Basketball: USA vs. Argentina on right now!

[0roo0roo]

he just has questionable loyalty

 

[iamme]

i'm very interested in seeing what will become of USA basketball from this point on. the summer games in '02 and these Olympics have been a wake up call for a change in the way USA basketball should be run.

most USA basketball fans will say that if we sent our "best" (KG, Shaq, Kobe, T-Mac, etc), we would have won. hell, some say that if we sent some of our elite shooters (Redd, Hamilton, even Reggie Miller), we would have been much better off.

for those saying our NBA champs should represent our country, i doubt that will ever happen. you have to get simulatenous cooperation from every man on the team, and also, what about teams whos top players are foreign? the Spurs would be without Ginobili, the Mavs without Nowitski, etc.

having a set USA basketball team that always plays together is interesting, but who's going to sustain them financially? they'd be competing for dollars against the NBA.

i really don't know what is the best solution. my prediction is that we will continue to send a team to represent in the olympics that isn't comprised of the top players. much like the slam-dunk contest, the top guys have little motivation to risk injury and, now, even losing.

 

[torpid]

I'm all for sending elite college players plus any NBA player who would be dedicated enough to start practicing shortly after the end of the college season. The main problem there is, what if a potential draft pick got injured?

 

[iamme]

btw, no one should be surprised that this team lost.

if we've learned anything from this year's NBA Finals: individual talent doesn't guarantee success anymore. the Pistons' selfless team play embarassed the talent-stocked Lakers.

 

[DougK62]

I say forget those lame-ass NBA players and let the college kids play ball. They'd have more fun and appreciate the opportunity. Probably easier for them to get a team together and practice more often, too.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: torpid
I'm all for sending elite college players plus any NBA player who would be dedicated enough to start practicing shortly after the end of the college season. The main problem there is, what if a potential draft pick got injured?

elite college players? do we even have those anymore? i swear they all seem to jump to the NBA right after HS or 1st year of college now. and how would that be fair if we're sending our college players and they're sending their pro players? These guys are all-stars in their own country, not amatuer players, these are pros.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: welst10

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: welst10
LIVE score

Thanks for the spoiler in the thread title, you going to update the final score there too?... :roll: Guess I watch something else tonight.

spoiler? I only listed the score at 3 minutes into 3rd quarter. That's hardly a spoiler. If you didn't read into this thread, you wouldn't know the final results, would you?

Yes, because it would have been soooo freaking hard to keep that line in the thread instead of the summary. And yes, a score, at that period is quite a spoiler. Even at half time it would be.

Who cares what the final score is, "US does not look good so far" and they were losing in the 3rd by a 30% spread.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: DougK62
I say forget those lame-ass NBA players and let the college kids play ball. They'd have more fun and appreciate the opportunity. Probably easier for them to get a team together and practice more often, too.

one reason why this would be good: college players can play and play against the zone. it seems that NBA players have forgotten the zone. once other teams played a zone, USA fell apart.

however, what's to say that we don't end up getting second rate college players? what if NBA lottery bound college kids say they don't want to risk losing millions, for the chance of Olympic gold? are we better off with second best college kids or second best NBA players?

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: iamme
i'm very interested in seeing what will become of USA basketball from this point on. the summer games in '02 and these Olympics have been a wake up call for a change in the way USA basketball should be run.

most USA basketball fans will say that if we sent our "best" (KG, Shaq, Kobe, T-Mac, etc), we would have won. hell, some say that if we sent some of our elite shooters (Redd, Hamilton, even Reggie Miller), we would have been much better off.

for those saying our NBA champs should represent our country, i doubt that will ever happen. you have to get simulatenous cooperation from every man on the team, and also, what about teams whos top players are foreign? the Spurs would be without Ginobili, the Mavs without Nowitski, etc.

having a set USA basketball team that always plays together is interesting, but who's going to sustain them financially? they'd be competing for dollars against the NBA.

i really don't know what is the best solution. my prediction is that we will continue to send a team to represent in the olympics that isn't comprised of the top players. much like the slam-dunk contest, the top guys have little motivation to risk injury and, now, even losing.

I think our best solution is:
1. to create a team that will fit well with international rules, not just try to put all the best players on the team that are willing to go. Off the top of my head, i say people like Brent Barry, Michael Redd, Ron Artest..

2. have them practice longer. we had the shortest practice period of all the teams in the Olympics.

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: iamme

Originally posted by: DougK62
I say forget those lame-ass NBA players and let the college kids play ball. They'd have more fun and appreciate the opportunity. Probably easier for them to get a team together and practice more often, too.

one reason why this would be good: college players can play and play against the zone. it seems that NBA players have forgotten the zone. once other teams played a zone, USA fell apart.

however, what's to say that we don't end up getting second rate college players? what if NBA lottery bound college kids say they don't want to risk losing millions, for the chance of Olympic gold? are we better off with second best college kids or second best NBA players?

Thats true. Looks like the only solution is asking for volunteers among the top college/pro players and make them practice for a couple months ahead of the olympics.

 

[iamme]

btw, did anyone else notice the "future stars of the NBA", like LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Stoudamire couldn't hit a jumpshot if their lives depended on it? i know it's been said to death, but it's sad that a fundamental basketball skill isn't mastered at the NBA level.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: welst10
LIVE score

Thanks for the spoiler in the thread title, you going to update the final score there too?... :roll: Guess I watch something else tonight.

