Good question. Given our PGs (Kidd, Williams, Paul), Billups might be thinking that he's the odd man out.Originally Posted by JGX
[/QUOTE] Another nice article. Thanks for the link. Hollinger says that Billups would be better than Paul because he's more physical. But Paul was so brilliant in the Play-Offs that I jumped on his bandwagon. Hollinger is also right that we should add Bosh. Bosh can shoot from the outside, opening things up in the cutting lanes for Bryant, James, Anthony, and...cough, cough....Wade.Hollinger has a column on the US team selection:
http://www.nysun.com/sports/usa-soon...beijing/79972/
another article from espn, i hope no one else posted before me, if so mods please remove this
tanks matt for making my day that much more horrible for mentioning Wade's name...
by the time olympic bball rolls around and wade is on the lineup ill become a full fledged alcohol for the month of august; if he isnt i'll still be a full fledged alcoholic, i'll jsut do it more classier, with wine
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/...ory?id=3448635
U.S. basketball roster for Olympics to be released next week
ESPN.com news services
Updated: June 17, 2008, 10:56 PM ET DURHAM, N.C. -- Calling it "the toughest decision" facing USA Basketball since it began using professional players, U.S. Olympic team coach Mike Krzyzewski said the 12-man roster for this summer's Beijing Games will be released Monday.
Krzyzewski, Duke's Hall of Fame coach, said the roster will be announced during a news conference in Chicago.
Sheridan: USA Roster Odds
What will Team USA's 12-man roster look like in Beijing? Chris Sheridan has the latest word. Story
• Vote: Your picks?
"The pool of players that we have have all made commitments and have given time and effort," Krzyzewski said Tuesday during his annual summer news conference in Durham. "Really we have more people qualified for those 12 spots than we can take, so that's what makes it tough. There will be people we've coached, either last summer or the summer before, who will not be on this team."
Earlier this month, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said the U.S. would pick its squad without a tryout. There are more than 30 players in the national team program, but he said officials are down to about 14 names.
The deadline to submit the roster is July 1. The U.S. team will go to Las Vegas to train in mid-July and play an exhibition against Canada before opening the Beijing Games against the host Chinese on Aug. 10.
Last year, the U.S. team started Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd and Dwight Howard en route to an unbeaten showing in an Olympic qualifying tournament. The roster also included Amare Stoudemire, Chauncey Billups, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince, Tyson Chandler and Mike Miller.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Kidd received a phone call Monday to let him know he would be a part of the team going to Bejing. Colangelo would not disclose the makeup of the team but spoke highly of Kidd's credentials.
"Jason is a great candidate to be one of the 12 because he is a leader, he is the ultimate distributor at the point guard position, and he has great relationships with many of the guys who will be on this team," Colangelo said, according to the Dallas Morning News. "He's undefeated in international play in his career. If you had a ledger sheet and put down the plusses and minuses, it's pretty overwhelming on the plus side."
ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher reports that Billups has withdrawn his name for consideration for Beijing, citing personal family reasons.
"We understand the level of pressure that's involved in this and to me the pressure can be looked at in two different ways: It can inhibit you or it can excite you," Krzyzewski said of expectations to win the gold medal. "My feeling is it will excite our group. They want that pressure. The most foolish thing you can do is … be arrogant and just say it's going to happen. To me, we have to show the respect of preparation to do it."
Krzyzewski said USA Basketball has talked with players to make sure they don't have any family or health issues that would prevent them from being committed to the team. He said potential choices also have been spoken to about how their roles might change, going so far as to tell some, "You may be the 12th man. You may not be a starter. Are you able to handle that?"
Their responses, he said, have typically been, "Whatever you want."
"This team has a chance to be incredibly unique," he said. "How it's been put together has shown a tremendous amount of respect for worldwide basketball. We've said, 'It's the world's game, not the U.S.'s game.'"
