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40 Years Ago, the US "Olympic" Team

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  • 40 Years Ago, the US "Olympic" Team

    The 1980 US Olympic National team is best known for its non-participation in the Moscow Games due to the government boycott because of the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan.
    However, the team that “went nowhere” had a history similar to other US Olympic selections, except the quest for gold. Like previous US National teams, the 1980 squad was named after a thorough selection process (Olympic trials in May) and played a number of exhibition games (against NBA All-Star selections in June).
    In the next lines I’ll try to review its Olympic tryouts and exhibition games, based on research made on US newspapers of the time.

    Team history on USA Basketball official page: https://www.usab.com/history/nationa...piad-1980.aspx

    Olympic Trials

    Trials venue and dates were announced by ABAUSA (the US basketball governing body at that time) towards the end of April. University of Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp Arena in Lexington came as trials site and May 18-22 were the dates scheduled for the tryouts. The selection committee, headed by Dean Smith of North Carolina had the task of selecting the team from a players pool of 48 to 56 invitees. Head coach in charge was Dave Gavitt of Providence College with Larry Brown of UCLA as assistant (Connecticut’s Dee Rowe came later as second assistant). Five exhibition games were also announced with competition provided by the NBA Players Association. The program was set up when the US Olympic Committee had already decided to boycott the Moscow Games.
    Pacific Stars and Stripes, April 28, 1980, Page 18


    Several 1980 college seniors chose to bypass the trials mainly due to the “nonsense” of competing for a spot with nothing to gain and risking injuries that would jeopardize their future careers. The first three picks of the next June Draft, Joe Barry Carroll, Darrell Griffith and Kevin McHale declined the invitation. Other seniors, including Kyle Macy, Mike O’Koren, Andrew Toney, Kiki Vandeweghe, Hawkeye Whitney and Mike Woodson (recovering from a back surgery) followed. Among underclassmen bypassing the trials were Albert King and Terry Cummings, while after some hesitation top rated freshman 7-foot 4 Ralph Sampson decided to keep away as well. It was speculated that the highly prized Sampson feared the pressure of being the best player at the tryouts and maybe not live up to expectations and getting cut.
    The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) • Tue, May 20, 1980 • Page 6

    Two HS players participated in the tryouts, centers Earl Jones and junior Pat Ewing. Acclaimed as perhaps the top 1980 HS recruit, Jones of Washington, DC, went instead to play for Div. II University of DC and remained forever a “mystery man”. The youngest player at the tryouts at just 17, Ewing was already showing glimpses of his fabulous potential. Back in May 1979, the Cambridge, Mass, wonder boy had led a Boston area All-Star aggregation to 85-79 victory over the touring USSR Junior National team preparing for the 1st Fiba WC. Soviet team’s translator and journalist Vladimir Gomelsky (the son of HoF coach Aleksander and himself former player and coach) said: “Ewing really impressed us. He’s the best center I’ve seen in the three years that I’ve come on this tour”.
    Dayton Daily News • Tue, May 15, 1979 • Other Editions • Page 16

    From the original list of 58 players, 20 skipped the trials and 10 were later additions from the committee. After several workout sessions, the remaining 48 players, split in 6 teams, competed the final day in intra squad games for the 12 berths on the Olympic team. Teams #1-2-3 were named “Blues” and 4-5-6 “Whites”.

    Rosters:

    TEAM 1 Blue

    Bill Mayfield, F 6-7, Iowa 1979, NBA undrafted, 1979-80 AAU (Airliners Baskektball Club, Iowa City, AAU champ)
    James Wilkes, SF 6-7, UCLA 1980, NBA 3rd Round – later addition to trials roster
    Charles Bradley, SG 6-5, Wyoming 1981, NBA 1st Round 23rd pick – later addition
    Ray Blume, G 6-4, Oregon State 1981, NBA 2nd Round
    Isiah Thomas, PG 6-1, Indiana 1983, 1981 NBA 1st Round 2nd pick
    Michael Brooks, PF 6-7, LaSalle 1980, NBA 1st Round, 9th pick
    Rodney McCray, SF 6-6, Louisville 1983, NBA 1st Round 3rd pick
    Bill Laimbeer, C 6-11, Notre Dame 1979, NBA 3rd Round, 1979-80 Italy (Basket Brescia)

