2008 US National Team

[mvblair]

Battier won't be playing in the Olympics, gang.

Battier Pulls Out of Olympic Consideration - May 15, 2008, Houston Chronicle, By JONATHAN FEIGEN

With his rehabilitation from last week's ankle surgery expected to extend well into July, Rockets forward Shane Battier said on Wednesday that he will no longer be a candidate for the United States Olympic team that will compete in Beijing beginning Aug. 8.

"I just got off the crutches today," Battier said. "After talking to Dr. (Tom) Clanton, I won't start running until after July 4. There is a (USA Basketball) minicamp the last weekend in June. If you can't play in the minicamp, you probably can't make the team, so that that probably means the decision has been made.

"It's disappointing. At the same time, I was honored to be considered. I feel good about what USA Basketball has done. I think they'll be a great team and win the gold medal."

Battier joined the USA Basketball senior national team program in 2006, playing in the World Championships in Japan. He did not play in the Tournament of Americas qualifying event last summer in Las Vegas but is still on the 33-player roster from which the Olympic team will be selected.

Battier underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle last week...

This is bad news. I think Battier is one of our great choices for a "role player." I guess it will be easy to justify putting Dwayne Wade on the team now.

[Phantim3dx]

can we get a petition goin to remove d wade from the team

[robbe]

Horrible news for you guys in my opinion. Smart player, cool head, a veteran leader who does the little things and plays defence.

Now there's no way Tayshaun Prince should be left out.

[mvblair]

After Cleveland's loss to Boston yesterday, a report, Schmitt Boyer, asked LeBron about the Olympics.

The Q: With LeBron James -- by Mary Schmitt Boyer, May 18, 2008, Cleveland Plain Dealer

...Q: Are you looking forward to the Olympics this summer? Who will be your main challengers?

A: We're very excited about it. We did a good job last summer of laying down the cornerstone of how we want USA Basketball to be. You look at a team like Spain, Argentina, the list goes on, there's so many teams out there. But we're confident and we have one job, one thing at task, and that's to win a gold medal. We're going to be very excited about that...

No news, but it's good to see that LeBron is thinking about this summer.

[JGX]

Boston Globe article about Olympic team selection:

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2008/05/25/role_call_for_the_games/

[Phantim3dx]

from the website jgx i believe posted

Role call for the Games

Colangelo eyes players who can fill US needs

Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Mark J. Spears Globe Staff / May 25, 2008
Forget a candy store. USA Basketball mastermind Jerry Colangelo is like a kid in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

• globe graphic Picture not quite straight

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Just four years ago, NBA stars were turning down USA Basketball left and right for the 2004 Athens Olympics. An inexperienced team loaded with young players brought back home a disappointing bronze medal.
But now that Colangelo is running the show, he will be the one turning down the stars at the end of next month when he solidifies the new "Dream Team" for this summer's Beijing Olympics.
"Everyone wants to play," Colangelo said. "I love that. The attitude is where we want it to be. We are sorting through this. We want to put the best team forward and we'll cover everything. We said it was not going to be an all-star team. We need role players."
USA Basketball will have a mini-camp with about 15-17 players in Las Vegas from June 27-29 to determine which 12 will go to China. The Olympic roster must be set by July 2.
"I'm just looking for an opportunity to get in and make the team," said Hornets center Tyson Chandler. "It would be a great accomplishment. All I want is an opportunity, and just to be able to go try out with the caliber of guys, I'll feel very fortunate."
NBA fans probably assume that New Orleans guard Chris Paul (second in MVP voting), Utah guard Deron Williams (future All-Star), and Seattle forward Kevin Durant (Rookie of the Year) have earned roster spots. But Colangelo already has a team full of stars with the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Cleveland's LeBron James, Denver's Carmelo Anthony, and Orlando's Dwight Howard; he is looking to fill out the roster with players who fit roles.
That's why versatile Detroit forward Tayshaun Prince is expected to make it over Durant. That's why veteran guards Jason Kidd of Dallas and Detroit's Chauncey Billups should get the nod over the younger Paul and Williams. And while Milwaukee's Michael Redd isn't considered a marquee name, his deadly outside shot makes him a virtual lock.
"A guy like Tayshaun Prince, with his length, smarts, and his ability to guard four positions, is as valuable as a scorer," Colangelo said. "You got Michael Redd. You've got to have shooters. When our coach looks down the bench, he needs a guy who can hit four or five shots.
"We're going to stay true to what we said. It's not an all-star team. It's a team of different components."
The Globe has penciled in Kidd, Billups, Redd, Prince, Bryant, James, Anthony, Howard, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire, and Toronto forward Chris Bosh. That would leave two roster spots open.
So what about guard Dwyane Wade? Believe it or not, the 2006 NBA Finals MVP is on the bubble because of the injury woes that ended his season early. Colangelo had hoped to meet with Wade in Chicago last Wednesday, but Wade didn't get back from the draft lottery in time.
Forward Elton Brand also has injury concerns, and if Colangelo isn't convinced that a player is 100 percent healthy, he's not going to risk taking him to Beijing in place of someone who is.

