outrebounded
Argentina, 32-28, before nearly succumbing to a late
collapse.
Ginobili
missed the first of three free throws with seven seconds
left and a chance to tie it at 89.
The NBA
guard, who scored 11 of his 18 points in the final
period to rally Argentina from a 10-point deficit, hit
the next two to cut it to 89-88 before Ricky Rubio sank
one of his free throws for Spain.
Ginobili
had a chance to tie it following a Juan Carlos Navarro
turnover with 18 seconds remaining, but the Argentine
missed a running lay-up with Rubio pressuring.
Paolo
Quinteros’s hopeful turnaround jumper for Argentina at
the buzzer bounced off the rim. (With AP) |
