Has USA Basketball’s selective process created holes in its roster?By Scott McNeish
Following a disappointing bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Phoenix Suns general manager and United States basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo vowed to build the next edition of Team USA the “right way.”
The focus has sternly shifted to team basketball. The 2004 team could have destroyed the rest of the planet in a dunk contest, but in regards to what really matters – scoring more points than the opponent when the clock runs out – they fell short.
After a week of tryouts in Las Vegas, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski has picked the team that bears the pressure of re-establishing American dominance. But even after the attention to detail, the U.S. team may still lack imperative components.
In 2004, USA was plagued by, among other things, an inability to hit a jump shot – even with a closer three-point line. This rendition of Team USA, once again, is composed of mostly playmakers.
The only pure shooters invited to the try-out, Michael Redd and J.J. Redick, were absent due to personal reasons and an injury respectively.
The remainder of the roster can knock down open shots, but there isn’t a player that can be relied on to snipe from outside. Players such as Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon and Ray Allen would prove to be valuable in international play.
Unlike the NBA, there is no defensive three-second rule, allowing help-side defenders to set up camp in the paint, taking away the NBA isolation game.
The 2004 edition struggled with the closed driving lanes and, consequently, the shooting department. This team must be able to knock down open looks to win games. And the roster should have players to make that easier.
There needs to be a true point guard to compliment the rest of the playmakers, and Chris Paul is the only guard of this persuasion on the roster. Paul, although one of the most inexperienced members on the team, may be the most important. He looks to set up his teammates first, and score second, recognizing the importance of a fluid offense.
The other point guards, Kirk Hinrich and Gilbert Arenas, do not fit the mold, although Hinrich is close.
This stresses the need for Chauncey Billups, considered one of, if not the best floor general in the league, who missed the Las Vegas tryout to be with his wife for the birth of their child.
Billups, coming off an MVP-caliber season, has been setting the table for all-stars for years in the Motor City and would be doing a similar act on the U.S. team.
The U.S., however, cannot win gold leaning on outside shooting and solid guard play. It needs the big boys to contribute as well.
The game has changed considerably over the years, and one major change is the disappearance of the prototypical center – a giant that roams in and controls the paint. The American roster does not have a true center, which could prove to be a chink in their armor.
Brad Miller and Amare Stoudamire are the only centers on the U.S. roster. Both players tend to stray from the blocks and spread a defense, which can help balance an offense, but causes the defense to work less.
Big men, nowadays, are lean and athletic, not big and bulky as in the past. Everyone wants to be the new Dirk Nowitzki-type inside/outside threat. Coach K and Colangelo, although, may be off the hook. With the metamorphosis of the center position, there are few talented centers to pick from.
The true impact centers in the NBA are from the nations the U.S. will tussle with during international play, save Shaquille O’Neal.
Eight of the 15 players selected for the team are forwards. They may pose match-up problems offensively, but the team may suffer on the defensive end against foreign big men, such as Yao Ming.
The U.S. has the talent. It has the speed, defense, athleticism, everything you need to win – in the NBA. The 2004 games proved the NBA game and the international game have grown far apart. The U.S. needs to leave its flashy moves at home and play unselfish, team basketball to re-establish supremacy in the sport invented on its soil.