The game is on NBC right now...

Yeah... where else was I going to record it from? Do you know how many people are at work right now, taping/DVRing it? It would have been simple to keep the spoiler out of the thread summary, I wouldn't have click on the thread if it just said what's in the title.

We need a tissue emoticon..
You can still watch the game, so what if you know the outcome, it's not like a play by play was given.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

This is absurd. Everyone is entitled to his opinion, but I see this as a clear demonstration of the me-first mentality that comes from paying these guys tens of millions of dollars to play basketball. Regardless of the officiating, or the zone defense, Team USA should by all rights have been able to thrash any other national team in the world, rather than losing THREE TIMES. This is an embarrassing performance.

 

[Imdmn04]

Haha I remember Carmelo gauranteeing a gold medal, this ought to teach him to shut the fvck up and stop being a typical cocky rookie that doesnt know sh!t about whats going on in the world.

Of course, he will say that the only reason they lost was because he didnt get to play much.

 

[jjones]

For all of you who promote the idea of sending college ballplayers, you better think again because that's exactly what the US was doing prior to the original Dream Team. It was for the reason that our college kids were getting their asses handed to them by the professional players from other countries, and foreign NBA players that played for their country during the Olympics, that the NBA pros were allowed to play for the US. The first Dream Team was formulated exactly because our college players couldn't compete.

What needs to be done is simply better team selection. Now that the best of the best of our NBA players no longer want to go to the Olympics, we have real competition again for the gold. The US Olympic basketball team, including coaching, has to be looked at seriously again and players need to be selected for how they can contribute to competition in international play. A team of good role players, coached well, will do much better than a team of individual 2nd rate stars, IMO.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: iamme
btw, did anyone else notice the "future stars of the NBA", like LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Stoudamire couldn't hit a jumpshot if their lives depended on it? i know it's been said to death, but it's sad that a fundamental basketball skill isn't mastered at the NBA level.

Who cares? They can dunk and they can do endorsements....

Why not send the Harlem Globetrotters?

Hell, I imagine the Washington Generals could beat the scrubs we sent...so they should have an easy time of it.

 

[AmdInside]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: iamme
btw, did anyone else notice the "future stars of the NBA", like LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Stoudamire couldn't hit a jumpshot if their lives depended on it? i know it's been said to death, but it's sad that a fundamental basketball skill isn't mastered at the NBA level.

Who cares? They can dunk and they can do endorsements....

Why not send the Harlem Globetrotters?

Hell, I imagine the Washington Generals could beat the scrubs we sent...so they should have an easy time of it.

I'd rather see the And1 Mix Tour team. I really like The Professor. It would be much more entertaining at least. Although, I am sure they would be called for traveling alot.

 

[Noirish]

The TEAM can only DREAM.

 

[iamme]

Originally posted by: Noirish
The TEAM can only DREAM.

that was......horrible.

 

[Childs]

We should have open tryouts for the Olympics, just like they used to do with the college players. I will not watch another USA team get beat in the Olympics because they dont have the motivation to take it seriously. I rather watch players who want to be there compete. These guys thought it was an easy medal op, and this year was just as embarassing as last year when they placed 6th.

Originally posted by: jjones
For all of you who promote the idea of sending college ballplayers, you better think again because that's exactly what the US was doing prior to the original Dream Team. It was for the reason that our college kids were getting their asses handed to them by the professional players from other countries, and foreign NBA players that played for their country during the Olympics, that the NBA pros were allowed to play for the US. The first Dream Team was formulated exactly because our college players couldn't compete.

The college players only lost twice up to that point, and medaled both times. They were still competitive. The NBA "PROS" have lost more times in international play in the last two years than all international competition combined.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Funny how it's always the refs fault when we lose, but when we win it's because we're the best.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Funny how it's always the refs fault when we lose, but when we win it's because we're the best.

funny how spain blamed the refs for their loss even though the refs called more fouls on the US team.

 

[StinkyPinky]

Originally posted by: maddogchen

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Funny how it's always the refs fault when we lose, but when we win it's because we're the best.

funny how spain blamed the refs for their loss even though the refs called more fouls on the US team.

I don't care what Spain does. I'm talking about us. Our basketball team is arrogant, complacent, and unprepared. It's not the refs fault we lose.

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky

Originally posted by: maddogchen

Originally posted by: StinkyPinky
Funny how it's always the refs fault when we lose, but when we win it's because we're the best.

funny how spain blamed the refs for their loss even though the refs called more fouls on the US team.

I don't care what Spain does. I'm talking about us. Our basketball team is arrogant, complacent, and unprepared. It's not the refs fault we lose.

I'm saying many teams complain about the refs when they lose, not just US

 

[SportSC4]

it's silly to say that we should have a college team. If they are that good that just go to the NBA. Who's to say that they could have done any better? the problem was that we had no one to shoot from the outside. Everytime the US got the ball they would try and drive up the middle. If the US had any decent outside shooting then it would have opened up the middle. if someone is to blame, it's whoever put the team together. Grabbing a bunch of big names and throwing them together does not equal success.