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Bowen's defensive mindset was really sorely missed.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/c...n.2fab2b9.html
Web Posted: 09/01/2006 10:24 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
According to a reliable USA Basketball snoop, Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski decided the final roster spot for the FIBA World Championships was center Brad Miller instead of Spurs' forward Bruce Bowen.
Bowen supposedly got the ax because Coach K wanted one more big man for the tournament in Japan and because Miller had shot the ball better from 3-point range in exhibition games in Asia.
Hindsight, of course, is flawless, but in light of Team USA's 101-95 loss to Greece on Friday, that was an idiotic decision because Coach K did not see fit to even play Miller in the game that ended America's dream of regaining the top spot in world basketball.
Among the 24-man cadre from which the USA roster was filled, Bowen was the only member of the NBA's first-team All-Defensive unit available to play in Japan. Kobe Bryant, the only other member of the group who has made an All-Defense first team, was injured.
So think about it. One of the premier defensive players in the world was not good enough for a team that stressed defense. Krzyzewski had insisted it was Priority No.1.
Greece won Friday's game by running the same play, a high pick and roll, over and over and over.
John Stockton and Karl Malone never ran it better.
And Krzyzewski never made the right adjustment to stop it.
How stubborn do you have to be to not try a little zone defense when you're being eaten alive by a pick and roll?
Krzyzewski said something else after the first day of training camp that was both surprising and unsettling. He said he had been greatly impressed by Joe Johnson; that before seeing him in practice he didn't know how good Johnson was.
It was the first clue that the accomplished college coach needed someone to clue him in about the NBA personnel on his roster.
Team USA's head coach needs to know his own personnel better than Krzyzewski did during the FIBA tournament.
Bowen discovered that Coach K was clueless about his own defensive versatility when the coach questioned Bowen's ability to defend Puerto Rican point guard Carlos Arroyo in an exhibition game. Bowen suggested he consult assistant coach Mike D'Antoni, well aware the Phoenix Suns head coach had seen Bowen defending Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and, occasionally, Steve Nash.
After Friday's loss Krzyzewski said Team USA needed to learn the international game better.
Perhaps D'Antoni, who coached in Italy for eight years and obviously knows NBA personnel better than Krzyzewski, would have been a better choice for head coach.
Now the U.S. has to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in the Tournament of the Americas next summer in Venezuela. I wonder how many of the 12 who have to play for the bronze medal, instead of gold, in Japan, are going to want to spend another long summer overseas.
Bowen promises he will be back in the cadre when it convenes for practice next summer.
Perhaps his defensive prowess won't be wasted then.
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Bowen's defensive mindset was really sorely missed.
Oh please!!...now it's coach K 's fault?...LOL
Bowen is not the difference maker...
They were better off without him....
That's funny. You were SO ready to blame Popovich, an assistant, for 2004, yet K, the head coach is blameless for this? Both of your faces are showing, Louis.
Well by your logic it was Pops fault as an assistant coach that the US lost in the olympics. So now who are you blaming Nate McMillan, or let me guess Mike D'Antoni?
and Bowen can't hit from that location, Coach K?and because Miller had shot the ball better from 3-point range in exhibition games in Asia.
it was during this time that I closed my eyes bec they made it so easy..Greece won Friday's game by running the same play, a high pick and roll, over and over and over.
John Stockton and Karl Malone never ran it better.
And Krzyzewski never made the right adjustment to stop it.
Team USA's head coach needs to know his own personnel better than Krzyzewski did during the FIBA tournament.
Bowen discovered that Coach K was clueless about his own defensive versatility when the coach questioned Bowen's ability to defend Puerto Rican point guard Carlos Arroyo in an exhibition game. Bowen suggested he consult assistant coach Mike D'Antoni, well aware the Phoenix Suns head coach had seen Bowen defending Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell and, occasionally, Steve Nash.
if Bowen goes he's a yr older and might not be effective as today.Now the U.S. has to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in the Tournament of the Americas next summer in Venezuela.
Last edited by milkyway21; 09-02-2006 at 01:33 AM.
You've said it's Pop's fault (as an assistant) Team USA lost last time, so using the same logic it's not much of a reach to hang this one on Coach K, especially when he couldn't come up with any way to defend the fundamental play of basketball (pick and roll).Oh please!!...now it's coach K 's fault?...LOL
Bowen is not the difference maker...
They were better off without him
Louis, do yourself a favor and reach over and hit the power button on your computer. You're not even a good troll any more, just Houston's village idiot who managed to find a keyboard.
Is there a way Bowen can get back on the team for the Olympics?
Yes. He'll be old by then. But all 25 guys who were invited to try out this summer are eligible to make the Olympic team.
He's old now, but that's not stopping him. And he's got some "i told you so's"
I don't know if they would have won with Bruce in there but it would have been good to see him on Spanoulis while he got hot and started killing the US. Having one of the best 1-1 defenders for this situation would have been nice AND he is able to shoot 3s... but is it pointless because we will never know but I am sure he would have helped the team in this situation.
