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Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > August > 14 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USNo one laughing at USA baskeball now
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Beijing — As catastrophic athletic events go, a team of selfish, passionless, self-absorbed American basketball schleps losing to Puerto Rico should not lead anybody to scream, “I feel shame,” and slink north toward Manitoba.
It certainly didn’t bother Chris Bosh all that much four years ago.
“I was amused,” the former Georgia Tech star said. “I mean, it was a little funny. But I understand how tough it can be.”
Bosh finding humor in the 2004 Just Dreaming Team hardly makes him unpatriotic. If anything, it makes him normal. He realized the absurdity of it all. Amusement trumps indifference seven days a week.
Two words about U.S. basketball in these Olympics: not funny.
They’re actually trying. They actually care. They actually dive on the court and crash the boards and stand during the national anthem with a hand over their heart, as if some sense of national pride has crept into the equation.
Go figure.
The U.S. basketball team is 3-0. Possibly going on 8-0. It might be time for opponents to start asking for autographs again.
It’s not just that the U.S. has beaten up on China by 31, Angola by 21 and Greece by 23 in Thursday’s 92-69 win. China, Angola and Greece are infinitely beat-up-able. A loss to any of the three would have been, well, funny.
But did you watch Thursday? NBA stars played pressure defense. They had 15 steals. In points off turnovers, they outscored Greece 28-4.
There was a play in which Dwyane Wade lunged in the backcourt to save the ball from going out of bounds, then threw it back over his head to Kobe Bryant for two.
There was a play in which LeBron James stole a pass, jetted in, did a reverse slam and then stared at the Greece cheering section. There was passion and effort and direction. This is what it’s supposed to look like.
There was a play in which James missed a free throw that led to an offensive rebound and a three-point play by Wade.
Two years ago, even after Jerry Colangelo flushed the roster and made players actually convince him that they wanted to play for their flag, there still was reason to wonder. The U.S. played Greece in the semifinals of the World Championship, and lost. On Thursday, they actually looked like they were upset about it.
“They were like this from the warm-up,” said the Greece guard, Nikolaos Zisis. “I think they had big motivation to win this game. For them it was a big disappointment to have the win by us, a small country from overseas.”
Mock time appears to be over.
“Embarrassment,” Carmelo Anthony said when asked what he remembers from the Greece game. “We had that game in the back of our minds.”
Anthony is one of only three holdovers from the 2004 team (James and Wade are the others). “Four years ago we had a pretty good team, but we weren’t connected like we’re connected now. Now we have five guys on the floor communicating and playing defense.”
That didn’t happen in Athens?
“No,” he said, and smiled.
Kobe and LeBron and Carmelo are not Magic and Bird and Michael. They don’t have to be.
“We’re not trying to compare ourselves to Barcelona’s team,” said Bosh, who tied for the U.S. lead with 18 points, five rebounds and two steals against Greece. “We can’t compare to them. What we can be is be the best team we can be.”
Since 1992, the U.S. team has gone from dominant to bored to disinterested. That couldn’t continue. Colangelo has told and retold the story about Michael Redd coming straight from a workout to his interview with the executives about playing in Beijing. Redd arrived at Colangelo’s hotel carrying a suit, then asked if he could change in the bathroom.
“I wanted to look right,” Redd said.
Colangelo suspected he had found the right players.
“But you can never really be sure until you start,” he said. “We’ll find out pretty quick.”
They found out. Nobody’s laughing.
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: Beijing Olympics
Comments
By YellerSkeeters are PeterEaters!
August 14, 2008 9:51 PM | Link to this
Chris Bosh, a GTech nongradute (kind of like Marbury) is an idiot! One and done, it is a damn shame when they do this to their coach and school — could have recruited another player who has better intentions, someone who also wants an education. They will only play basketball for so long, and then what?
By $$$$
August 14, 2008 10:08 PM | Link to this
YS & PE….Are you serious?? After making more than $100 million each, they can do whatever the hell they want to do. I’m sure if someone offered you $5million after your freshman year in college you would have turned it down…yeah right
By GTgrad
August 14, 2008 10:12 PM | Link to this
Spend their millions before they get hurt playing college.
By The Truth
August 15, 2008 12:11 AM | Link to this
Funny, as a white male with european and not african decendents….i find myself often cheering for the other teams….and felt proud when Greece beat USA back in 2004. Young American blacks are 2 brash, 2 cocky….they think there the best at any sport they try and arent afraid to put their foot in their mouth in saying so.
Just look at Chad Johnsons comments on Michael Phelps…. ” i could beat him, i bet kids from my hood could beat him”
He said that because blacks are just as racist, and now it seems… alot MORE racist than whites.
Just look at the media and how anyone was afraid to call out Shaq rapping about “no white BOY can be as cool as me”
Or Bernard Hopkins talking about “if i get beat by a white BOY aint no way i can go back to the hood”
Well i guess Bernard will have to do without the hood now wont he!!
Funny how we had to read the backpages of the newspaper to find out those stories …but the minute a white man says ANYTHING negative yet true about blacks… its Racism!
Imus says “it figures” and it was front story on CNN!
And why in the world is the media showing so much black male/white female interracial dating on tv and commercials lately?? There trying to push it down our throats like they did the “its ok to be gay” thing years ago. Dont believe me? Turn your tv to MTV and watch for awhile.
This can be very hurtful to our kids….. especially considering blacks leave over 70% of their kids with NO FATHERS…….and are 11 TIMES more likely to have AIDS and 20 TIMES more likely to have syphillis!
Teach your daughters to be proud of their heritage like mexican, middle eastern and asian families do! Theres nothing wrong with wanting the best for your kids!
By reeses_peace
August 15, 2008 9:52 AM | Link to this
Am I mistaken, or are comments on this blog supposed to be about USA mens basketball?