    TEAM 2 Blue

    Jeff Lamp, SF/G 6-6, Virginia 1981, NBA 1st Round 15th pick
    Lewis Lloyd, SF/G 6-6, Drake 1981, NBA 4th Round
    Earl Jones, F/C 6-11, Spingarn High 1980, University of the District of Columbia (DII) 1984, NBA 1st Round 23rd pick – later addition
    Clyde Bradshaw, PG 6-0, DePaul 1981, NBA 2nd Round
    Randy Wittman, SG 6-6, Indiana 1983, NBA 1st Round 22nd pick – later addition
    Mark Aguirre, SF 6-6, DePaul 1981, NBA 1st Round 1st pick. 1980 NCAA PoY
    Jawann Oldham, C 7-0, Seattle 1980, NBA 2nd Round
    Corny Thompson, PF 6-8, UConn 1982, NBA 3rd Round

    TEAM 3 Blue

    Rod Foster, PG 6-1, UCLA 1983, NBA 2nd Round
    Rolando Blackman, SG/SF 6-7, Kansas State 1981, NBA 1st Round 9th pick
    Derek Smith, SG/SF 6-6, Louisville 1982, NBA 2nd Round
    Darnell Valentine, PG 6-1, Kansas 1981, NBA 1st Round, 16th pick
    Buck Williams, PF/C 6-8, Maryland 1981, NBA 1st Round 3rd pick
    Dick Miller, SF 6-6, Toledo 1980, NBA 2nd Round – later addition
    Dale Salomon, PF/C 6-8, Virginia Tech 1982, NBA 3rd Round – later addition
    Steve Johnson, PF/C 6-10, Oregon 1981, NBA 1st Round 7th pick

    Blackman, Panama-born but raised in Brooklyn, NY, was offered to play for Panama NT but chose instead to tryout for the US team.

    TEAM 4 White

    Dirk Minniefield, PG 6-3, Kentucky 1983, NBA 2nd Round
    Al Wood, SF/SG 6-6, North Carolina 1981, NBA 1st Round 4th pick
    Eric Floyd, G 6-3, Georgetown 1982, NBA 1st Round 12th pick
    Michael Sanders, SG 6-6, UCLA 1982, NBA 4th Round
    David Russell, SF 6-7, St. John’s 1983, NBA 2nd Round
    Larry Nance, PF 6-10, Clemson 1981, NBA 1st Round 20th pick
    Alton Lister, C 7-0, Arizona State 1981, NBA 1st Round, 21st pick
    Jay Vincent, SF 6-7, Michigan State 1981, NBA 2nd Round

    TEAM 5 White

    Frank Johnson, PG 6-1, Wake Forest 1981, NBA 1st Round, 11th pick – later addition
    Bruce Flowers, PF 6-8, Notre Dame 1979, NBA 2nd Round, 1979-80 Italy (Gabetti Cantù)
    Fred Cowan, PF/C 6-8, Kentucky 1981, NBA 6th Round – later addition
    Vince Taylor, SF 6-5, Duke 1982, NBA 2nd Round
    Gene Banks, SF/SG 6-7, Duke 1981, NBA 2nd Round
    Eddie Phillips, PF 6-7, Alabama 1982, NBA 1st Round 21st pick
    Tom Chambers, PF 6-10, Utah 1981, NBA 1st Round 8th pick – later addition
    Kelly Tripucka, SF/SG 6-6, Notre Dame 1981, NBA 1st Round 12th pick