On the rare occasion, I really don't mind saying I told you so. Team USA forgot its priorities, and it backfired on them the same way it did in Athens.
And before all you patriots go getting your panties in a wad, I'm not saying that Bruce Bowen would've SAVED the World Championships.
But I think it's obvious, finally, that him not being there (or even getting a decent chance to play!) was part of the big-picture problem.
Pop wouldn't have won either.
I mean, according to Aggie and others he can't coach an offense against a zone D.
I mean you need to consult a college coach for that.
oops.....
Coach K made some fairly idiotic decisions, but I don't know if I'd put leaving Bowen off at the top of the list. He could've helped, but Krzyzewski wouldn't have played him anyway.
What was truly puzzling was how they could be so poorly prepared to defend pick and rolls and what more did Dwight Howard have to do to earn playing time? Grabbing every rebound and making lots of easy dunks didn't seem to be enough...
I still wonder how the "Krzyzewski" is pronounced shuh - SHEF - skee
Coach K is a dip who couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag.
It was a difficult game to watch. I wanted the three Spurs to do well, and I wanted our USA team to win at the same time. As I reflect on the game, I still see our team composed of a lot of individual stars (Anthony, James, and Wade, and today they prevailed against a somewhat deflated and unmotivated team whose star sat on the bench a great deal of the time.
I saw Scola and Oberto playing significant roles for their team and now wonder if they could do the same with our Spurs.
Also, there is now little to choose between international teams, that is, doesn't everyone see parity? Delfino's dunk down the lane could just as easily have been similar to James', Wade's, or Anthony's.
We have nothing to be ashamed of. We play great basketball here in America. And now, so does the rest of the world. I think it's great.
I still wonder how the "Krzyzewski" is pronounced shuh - SHEF - skee
You can't do that
It's a polish name
Obviously, what tipped you off? His 10 Final Four appearances? His 7 NCAA Championship game appearances? Or his 3 NCAA championships? Can't coach his way out of a paper bag, but he sure can coach some basketball.
You can't really expect a bunch of guys to come together and practice for a couple of weeks, then play some exhibition games, then get ready to win 9 games in a row against increasingly better compe ion. This team did about as well as it could seeing how there was talent but no chemistry.
The NBA is NIGHT and DAY different from FIBA - it's almost like playing a variation on the sport. The only real way the US team would be able to get it down would be to practice and play as a unit often between now and the Olympics - which won't happen.
Apperently there are a few slight differences between the college game and professional international compe ion
Steve Spurrier was no slouch of a college coach but boy did he do a marvelous job in the NFL. Same can be said of Rick Patino and the gem of an NBA coach he became.
Let the great NBA coaches lead THEIR players in international play, and leave the college coaches on campus where they're supposed to be.
Coach K is one of the worst coaches they could have picked. Did anyone watch the NCAAs this year? His whole offense consisted of running Re through 25 screens a possession til' he got open.Pop wouldn't have won either.
I mean, according to Aggie and others he can't coach an offense against a zone D.
I mean you need to consult a college coach for that.
oops.....
When LSU adjusted and took that out, Duke never could adjust. Coach K gets by because he generally puts more talent on the floor than any team he faces, and he has the refs in his back pocket.
They couldn't have picked a worse college coach to head this team, and you still miss the point of my original argument - Team USA needs a college coach *as an assistant* to help with things. Like it or not, NBA players will never respect a college coach in situations like this. You need an NBA coach as head coach to juggle the egos of the squad, you just need some college insight to make it all work.
The perfect coaching staff for Team USA would be Pop or Phil Jackson as HC, with Jim Boeheim as assistant #1. You could fill out the coaching staff with members of Spurstalk and be set.
Thanks for still not getting it, Tfart.
As a foreigner, I don't care about what he has done with Duke and I'm quite neutral but this K guy has been horrible on this tournament. Some example :
1) Third quarter of the Greece game : USA are -6 at the half and he wait to be at -16 to take a Timeout.
2) As said before, he hasn't used Dwight Howard in the second half while he was playing great in the first half.
3) At the press conference, he has called Greek players by their jersey number and not by their name. Either he is lazy as or he thought that USA was way better than other countries but he hasn't really scouted Greece that was one of the best team in the world.
4) A defense based on steal and on cuting passing lanes
He's good at paying off ACC refs, DUKE = CHEATERS
He gets by because he generally is trotting out 10 high school All-Americans to play ball against at most 2-3 of them, and because he gets to say whether or not a ref works in his conference or at the DI level the following year.Obviously, what tipped you off? His 10 Final Four appearances? His 7 NCAA Championship game appearances? Or his 3 NCAA championships? Can't coach his way out of a paper bag, but he sure can coach some basketball.
The idea of him being a successful national team coach is a joke.
I think deep down the NBA suits wanted to put a college coach in charge in case the national media formed the lynch mob that they did after teams led by Karl and L. Brown bombed out.
If the head coach has to take a fall, it's better to have a college guy as the scapegoat instead of the media trashing an NBA guy, that's bad for David Stern's business.
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