LeBron still hard at work to improve
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
Sometimes this job calls for courageous positions.
So let's take a leap and recognize that LeBron James has his act together.
Yes, we already knew that fact as related to the NBA and his team and reaching the Finals and creating a night to remember against the Detroit Pistons and all that stuff.
But after playing all those games well into June, the easy thing for James would have been to take the summer off.
Much was made, after all, of the fact that James played too much basketball before last season.
Instead, James lived up to his commitment to USA Basketball and helped the U.S. team win the FIBA tournament and ensure that the red, white and blue will have a chance to regain the gold medal in China next year.
Yes, James has a clause in his Nike deal that makes appearing in China beneficial, but those who know James and who have been around him this summer know that his commitment to country is not about money.
''The easy thing for him to do would have been to stay home,'' Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry said.
For James, the pursuit of the gold medal means something.
To that end, a collection of stars spent three weeks trying to merge into a team.
The best part of the experience?
''How the guys oversee their egos and individual achievements to become a team,'' James said. ''We all know that a player like Kobe Bryant leads the league with scoring points every year, and he threw that out the window and deferred to Carmelo Anthony.
''I think that a lot of guys on our team threw their egos out the window.''
This is no small feat. And it matters. The days of the USA rolling out stars and rolling over opponents are over. The team's bronze-medal experience in Greece proved that. That team had stars but wasn't a team.
So this summer a group of NBA stars (James, Jason Kidd, Bryant, Anthony, Amare Stoudamire and Michael Redd) tried to form the foundation of a team by working and being together for three weeks. It's basketball, yes, so it's not like laying bricks in the desert. But it's important.
And the USA will benefit.
But so will the Cavs, because James used the time not just to help his country (wave flag now) but also to help his game.
One of the more intriguing facts about the great players in the NBA is they do not settle for being great. They want to get better.
Consider Magic Johnson, as good a passer as the NBA has ever seen. Late in his career, he led the league in free-throw shooting.
Same with James, who is not settling on entering this season as the same player he was a year ago. He worked on his shooting and finished the FIBA tournament with some hellacious games.
Final tournament shooting percentages: 76 percent from the floor, 62 percent from 3-point range. That included an 11-for-11 game against Uruguay on Wednesday and an 11-for-15 game (8-for-11 on 3s) in the finals against Argentina.
The guy who continually amazes set a U.S. record for points in a game in Olympic qualifying play with 31, set a record for 3s and tied the record for field goals made.
Oh, his 15 steals in the tournament were second highest on the team.
Kidd, who spent many extra hours shooting with James, marveled at his desire to improve.
''He wants to work,'' Kidd said.
Key word there is ''wants.''
There is so much to like when a great player wants to be greater and wants be on the national team and wants to win a gold medal.
You hear all the time about what a great worker a player is. First one in the weight room, last one to leave the facility, blah blah blah.
With James, there is no blah. He cares about his team and his game.
Kidd summarized things well when he discussed James and the other young players on the U.S. team.
''The game is in good hands,'' Kidd said.
Sometimes this job calls for courageous positions.
So let's take a leap and recognize that LeBron James has his act together.
Yes, we already knew that fact as related to the NBA and his team and reaching the Finals and creating a night to remember against the Detroit Pistons and all that stuff.
But after playing all those games well into June, the easy thing for James would have been to take the summer off.
Much was made, after all, of the fact that James played too much basketball before last season.
Instead, James lived up to his commitment to USA Basketball and helped the U.S. team win the FIBA tournament and ensure that the red, white and blue will have a chance to regain the gold medal in China next year.
Yes, James has a clause in his Nike deal that makes appearing in China beneficial, but those who know James and who have been around him this summer know that his commitment to country is not about money.
''The easy thing for him to do would have been to stay home,'' Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry said.
For James, the pursuit of the gold medal means something.
To that end, a collection of stars spent three weeks trying to merge into a team.
The best part of the experience?
''How the guys oversee their egos and individual achievements to become a team,'' James said. ''We all know that a player like Kobe Bryant leads the league with scoring points every year, and he threw that out the window and deferred to Carmelo Anthony.
''I think that a lot of guys on our team threw their egos out the window.''
This is no small feat. And it matters. The days of the USA rolling out stars and rolling over opponents are over. The team's bronze-medal experience in Greece proved that. That team had stars but wasn't a team.
summer a group of NBA stars (James, Jason Kidd, Bryant, Anthony, Amare Stoudamire and Michael Redd) tried to form the foundation of a team by working and being together for three weeks. It's basketball, yes, so it's not like laying bricks in the desert. But it's important.
And the USA will benefit.
But so will the Cavs, because James used the time not just to help his country (wave flag now) but also to help his game.
One of the more intriguing facts about the great players in the NBA is they do not settle for being great. They want to get better.
Consider Magic Johnson, as good a passer as the NBA has ever seen. Late in his career, he led the league in free-throw shooting.
Same with James, who is not settling on entering this season as the same player he was a year ago. He worked on his shooting and finished the FIBA tournament with some hellacious games.
Final tournament shooting percentages: 76 percent from the floor, 62 percent from 3-point range. That included an 11-for-11 game against Uruguay on Wednesday and an 11-for-15 game (8-for-11 on 3s) in the finals against Argentina.
The guy who continually amazes set a U.S. record for points in a game in Olympic qualifying play with 31, set a record for 3s and tied the record for field goals made.
Oh, his 15 steals in the tournament were second highest on the team.
Kidd, who spent many extra hours shooting with James, marveled at his desire to improve.
''He wants to work,'' Kidd said.
Key word there is ''wants.''
There is so much to like when a great player wants to be greater and wants be on the national team and wants to win a gold medal.
You hear all the time about what a great worker a player is. First one in the weight room, last one to leave the facility, blah blah blah.
With James, there is no blah. He cares about his team and his game.
Kidd summarized things well when he discussed James and the other young players on the U.S. team.
''The game is in good hands,'' Kidd said.
