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nice article.
I didn't see this posted, apologies if I missed it.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=555/qa/
Speaking with Manu Ginobili
Few people can boast of winning an NBA championship. Even fewer own an Olympic gold medal. Fewer yet have won both. Count Argentina's Manu Ginobili in that select group.
In 2004, his squad made the once-unthinkable a reality: a U.S. men's team comprised of professionals did not win Olympic gold. Argentina defeated Team USA in the semifinals before taking down Italy, winning its first Olympic medal in basketball. With much of that team expected to be in Beijing, Ginobili hopes for a similar result.
He spoke with NBCOlympics.com about which championship means the most to him, where he thinks Argentina stands four years later, and his favorite part of the Olympics.
You and a handful of other NBA guys didn't play for Argentina last summer, so how do you think the team did without you guys?
They did amazing. They played so solid and regularly for all the nine games. That's really hard to do. So I was very impressed and, of course, happy.
When you and the others rejoin the team, how will it stack up to the 2004 Argentinean team?
Same team basically. Older, more experienced; so whatever that gives you and takes away. We may not have fresh legs, but we know more components of the game and are more experienced.
You and Fabricio Oberto are two of the few people who own NBA and Olympic championships; how do you compare those two les?
In my situation, coming where we come from, an Olympic gold medal is way harder to get. Because I am lucky enough to play for the Spurs, I've had the opportunity to make it there (win an NBA le) three times. So, Olympics has got a special feeling, something I never thought of winning. And we achieved it, so it was huge for us. And it's going to be even bigger down the stretch when I retire.
What makes Argentina so good? Experience? Chemistry?
Chemistry for sure. We are hard workers and we just want the best for our teammates. On every team, that's huge. We got all the roles well-covered and we're all looking for just one simple goal. In every single team, that's huge.
Will this Argentina team be on the same level as the U.S. and Spain?
Yeah, no doubt. I think we are one of the four best teams in the world. Not many players or (people) that know the game or have been following us are going to argue with me on that. Anybody of those four can finish fourth, fifth, sixth because there are other good teams. But I think so far we demonstrated, we show the world that we are top four.
Who are your top four?
I would say U.S., Spain, us, and Lithuania or Greece.
With international tournaments the way they are, can a team can get hot at the right time and win?
Yeah, of course. Anybody can come and shock everybody. Don't confuse me, anybody can win. It's such a short tournament where you could have a good game in the quarterfinals ... and go for the gold. That can happen. But if you look closely at the teams, I think we are certainly one of the top four best teams.
Do you think China has an advantage with the Games being held in China?
Yeah, they gonna have an advantage. They can be a surprise too. But I think that they lack the experience and depth. Of course, they have two great talents in Yi (Jianlian) and Yao (Ming) but I think they lack a little depth on the rest of the team.
Outside of basketball, what are the Olympics like?
It was an unbelievable experience (in 2004). Probably the fact of winning it really exposed all the good things about the Olympics. But I really enjoyed the experience of eating with the best athletes in the world, sharing the same village, just going on the bus with the best runner or the best swimmer. It was a great thing for me. And that's why I want to do it again so badly.
Did you follow any sports other than basketball at the Olympics?
We followed them a little bit on TV, online. In Greece it was so difficult to transport. And we were playing every other day so you wanted to use your energy wisely. I didn't attend too many other sports but I was following closely because it was really fun.
Are you a fan of any of the other Olympic sports?
Of course, I cheer for my futbol team a lot because it's the main sport in Argentina. But once you are there, the camaraderie between all the Argentinean athletes is huge. So even if you never saw swimmers performing or any other sport like sailing, you cheer for them and you want the best for them. You can communicate, you can talk about their experience, how they did this. It's beautiful.
-- Compiled by Jon Ackerman, NBCOlympics.com
nice article.
Great interview. I can't wait to see Manu in the Olympics, especially carrying the Argentinian flag into the stadium. I'd be very surprised if anyone other than the Americans or Argentinians won the gold in men's basketball.
Even Manu admitted recently that the Argentine NT is still far from winning the Olympic Gold the way things are now.
great interview. I hope he has fun but I pray that he stays healthy. I just saw the highlights of his two dunks and he really looks good. Those dunks were nice
nice finds, both the interview and the youtube highlight vid.
yeap i think US wins it this time, US and maybe spain. Lithuania have a very good team this year as well. Those three teams should be the top3. If Greece can get a metal that would be awesome
Good power on those dunks. Manu didn't jump too high, though. Hopefully that part will be coming.great interview. I hope he has fun but I pray that he stays healthy. I just saw the highlights of his two dunks and he really looks good
But watching him run, it looks like he has a slight limp
I dunno dude. The first dunk they showed for Manu looked like some damn good lift from what we've seen as of late. 05 Manu may have gotten higher, but that was close. The thing about it that is exciting if Manu can once again lift his explosiveness to those levels is that he's improved other aspects of his game since - especially his 3 point shooting.
I can't wait to see him in action. Go USA but go Manu too.
ex-nay on the beard-ay Manu.
That first dunk it look like he barely got the ball over the rim. Although it's YouTube quality so hard to tell for sure.
In the beginning of this past season, Manu was jumping about as well as I've ever seen him jump. Even on rebounds, he was skying. But after heavy minutes in Jan. and Feb., that explosion was pretty much gone by March.
But yeah, compare Manu from this video to Manu in the playoffs and it's a big improvement jumping-wise. Hopefully that slight limp when he's running back up the court is just from having his ankle taped more than usual.
his super quick first step is back... that "limping" that you see is him still getting over the hump mentally about the injury... once he gets his compe ive fire rolling that will be forgotten...
I missed watching Manu! haven't seen that guy since Hornets series
duncan228... i posted this on another thread but i now i see it should have been a different separate thread...
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...=101869&page=3
i remember i dind't do it because there were like 2, 3 threads open about Manu and i didn't want to get a warning from the mods... :scared
just like in the playoffs this year?the olympics
I love Manu but hope they get eliminated in group play so he can rest.
yep just like last playoffs.. remember the first game against PHX? want me to give you the link to the torrrent so you can download it?just like in the playoffs this year?
Manu makes me proud of being a latin american, and his work with unicef is extraordinary.
Doing good!...
Sorry I missed it. I searched, and I was surprised it hadn't been posted.
Go Argentina!
Manu is still a bit out of shape because of the late start he had due to his injury. He'll get his legs back in a few days.
Saludos.
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