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"A nationality that easily feels wronged is an insecure one, and one that will be difficult to progress."-Anonymous
you guys can go tot his site and rank who you want. this was my result of who i wanted on the team
http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sport...d=1&listId=142
"A nationality that easily feels wronged is an insecure one, and one that will be difficult to progress."-Anonymous
I'm not sure how accurate this is compared to what I really want:
They left a couple names off the list that I would love to see, namely Miller, Stojakovic, Yao, Nowitizki, Nash...1.Paul
2.Bryant
3.Anthony
4.Bosh
5.Howard
6.Kidd
7.Iverson
8.Prince
9.James
10.Stoudemire
11.Chandler
12.Battier
Why not send Boston Celtics squad? They have bo foreigners, and they played good collective ball game, no?
It's a bird? It's a plane? No, it's Rudy!
Honestly, I have never had a problem with the idea of sending a regular NBA team. Detroit and Boston are the only two NBA teams that don't have at least one essential international player. Boston played magnificent as a team. They've got what we want in an Olympic team: a couple stars and a lot of good role-players (and even their stars have roles). Plus, they've got lots of time together, which is crucial.
id love the idea too, but it also comes down to business and marketing and some more...
if you send the celtic then marketing is specifically geared toboston and celtics, but if u send a bunch of superstars then it benefits everyone and the league...
god i should have been a business major, im just bad at taking calculative risks and handling money, not enough jewish blood in me. just joking guys, if i offend anyone i didnt mean to
"A nationality that easily feels wronged is an insecure one, and one that will be difficult to progress."-Anonymous
The scrolling news on ESPN is reporting that Tayshaun Prince will play and Amare Stoudemire declined an invitation.
I'm glad Prince was chosen. As much as I criticized Stoudemire up there, he, Bosh, and Howard are the top three American big men that we can chose. It'll be disappointing if he doesn't play, especially for Colangelo's master plan of getting players with three year commitments.
Chris Paul will be on U.S. Olympic team
Posted by Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
June 19, 2008 1:20PM
http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/200...ympic_tea.htmlHornets star point guard Chris Paul will be one of the 12 members of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, sources close to the player said Thursday.
The team will be officially announced Monday in Chicago.
This will be the 23-year-old point guard's first Olympic experience.
It's a great addition for the USA Team because CP3 is the best PG in the NBA last season, and i think he learn to play under the International Rule after the USA team captured the Bronze Medal in the the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
His Team finished with an 8-1 record, and they defeated the Argentinian National Team for a 3rd place finished in the World Championship.
2006 FIBA World Championship Stats
7.0 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.4 rpg, 2.0 spg. ( 23.4 MPG)
http://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/06_..._playStat.html
give us a follow up, because if this is true im happy! now the other factor is d wade not being on the team
"A nationality that easily feels wronged is an insecure one, and one that will be difficult to progress."-Anonymous
For Stoudemire, that's bad for the team, as he seems to be an intelligent basketball player, and his mid range shot is quite impressive.
It's a bird? It's a plane? No, it's Rudy!
OK, we've got a couple sources now:
Wade, Redd, Prince are Going to Beijing - ESPN
Amare is Not Going - Arizona Republic
Well, not just marketing, but also the fact that the majority of people in the US aren't Celtics fans and would probably be rooting against them...
Also, not all the players would be interested in going.
Wade is in...that is bad news...
Last edited by rikhardur; 06-20-2008 at 06:12 PM. Reason: Posts merged: short time between consecutive posts
this must be d wade's personal trainer on how he does such nice nifty attaks to the basket/layups
yup the similarities and traits are there!!!
"A nationality that easily feels wronged is an insecure one, and one that will be difficult to progress."-Anonymous
Do you think team USA will missout the gold at the olympics thsi year?
thx
MS
Great videos.
Hi, Michael! Welcome to the forums! It's always good to see an Aussie posting.
I think that the USA is the favorite to win the Gold, but I don't think they're going to. I'm putting the odds at:
* 25% - USA
* 20% - Spain
* 20% - Argentina
* 20% - Lithuania
* 10% - Russia
* 5% - Other
I'll probably change my mind tomorrow, though.
