Reply With Quote
"You have to keep on playing."
... which means that Tim is a ____ ?
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.35728c0.html
USA spot is official for Bowen: Spurs forward, already leading, grabs one of 15 berths on team set for Asia
Web Posted: 07/25/2006 11:18 PM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS — Bruce Bowen's cell phone rang Monday night, and a familiar voice was on the line.
"It was Tim (Duncan), calling to wish me well," Bowen said Tuesday as USA Basketball announced he was one of 15 finalists from which the 12-player U.S. team in the FIBA World Championships in Japan would be chosen. "Tim loves it when other people bask in the glory. People don't understand that about him. He's been on this USA team before. But he saw I am succeeding and he gave me a shout-out: 'Hey, Bruce, I'm happy for you. Congratulations, man.'"
From a group of 20 players who participated in a weeklong training camp, Bowen and 14 others will head to Asia. First, the 15 will return to Las Vegas on July 31 for more practices and will begin an exhibition schedule Aug. 3.
The World Championships are to begin Aug. 19.
Of the 18 players in camp who did not have injuries or personal obligations that precluded playing in Japan, only Seattle point guard Luke Ridnour and Charlotte Hornets rookie-to-be Adam Morrison were dropped.
Phoenix Suns forward Shawn Marion was a late scratch because of a sore knee that bothered him the final two days of practices.
Joining Bowen on the 15-man roster are Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Washington's Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, Houston's Shane Battier, Toronto's Chris Bosh, Los Angeles Clippers' Elton Brand, Chicago's Kirk Hinrich, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Cleveland's LeBron James, Atlanta's Joe Johnson, Sacramento's Brad Miller, New Orleans' Chris Paul, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire and Miami's Dwyane Wade.
Duncan's experience on the 2004 Olympic team hardly was memorable. He was beset by foul trouble, and Team USA earned only a bronze medal in Athens, Greece. He was so frustrated by the refereeing that he summed up his Olympic experience by saying, "FIBA sucks."
That did not keep Duncan from giving Bowen, his Spurs teammate, some encouragement and good wishes.
"He said he hoped we didn't have to incur some of the things they had to experience," Bowen said of the 2004 Olympic team. "I'm not worried about the officials at all. It's never consistently bad or good. In life, you have to move on whenever you have bad cir stances. You have to keep on playing."
Bowen has emerged as one of the Team USA's leaders. During a spirited final scrimmage Monday, Bowen admonished his teammates to stop complaining about referee David Jones, an NBA official working the practice sessions because he also is certified by FIBA. His teammates took to heart his advice.
"That's where I have to be my most vocal," Bowen said. "If you get bogged down by a play that you think has been called bad, it's going to affect you on the next play."
Adapting to FIBA refereeing is just one adjustment Team USA's players will have to make in Japan. Players accustomed to being their team's star also must learn to subjugate egos for the good of the whole.
"It's great for me to see a bunch of talented guys come together," said Wade, who was the NBA Finals MVP in leading the Heat past the Dallas Mavericks. "Everyone has an ego, but to see everyone put their egos aside and be on the same boat was great to be around. It was just a great week."
The American team also has to adapt to playing against the zone defenses favored by many international teams.
Mostly, though, Team USA must learn to play more as a team; more like reigning Olympic champion and 2002 World Championship runner-up Argentina, which features Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.
"It's Manu's team that makes him such a great international player," Bowen said. "Argentina doesn't say, 'Here, Manu. Do your thing.' It's his team that helps make him great. Fabricio Oberto plays well. Luis Scola plays well.
"Fabricio didn't play that much for us this year. Does that mean he's not a good ball player? No, it doesn't. It's just a different game."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]
"You have to keep on playing."
... which means that Tim is a ____ ?
Bull !It was Tim, calling to wish me well.
It was the front office with his interview script!
The front office was calling to ask him if he received the gift baskets of Spurs jerseys and Bourdeauxs to give to prospective internationals.
And reminding him to flash his rings a little more often around the press and foreign coaches and players.
Duh, it was Tim making sure he kept following the FO script and kept being the "mouth piece"
Duh....
Can I say this is a terribly-written headline? I just now figured out what he meant by "already leading".
Go Bruce!
I wonder how many ways they can re-hash this news?
Yes you may say it. I agree.
I'm glad for Bruce.
It's also pretty cool how the younger players appear to be respecting him. This team has such an enormous amount of talent, and appears to be able to put their egos aside. This could end up being a pretty dominant team.
Maybe the future of American-bred basketball talent isn't so bad afterall.
timvp's line was unavailable for use, so he had to actually use his brain.
Hopefully we will live to see Tim in another olympic game.
I think the US team would benefit from playing more warm-up games against international compe ion to get used to the rules and the officiating. Most of the other top (and even not-so-top) teams are already into rounds of friendly games and warm-up tournaments and the US is taking a break (per Bowen flying into SA)? I thought it was funny-- some article was making a big deal out of the fact that the US players were not in the casinos in Vegas while other countries take their team to the mountains and lock them up with curfews...
yeah but not all teams do that. Argentina only started training yesterday, and they are staying at a resort town on the coast.
but I definitely agree about the warmups with FIBA rules, otherwise they are going to whine all game to the refs, a la Trainwreck
It's nice to see Bruce is doing his homework, I wonder how many other Team USA players even know who Scola is.
Bruce always does his homework- part of the reason he is so good.
Didn't Bruce play FIBA rules when he played in Europe?
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