    TEAM 6 White

    Durand Macklin, SF/SG 6-7, LSU 1981, NBA 3rd Round
    Fred Roberts, PF 6-10, BYU 1982, NBA 2nd Round
    Danny Vranes, PF 6-7, Utah 1981, NBA 1st Round 5th pick
    Bill Hanzlik, SF/SG 6-7, Notre Dame 1980, NBA 1st Round 20th pick
    Tracy Jackson, SG/SF 6-6, Notre Dame 1981, NBA 2nd Round
    Brian Walker, PG 6-2, Purdue 1981, NBA 6th Round – later addition
    Sam Bowie, C 7-1, Kentucky 1984 (RS Sr), NBA 1st Round 2nd pick
    Pat Ewing, C 7-0, Cambridge Rindge HS 1981, Georgetown 1985, NBA 1st Round 1st pick

    Despite the absence of several superstars, the tryouts level and the talent on display were excellent and the competition tough. Half-joking, head coach Gavitt said the Soviets were fortunate to avoid the Americans at the Olympics.
    The tripleheader scrimmage was public (for a crowd of 1,500) and was televised by ESPN cable network.
    The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) • Fri, May 23, 1980

    Results:

    In Game 1, Blue Team 2 beat White Team 5, 92-80 (50-40). Bradshaw and Lamp led the Blues with 15 points, followed by Aguirre and Wittman with 12, Earl Jones 11, Oldham and Thompson with 10. Among the Whites, Banks was outstanding with 14 points and 9 rebounds, while high scoring honors went to Cowan with 17.

    Game 2 saw Blue Team 3 routing White Team 4, 111-90 (51-46). Valentine scored 22 points for the winners, Solomon had 20, Derek Smith finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Buck Williams with 16 and 10, and guard Foster added 14 points. Vincent and Floyd were high for the Whites with 19 and 16 points.

    Thomas scored 23 points to lead Blue Team 1 to a 90-75 victory over White Team 6 in Game 3. Brooks and McCray added 14 points for the winners. Bowie excelled for the Whites with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots and Hanzlik finished with 12.

    The selection process was not easy, as many players displayed outstanding talent.

    Ex Purdue head coach Lee Rose, who guided a US team at the 1979 Spartakiade Games and served as a coach of one of the competing squads at the trials named Banks, Bradshaw, Foster, Minniefeld, Derek Smith, Solomon and Vincent as his choices besides eventual selections Aguirre, Bowie, Brooks, Thomas and Valentine.
    The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) • Fri, May 23, 1980 • Page 8

    Clarence “Big House” Gaines, legendary coach at Winston-Salem who guided the Blue Team 3 to victory in game 2 admired his team’s unity as well as individual excellent play of guards Valentine and Foster but said it didn’t help him make up his mind (to make a choice).
    Doylestown Intelligencer, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, May 23, 1980, Page 64


    Final team included:
    Mark Aguirre, Rolando Blackman, Sam Bowie, Michael Brooks, Bill Hanzlik, Alton Lister, Rodney McCray, Isiah Thomas, Darnell Valentine, Danny Vranes, Buck Williams and Al Wood.

    Aguirre, Brooks, Hanzlik, Thomas, Valentine, Vranes and Williams had earned some international experience with previous US selections (1979).

    Starting five would include Aguirre and Brooks at forwards, Bowie at center, Thomas and Blackman at guards.

    All in all the US team resulted the youngest ever selected, with only two seniors (Brooks and Hanzlik) and three freshmen (Bowie, McCray and Thomas). While young age and lack of experience of some players were with no doubt a weakness, talent, enthusiasm and quickness would prove to be a major asset of this team.

  • #2
    Exhibition Games

    Tagged as “Gold Medal Series”, five official exhibition games against NBA selections and one against the ex 1976 Olympic team (actually another NBA all-star selection) were scheduled:

    Game 1 - June 16, vs NBA All-Stars, Los Angeles
    Game 2 - June 18, vs NBA All-Stars, Phoenix
    Game 3 - June 20, vs NBA All-Stars, Seattle
    Game 4 - June 22, vs NBA All-Stars, New York
    Game 5 - June 23, vs NBA All-Stars, Indianapolis
    Game 6 - June 29, vs 1976 Olympic Team, Greensboro, NC

    Exhibitions were to be played under international rules.