Kobe said, that its not a surprise that LA lost in finals because they are still really young and they can do better in few years , but he said that either Gasol and Spain haven't got any chances to win the Olympics because he doesn't want to lose 2 times, with L.A and with USA.
He said that bull@#$% on the press conference after the finals.
such a selfish person...
Last edited by mvblair; 06-21-2008 at 02:34 AM.
another print from espn
this is why i like reading chris sheridan's articles, sad but true
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/column...TeamUSA-080620
Team USA update: Going small could cause big problem
By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: June 20, 2008Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Tayshaun Prince brings impressive defensive versatility, but not the heft Team USA might need.
Three bigs.
That's it.
When the United States tries to win the gold medal in Beijing this summer, it appears it will try to do it with only three true power forwards and centers -- Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer.
The opinion here?
This is a mistake with the potential to go down as the singular example of the hubris of Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo's leadership of Team USA.
Reports surfaced Friday that Tayshaun Prince had been picked for the final spot on Team USA's 12-man roster, which means the coaching staff, executive committee and scouts voted not to bring along Tyson Chandler, deciding instead to go with versatility over size for the final roster spot.
SPORTSNATION'S DREAM TEAM It's your turn, SportsNation. How would you construct Team USA? What would your Olympic roster look like? Rank 'Em
Howard, Boozer and Bosh will be the three true bigs on a roster also expected to include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Michael Redd and Prince.
Howard is expected to start at center, with Anthony at power forward, James at small forward, Bryant at shooting guard and Kidd at point guard.
The team will be formally announced Monday at a news conference in Chicago.
In recent months, the overall roster of 33 had been trimmed to 15 viable candidates, and Chauncey Billups and Amare Stoudemire withdrew their names from consideration in the past few days. That left Colangelo, USA Basketball's managing director, and Krzyzewski, the head coach, in charge of deciding whether to bring an additional big man. After they polled the assistant coaches (Mike D'Antoni, Nate McMillan, Jim Boeheim) and scouts and examining the draw and the opposing rosters, the perceived need for an additional interchangeable part won out.
The 12-man roster will be submitted to the USOC on July 1. There will also be six alternates named, although it is difficult to make changes after July 1 unless there is a verifiable injury to one of the 12 players (which is part of the reason why Larry Brown was unable to throw Stephon Marbury off the Athens team just a week before the 2004 Olympics).
[+] Enlarge
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
Dwight Howard might want to stay away from these kind of fouls.
The danger in taking only three big men is obvious: Foul trouble and/or injuries would leave the Americans vulnerable under the boards against any opponent with size, even though Team USA's plan calls for Anthony to get the bulk of the minutes at the 4 spot. Think about it: If you are the coach of Upper Moldovistan and you need to devise a plan to defeat Goliath, you open your Coaching 101 textbook and decide to send two 7-footers to the offensive boards every possession while having the three other players drop back to defend against the fast break. The second thing you tell your 7-footers is to draw fouls against Howard, Boozer and Bosh, even if it calls for flopping. If you can make offensive rebounding and second-chance points the key statistics, half the battle is already won.
When Team USA lost to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championship in Japan, the Greeks' size and girth were huge factors. The Americans had trouble defending Greece's high pick-and-roll, on which the picker was continually able to get himself matched against a far smaller defender and then attack the basket before a help defender could arrive. And when the help came too early, someone was left open at the 3-point line.
Another point: FIBA basketball tends to be far more physical than NBA basketball, although the Americans historically tend to run into the arbitrary referee who chooses to call things tight in the paint. (Tim Duncan watched much of the 2004 Olympics from the bench in Athens for this very reason.)
FIBA rules also call for players to be disqualified after their fifth foul (rather than their sixth, as is the case in the NBA), and technical fouls count against a player's personal foul limit. (Memo to Howard: If you don't agree with that third foul you'll draw in the first quarter against Russia-Lithuania-Spain-Argentina, keep your mouth shut. If you don't, it'll be your fourth.)