On that note, I’m glad to see the renewed focus of USA Mens Basketball. I think we have a definate shot at gold this year and should be proud of the effort that the players have put forward to achieve it.
The loss in Athens was probably one of the best things to happen, because it captured the interest of the NBA’s best players. Has a “dream team” included an NBA MVP since Barcelona? Not that I recall. Atlanta featured a strong squad, but not the same high caliber players that played in Barcelona.
This year the team consists of the NBAs best—Kobe, Wade, Melo—and a quality supporting cast of Paul, Howard, Redd, Williams, Prince, etc. I think this is a formula that will work.
By Poste Haste
August 15, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this
Ode to Nastia:
Venus in Beijing, Mona Lisa with a ponytail, a TEENage goddess from above, and she belongs to we.
Oh, she slipped the surly bonds of earth, and flung her eager task through footless falls of air. She danced on a lark, and chased her laughter’s burning blues. She wheeled, soared and swung high on gasps of silent grasps. Arched and alone, she held a sport hostage, dangling dreams amidst the tumbling mirth, and, with delerious pace, she struck the clear chord of freedom’s easy grace.
By Big D
August 15, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
The U.S. b-team can’t shoot the ball worth crap. They will run into a team that will smarten up and pack it in down low and shoot three pointers at 50% or better and it will be the end of the U.S. run for gold. When will the powers that be who pick these one deminsional players(stuffers)put good shooters on the team to offset other teams shooters. Till then don’t expect the gold.
By Sl1m
August 15, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
The 1996 featured 2 MVP’s in David Robinson and Akeem Olajuwon. I do agree with you reeses_peace though in that the interest of the players was caputured again. That plus the 3 year commitment has allowed this team to morph from an allstar team to a real team with defined roles and responsiblities. I just hope that the young kids out there watching are taking notice that you have to play hard no matter who or where you are playing! GO USA!
By proud dawg
August 15, 2008 10:25 AM | Link to this
I don’t care what everybody else thinks, I still hate that we use NBA players for the olympics! Oh wow, the highest paid, best basketball players in the world competing against lesser talent… YAWN! What’s wrong with using college basketball players and allowing them a chance to make a name for themselves (ala Jim Craig on the “Miracle” Hockey team) The only time its real news about the USA basketball team is when they lose! Why don’t we just give them the gold medals now so we can get back to cheering on those competing for their countries in the pinnicle event of their sports? This is just summer league for “the Ballers”
By Poste Haste
August 15, 2008 10:37 AM | Link to this
Venus in Beijing:
Oh, she slipped the surly bonds of earth, (turned cartwheels ‘cross the floo-or), and flung her eager task through footless falls of air. She danced on a lark, and did a hundred things we’ve never dreamed of. She wheeled, soared and swung high on bars in silent gasps. Arched and alone, she dangled dreams amidst the tumbling mirth, and, with delerious pace, struck the chord of freedom’s easy grace.
By Have you seen me?
August 15, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this
I think ‘the truth’ must have wandered into the wrong blog site. What’s this guy talking about?
Go USA!
By martin
August 15, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this
To the guy who says black are racist. The last time I checked blacks only represent 12% of this country. We are all one country for you to say that you support the greeks tell me that you are unamerican.
By Rock Preston
August 15, 2008 12:17 PM | Link to this
People like “the Truth” are why there will never be intelligent dialogue in regards to race relations. When you have such ignorant and racist comments coming from one side, how can the otherside trust?? “The Truth” is a coward for using a blog to express such idiotic views. I bet you wouldn’t make that statement to black to their face u punk!
By GABred
August 15, 2008 2:22 PM | Link to this
“The Truth”?,…far from it. The problem with the US using college kids is that they would be playing 7-8 year European pros. (Remember the league J-Chill went to?) Playing against more seasoned, more developed professionals would put the US at a decided disadvantage. The trials in every other olympic sport is held to determine OUR best, after determining who that is we send them to the games to represent us. The system of millions to athletes was not created by college athletes, unfortunately your alma mater isn’t designed to force NBA ready students to remain amateurs,.. poor you(Buy a ticket or cheer the new player who now has a scholarship that wasn’t available before Mr. Bosh desserted you.) Chemistry is the difference, my thought is you don’t invite these pros specifically, you invite the league to insure those millionaires, who are foregoing there summer and risking injury for their country’s pride, really want to be there. The battle for silver and bronze is own, now that we are focused, was that cocky and brash enough for you?
By Go Dawgs!!!!
August 15, 2008 5:17 PM | Link to this
“The Truth” What a dum a*. I guess this is how cowards get their point across. Sitting in a dark room at 12:00 a.m. typing racist garbage and watching kiddie porn on the internet. Get a life you freak.
By USAproud
August 16, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this
Proud Dawg You are an idiot!
Other countries have athletes that do NOTHING but that one sport they will compete in for the Olympics. What I mean is they have sepent the MAJORITY of thier lives priming themselves for the olympic games. So I guess you could say that they are PROFESSIONAL athletes. Now we use guys that have spent thier lives playing Basketall and all of a sudden thier is something wrong with it? You hvae got to be joking, the ORIGIANL olympics was about sending your countries BEST to represent you int he games. This is EXACTLY what we are doing when we send our NBA players. Don’t get angry when you see that when our players actually play as a team and not cocky smug little children, we win. Our B-Ball players are the worlds best, next you will cry when we use professional snowboarders (Shawn White) in the winter games. Seriously proud dawg, if you were so “proud” you wouldnt be against sending Americas Best to the olympics. Take my advice, wake up and get real.
By MikeSpiller
August 18, 2008 3:19 PM | Link to this
Heh great. By the way, did you know that ICQ is not FREE anymore? More info here: http://xrl.us/onw8m-icqnews