    Prior to these games the Olympic team practiced, beginning of June, at Providence College and played twice a New England All-Stars selection. The NE All-Stars comprised previous college and pro players, among them Ernie DiGregorio and Kevin Stacom, former Gavitt’s stars at Providence College. Ernie D’s career was already ailing since two years (he had last played -sparingly- with the Celtics in 1978) but he was still training, hoping for a comeback at NBA level, what actually didn’t happen.

    In front of an attendance of 3,500, US Olympic team beat the NE All-Stars 104-89 on June 4 at Providence. Thomas led the winners with 26 points, drawing enthusiastic comments from local press, Brooks added 16, followed by Williams with 12 points and Vranes with 11. Ernie D led all scorers with 27 points, ex college teammate Stacom netted 16, Bruce Campbell (Providence 1978) scored 18 points and ex-Rhode Island’s Stan Wright added 14.
    Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) • Fri, Jun 6, 1980 • Page 39, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana) • Thu, Jun 5, 1980 • Page 22

    Two days later both teams met again in Hartford, Conn and US Olympians won 81-76 (44-34) after a lackluster performance. Brooks and Wood led US team with 13 points, while Hanzlik and Vranes added 11. Aguirre and Williams didn’t show up in the first half as they left their uniforms at the hotel in Providence and a car sent back for the suits broke down. Stacom led the All-Stars with 20 points, Campbell added 16 and UConn’s Jim Abromaitis 10. DiGregorio was 3-on-14 from the field before leaving the scene early in the second half. New England coach Steve Hocker couldn’t explain why the ex-Providence star disappeared. Attendance was 5,481.
    Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut) • Sat, Jun 7, 1980 • Page 31

    Game 1, Inglewood (Los Angeles)

    US Olympic Team vs NBA All-Stars 97-84 (46-36)

    US: Brooks 18, Aguirre 15, Williams 12, Thomas 10, Lister, Vranes, Wood 8, Blackman, Bowie, Valentine 6, Hanzlik , McCray 0.

    NBA: George Gervin 16, Kermit Washington 15 (and 9 reb), John Lucas 14, Marques Johnson 13, Michael Cooper 10, Reggie Theus 8, Quinn Buckner, Randy Smith 4, Phil Smith, John Shumate 0.

    US Olympic team scored an impressive 55.8% from the field (NBA 53.4%) and outrebounded the pros 43-26, led by Bowie with 10. Young Olympians led early in the game and never trailed. NBA came close to -3 with 4:40 left but the Olympians scored 10 points in a row and put the game away. Rustiness and lack of a big player inside (previously announced Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes couldn’t attend ) were a factor for NBA defeat. Lack of training too was evident. The afternoon before the game NBA coach Paul Westhead had just five players available for practice, but he pointed out the poise and team’s spirit of the Olympians.
    Reported attendance was 4,000 but just 2,611 those who paid, also due to an early schedule and TV broadcasting.
    The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) • Tue, Jun 17, 1980 • Page 34

    Game 2, Phoenix

    US Oympic Team vs NBA All-Stars 97-66 (45-38)

    US: Wood 17, Bowie 16, Aguirre 13, Brooks 10, Williams 7, Blackman, Thomas, Valentine, Vranes 6, Hanzlik 5, McCray 3, Lister 2.

    NBA: Dennis Johnson, Len “Truck” Robinson, Shumate 10, Robert Reid 9, Bob Lanier 8, Garfield Heard, Kyle Macy 6, Mike Gale 5, Mark Olberding 2.