• globe graphic Picture not quite straight

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"It's a matter of convincing me you're healthy," Colangelo said. "I have 12 spots. I look at the spots like they're valuable real estate. They have to be healthy. They can't be 50 percent. They can't be 80 percent. They have to be 100 percent healthy.
"It may be difficult to determine who is on the team, but it's a far cry from what it was back in '04 when players pulled out. We had young players like Carmelo, LeBron, and Amare. Young players are not good for this team. We're past that. We put the infrastructure in."
Bubble players include guards Wade, Paul, Williams, and Atlanta's Joe Johnson, forwards Bosh, Durant, Utah's Carlos Boozer, the Lakers' Lamar Odom, and Chandler. Celtics forward Kevin Garnett would be a lock if he wanted to play, but he's not interested.
The guess here is that the final two spots will come down to Odom, Boozer, Paul, and Williams, depending on need.
While it won't be easy for Colangelo to choose, it's a good problem to have.
"Right now, we're down to 15 names," Colangelo said. "We have to cut to 12. It's a son of a gun. It's really tough. We're just trying to ride it out."

[Phantim3dx]

taken from espn

about the basetball schedule of team usa and game times

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/...ory?id=3414338

U.S. basketball teams scheduled for all night games in Beijing

Associated Press




Updated: May 27, 2008, 4:27 PM ET

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The United States will face host China on Aug. 10 in the final game on the opening day of the Olympic men's basketball tournament.
FIBA announced the game times for the preliminary rounds of the men's and women's tournaments on Tuesday, and the Americans will play all their games at night. Their games are scheduled for either 8 p.m. or 10:15 p.m. Beijing is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.
The U.S. men's game against reigning world champion Spain also will be at 10:15 on Aug. 16. The remainder of the Americans' Group B games, against Angola and two teams still to be determined from a qualifying tournament in July in Athens, Greece, drew the 8 p.m. slot.
The quarterfinals are on Aug. 20 and the semifinals are two days later. The gold and bronze medal games are scheduled for Aug. 24, the final day of the Olympics.
The U.S. women, the three-time defending Olympic champions, follow their Aug. 9 opener against a qualifier with a game against China on Aug. 11 at 8 p.m.
The Americans also play Mali, New Zealand and another qualifier in Group B play. Quarterfinal play is on Aug. 19, with the semis on Aug. 21 and the final set for Aug. 23.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

[mvblair]

We get China on opening day? Wow, that's gonna' be one of the most watched Olympic basketball games in history. That'll be fun for everybody to watch. Obviously, I predict a US victory, but that Chinese NT could do some real damage to us, especially if we go with a small line-up.

