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I think the Kid is really tired and his legs are gone. You have to remember that his body still developing.
" FIBA!"
Timothy Theodore Ducan, September 2004
I think the Kid is really tired and his legs are gone. You have to remember that his body still developing.
I don't actually remember what happened. Was he getting screwed over by the officiating with cheap fouls? Does anyone remember watching the games?" FIBA!"
Timothy Theodore Ducan, September 2004
Hopefully Victor can dig deep and come up with a massive game tomorrow. I believe he will.
I am glad Pop played Wemby limited minutes in his rookie season because Pop knew what was coming for Victor in this Olympic.
He needs rest.
Nah I disagree. At least he can make a layup now and again unlike Wesley.
He's shooting 65% from the FT line, which is a pretty good sign that he's tired.
But that doesn't do justice to the fact that he's drawn a lot of attention. He'll get better/stronger and handle the defensive pressure better, but even now he makes his teammates better. Those guys around him are good, but they don't get to the final without Wemby - even if his shooting % is down.
Don't recall the details but mostly he struggled to adapts to FIBA rules and probably wasn't prepared for it.
He also was part of the weakest Dream Team assembled. Kobe or Shaq refused to come.
I recall him fouling out couple times, while I've rarely seen him foul out in NBA
Not sure if he got screwed or if it was mostly on him and team USA not being well prepared and not enough "cheat codes" to compensate it.
Kobe was on trial for rape and Tim was in constant foul trouble. Larry Brown also kept LeBron, Wade, and Melo glued to the bench in his infinite wisdom.
I was actually stationed in Germany during this time and I was able to go watch one of their games with my oldest. Just from my observations of the game and the ones I caught on AFN the entire team was struggling with FIBA rules. It was a hot mess. They had no chemistry and they didn’t understand the rules.
I remember watching those 2004 games and Timmy was constantly saddled with ticky tack fouls on defense and and teams packed the paint when he tried to get his post game going. That 2004 team didn't have any shooters on it (most of the best players didn't want to go due to terrorism concerns iirc) and teams crowded Tim with zero repercussions. Look to the 2003 Tournament of the Americas that Team USA won handily (beat Argentina by 33 in gold medal game) with a much better overall constructed roster in which Tim played great for a glimpse at what should've been for 2004.
He is learning the hard way and gaining a huge boost in experience. It is never too good to be dominant too young or to only play regular season games which delude you into the idea that games without impact and without stakes will make you progress. There's a lot of pressure on this twenty-year-old; he's making a ton of mistakes; he's frustrated; he's not the dominant young man he could have hoped to be while playing 2K with cheat codes; he learns that other players on the team can be more useful than him; he learns that the light can legitimately shine on other players; and he has the great luxury despite all these failures, despite all these positive doubts… to win and be a medalist at 20 in his home Olympics. When he will play his first NBA Finals, he will have the impression of having already experienced this, and he will know how to manage if he starts badly. Consider yourself lucky that Wemby can have an accelerated learning curve and a little exercise in humility, because it will all benefit Spurs in the long run.
Regarding the myth of players needing to rest, most athletes need a few days of rest, the rest of the time they continue to work hard. He has already had this time off between the regular season and the start of preparation for the Olympics. He will have a few days again starting next week, and he will start getting to work again very quickly with more specific exercises. No athlete requires five months of rest: when you return to training, it will take you that long to get back to your previous form. The majority of athletes (including basketball players) train hard during the off-season.
He is tired, yes, because the compe ion is tough. Again, this is perfect for his experience. He learns to manage his efforts, select his shots and play exhausted.
It's true many of his 3s are open, that's why I don't believe blaming the system or FIBA ball really stand. He didn't really hit the rookie wall this year in the NBA and gave is all for the ROTY run, so he could be gassed indeed.
There is no doubt he is simply gassed, I’m happy he did not injure himself… he has no gas left in the fourth where he usually does damage
I agree
He also missed tons of gimmies and bank shots he usually makes in his sleep
He needs to find a way to get loose
They were in their infancy. Far more damaging was the absence of any MVP caliber player outside of Duncan. You mentioned Bryant, but also: O'Neal, Garnett, McGrady. Even most of the second tier was missing save for Iverson: Kidd, Carter, Pierce, Allen, Billups, the Wallace's, Brand, (Jermaine) O'Neal, etc.
Beyond the relative lack of talent, there was no organization. I don't believe there was a training camp or scouting of other countries, nor even so much as a crash course in the different rules/officiating standards and there damn sure wasn't a "3 year commitment" (which followed the debacle).
Ben Wallace, Elton Brand, and Jermaine O'Neal had gotten undressed by Scola, Nocioni, and Oberto in the 2002 World Championships while Pierce was getting skull ed by Manu and I don't think any of them wanted any part of that public disgrace again in the Olympics.
A lot of the high end players were active in the qualifiers then withdrew before the actual tourney
they qualified through the fiba america tourney and only 3 players from that squad remained committed to the Olympic team. Duncan, Iverson, and your namesake, Richard Jefferson
duncan was the only all-nba player on the squad (Iverson made it basically every year in that stretch except 04)
That US team with O’Neal, wallace, etc destroyed Argentina by 30+ in the 2003 fiba America’s finals which is what qualified both team for the 04 OlympicsBen Wallace, Elton Brand, and Jermaine O'Neal had gotten undressed by Scola, Nocioni, and Oberto in the 2002 World Championships while Pierce was getting skull ed by Manu and I don't think any of them wanted any part of that public disgrace again in the Olympics.
I actually hope the Spurs let him rest some even if it means barely playing to start the season.
Wemby has played basketball almost non stop for over a year. And the little break he had between the summer league and season he must have been working out like crazy cause he was noticeably more muscular to start last year than he was in summer
league
He's still not even old enough to drink yet. He will be fine lol
Umm drinking age is 16 in France
Scrub. Trade him.
Sure...
Wtf is wrong with this kid?
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