You're supposed to protect yourself against those potential troubles through depth, but the Americans aren't.
Four years ago, the Americans didn't send any pure shooters to Athens, so everyone played 40 minutes of zone against them, and they lost three times.
The members of Team USA's brain trust made it easy then for the rest of the world to devise a defensive game plan, and they're doing it again by being too biased toward trying to impose their will and exploit their advantages in speed and athleticism.
That "we're going to beat you our way, not your way" attitude will work fine against the likes of China and Angola, but the risk will come in the final three single-elimination games against opponents poised, talented and tall enough to turn their match against the United States into a grind-it-out, half-court battle of brawn.
Here's the dirty little secret about Olympic basketball: The first round doesn't matter. There are six teams in each group, only four of the 12 are eliminated, and what's of paramount importance is where your energy and health levels are going into the final five days.
You want to peak at the end, not the beginning.
The Americans' first-round opponents in Beijing are China, Angola, Spain and two other teams who will emerge from a pre-Olympic qualifier to be held in Athens next month. Four of the teams with the most size -- Russia, Lithuania, Spain and Australia -- are on the other side of the draw, as is reigning Olympic champion Argentina, along with a third team to be determined in the pre-Olympic qualifier.
The tournament format switches to single elimination in the quarterfinals, when the Americans (assuming they finish first in Group B) will play the fourth-place finisher from Group A on Aug. 20. The semifinals take place two days later, and the gold- and bronze-medal matches come on the final afternoon of the Olympics, Aug. 24.
The Americans expect to be playing in that final match, and there's no doubt they have the talent to get there.
But do they have enough size? Are the Gasol and the Lavrinovic brothers; the Russian front line of Andrei Kirilenko, Aleksey Savrasenko and Nikita Morgunov; the Andrew Boguts and Luis Scolas of the world -- are they licking their chops?
Two months from now, Tyson Chandler will be sitting on his easy chair with the rest of America, and we'll all know for sure whether Team USA's gold-medal drought will extend past its current eight-year run.
And maybe, just maybe, we'll look back on these late days of June as the time when the gold-medal decision was ultimately, erroneously made.
Chris Sheridan is an ESPN.com Insider. He has covered the U.S. senior national team since the 1996 Olympics.
"A nationality that easily feels wronged is an insecure one, and one that will be difficult to progress."-Anonymous
If Sheridan's speculations are correct, and this is indeed the US national team that will be announced on Monday, then the brain trust at USA Basketball are making some serious mistakes. This line-up is way too guard dominated, and the lack of size at the 4-5 spot is going to haunt this team as it takes on physically bigger opponents in the quarterfinals and onward. The decision to put Wade on this team after coming off major surgery, and coupled with the fact his run & slash style of play is exactly what James, Anthony and Bryant already do effectively, is truely baffling. The US would have been better served by giving Tyson Chandler (7'0", 2.13m) that spot instead of Wade. Ball possession is critical in international play, and outside of Howard, there is no legitimate rebounding presents down low for the US--for all of their size, rebounding is not Bosh or Boozers main forte, and they certainly aren't scrappy, fight-for-the-ball players like Bruce Bowen or Shane Battier. Amare Stoudemire's decision to take himself off the board really hurts the US. His size, athleticism and rebounding are going to be sorely missed, but for the players who want to be in Beijing, I'm not sure Colangelo & Co. are affording them the best opportunity to win gold with the personale decisions that they have apparently made. In light of what has happend to Team USA over the past 8 years, it's hard to have faith for those in charge of putting this roster together.Howard, Boozer and Bosh will be the three true bigs on a roster also expected to include Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Michael Redd and Prince.
I agree that it's a mistake not to bring Chandler. But it was clear from last summer that they had no interest in giving him real playing time.
Sheridan is also correct that the first round doesn't mean anything, but the typical unrealistically high expectations for the team (They should win every game ever! By 30 points!) mean they have to go all out from the start.
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