[ArkadiosV2]

Was Paul Pierce even in the candidates list in the first place? Because according to a Greek sports website he is not anymore...

[Phantim3dx]

i never heard of pierce even being part o the squad or mentioned.

i also think so that this will be one of the msot watched games the china vs usa since its the opening match for china, besides its in china so its got that wave of the "masses support". when i think of the olympics and the amt the chinese will get for support i tihnk of that tactic you can unlock in command and conquer generals or china. where you hit this button, and you hear mao tse dong say in his hunan style chinese "zong huaaaa!!!!!!!!!" meaning china!!!!

[JGX]

Pierce is part of the player pool but hasn't attended training camp either year, so I doubt he's in consideration for the Olympics.

[mvblair]

Was Paul Pierce even in the candidates list in the first place? Because according to a Greek sports website he is not anymore...

Pierce is part of the player pool but hasn't attended training camp either year, so I doubt he's in consideration for the Olympics.

Yeah, he won't be on the team.

Truth Is US Squad Has No Position for Pierce - May 26, 2008, Boston Globe, by Marc J. Spears

The highest-ranking USA Basketball official [Jerry Colangelo] said no new players are expected to be added to the pool of NBA stars from which the Olympic roster will be chosen. That basically made it official that Paul Pierce will not be a late addition and thus the Celtics won't have any player representation in the Olympics.


..."I'm pretty much off the list as far as USA Basketball," Pierce said. "But I'm going to try to go out and support them this summer during the time that they are out there. I want them to win the gold."

..."If you look at these teams overseas, they don't have 12 great players. But they have great chemistry and that's why they've been able to catch up."

...

"I'm glad I didn't lose on the biggest stage, the Olympics," Pierce said. "People are going to forget about [the world championships]. But they aren't going to forget about the Olympics."

So, I guess that's it.

I kept those last two quotes here just to cause some controversy and make some people mad.

[mvblair]

Pierce won't be considered because he wasn't on the team in the past two years, but according to the Salt Lake Tribune, Boozer is still a possibility. He didn't play in '06 because of an injury and didn't play in '07 because he was pregnant. Boozer said "I'm sure we'll both [Deron Williams] make it."

Boozer played in Athens (after cheating the Cavaliers). He played well in Athens, getting 6 1/2 points and 3 rebounds a game.

[Phantim3dx]

he was pregnant? really matt?

id take boozer over bosh, although bosh is mroe powered offensively, boozer to me is the more balanced one. he's hard and strong both on the defense and in the offense as a 4. besides theres too many shooters on the team, we need mroe of role supporters; i thnik boozer can contribute in this category. also add in d williams(if he is in the roster, and the chemistry would be much greater. although these two would never compare to malone and stockton. those 2 old foggies did contribute tot he chemistry of the teamusa in 1992.

Pierce won't be considered because he wasn't on the team in the past two years, but according to the Salt Lake Tribune, Boozer is still a possibility. He didn't play in '06 because of an injury and didn't play in '07 because he was pregnant. Boozer said "I'm sure we'll both [Deron Williams] make it."

Boozer played in Athens (after cheating the Cavaliers). He played well in Athens, getting 6 1/2 points and 3 rebounds a game.

[mvblair]

he was pregnant? really matt?

id take boozer over bosh

I'm conflicted on this one. You're absolutely right that Boozer is a more balanced player, but Bosh is a lot better on offense. I'd kind of like to see both of them on the team and maybe push Chandler off the team...

we need mroe of role supporters; i thnik boozer can contribute in this category.

Yeah. You're right. Boozer will play much better without the ball than Bosh.

also add in d williams(if he is in the roster, and the chemistry would be much greater. although these two would never compare to malone and stockton. those 2 old foggies did contribute tot he chemistry of the teamusa in 1992.

It would be nice to see them on the team together. And you know something? I think maybe Korver, also in Utah, might not be a bad choice. It's too late now, obviously, to add Korver, but in retrospect he would be a good choice.