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KoriEllis
08-24-2004, 12:18 AM
Brick and Clank

www.insidehoops.com/commi...2304.shtml (http://www.insidehoops.com/committee-082304.shtml)

Editorial by Joseph Verburgt / Aug 23, 2004
Committee's selections leave questions unanswered

USA Basketball, when not up against Angola, continues to struggle to make anything other than a dunk. There have been several excuses, such as: the zone defense, the lack of chemistry compared to the other countries, and of course, the players. But none of these excuses are the reason for the struggles of the US Team. The real blame starts at the top. And no one is higher than the men who picked the roster.

Bryan Colangelo, Billy King, Mitch Kupchak, Kevin O'Conner, Garry St. Jean, and Rod Thorn are just a few of the guys to blame. But these are the leaders in picking a team as they are the National Basketball Association's Appointees. One has to ask, where is Wally Szczerbiak or Michael Redd? Where is one of the Barry Brothers? How can we not have one three point shooter when every other team in the Olympics plays a zone defense?

I guess the committee felt that our opponents would just let Richard Jefferson, Carmelo Anthony and Lebron James drive the lane and dunk every time down the court.

When your most consistent three point specialist is Allen Iverson, you have problems. A.I. shot 29 percent from behind the arc last season in the NBA.

Apparently the USA Basketball Selection Committee doesn't believe in stats.

The committee can try and hide behind the fact that the list of players that rejected the invite is longer than the F.B.I's most wanted list. The question remains, how unprepared was this committee? Why didn't they add perimeter shooting? The fact is money. Who is going to bring in the cash, Lebron James or Michael Redd? The committee thought we could just waltz in and take gold and replicate the feats of the original Dream Team. In return, they sacrificed chemistry, shooting, and players who do not play Larry Brown's defense first style. USA Basketball would have been better just letting the Detroit Pistons play and replace the international players with a few "marketable" names. This way everyone is happy.

The world has not caught up to USA hoops. We will continue to struggle throughout the Olympics. Maybe in 2008, we will see Team USA and not the USA All-stars.

Joe Verburgt is a Marquette University Sophomore. Any comments can be sent to [email protected].

SAmikeyp
08-24-2004, 05:40 PM
Oh....I thought the US Team now had mascots.