    Wood was 8 on 10 from the field and Brooks and Valentine finished with 5 steals apiece against the out of shape NBA stars. Game was somewhat close in the first half then the better conditioning of the Olympians played a major role as they outscored the pros 27-6 after the intermission and the rout was on. Though short of conditioning Lanier, who only played 16’, outmuscled Bowie inside, but the young Olympian center responded with his quickness and outside shooting. Lanier was impressed by Bowie and said: “That kid can really play...He’ll mature in the next three years and he’ll be a great pro some day...I’m just glad I’m going to be gone when he gets there”. NBA stars’ coach John McLeod was impressed by the Olympians many talents and above all their tremendous enthusiasm.
    A higher than expected crowd of 11,168 cheered Phoenix Suns newcomers Johnson and Macy in the pre game, but then showed no-favorites during the game.
    Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) • Thu, Jun 19, 1980 • Page 20, 24

    Game 3, Seattle

    NBA All-Stars vs US Olympic Team 78-76 (40-35)

    NBA: Paul Westphal 19, Calvin Natt 10, John Johnson 8, Campy Russell 7, Swen Nater, Jack Sikma 6, Fred Brown, Lionel Hollins, Purvis Short, Wally Walker 4, Billy Paultz, Clint Richardson, Theus 2.

    US: Bowie 14, Blackman, Thomas 12, Aguirre, Brooks, Valentine 8, Wood 6, Williams 4, Hanzlik, Vranes 2, Lister, McCray 0.

    NBA Stars went ahead at mid of the first half and held a 76-71 advantage with 2:30 to go but the Olympians rallied and went to within two points with few seconds left, just to have the final shot from Aguirre blocked by Westphal. Head coach Gavitt said that was the best NBA team so far, much better balanced and with Westphal on offense and Sikma on the defensive end making the difference. He added he wasn’t disappointed by his players, but they lacked the same quickness they had before. New Sonics star Westphal drew repeated cheers from the 10,902 fans at the Kingdome.
    Albany Democrat-Herald (Albany, Oregon) • Sat, Jun 21, 1980 • Page 1, Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon) • Sat, Jun 21, 1980 • Page 6

    Game 4, New York

    US Olympic Team vs NBA All-Stars 77-75 (30-34)

    US: Brooks 20, Bowie 13,Wood 12, Aguirre, Thomas 8, Vranes 6, Blackman, Valentine 4, Williams 2, Hanzlik, Lister, McCray 0.

    NBA: Michael Ray Richardson 18 (and 7 assists), Alex English 16, Lonnie Shelton 10, Marvin Webster 9, George Johnson 8, Ricky Sobers 6, ML Carr 4, Mike Dunleavy, Jan Van Breda Kolff 2, Nate Archibald 0.

    A last second long jump shot by Wood from the corner decided a very close game in favor of the Olympians. NBA stars were surprisingly competitive considering their lack of condition (overweight center Webster struggled up and down the floor for 20 minutes) but some of them, like Richardson and English, showed how they usually could play. NBA coach Red Holzman said of the Olympians: “Give the kids credit. Wood hit a heckuva shot. I really think they have played together and know where each other are...and that was the difference”. Similar to Game 1, some first announced big NBA names like David Thompson, Darryl Dawkins and John Drew were no-shows.
    Game was played before a crowd of 6,477 at the Madison Square Garden.
    Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) • Mon, Jun 23, 1980 • Page 66, The Star Press (Muncie, Indiana) • Mon, Jun 23, 1980 • Page 12

    Game 5, Indianapolis

    US Olympic Team vs NBA All-Stars 82-76 (34-42)

    US: Brooks 13, Aguirre, Blackman 12, Vranes 11, Valentine 10, Thomas 9, Bowie 8, Wood 4,Hanzlik 2, Williams 1, Lister 0.

    NBA: Dan Roundfield 13, Billy Knight 12, Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman 10, Dave Robisch 9, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Scott Wedman 8, Artis Gilmore 7, Mike Bantom 5, Phil Ford, Steve Mix 2, Armond Hill 0.

    Olympians again showed their worth as they rallied from 10 points down in second half to earn an emotional victory against an impressive cast of NBA stars. An enthusiastic crowd of 10,019 in Market Square Arena witnessed the courageous second half rally of the Olympic team and head coach Gavitt and assistants Brown & Rowe tearfully embraced each other in celebration as the game ended. Gavitt said “This was the best team we played in the series. They had everything. They had size, strength, shooting and a good bench”. And they had Magic, who just scored 8 points on 3-for-12 shooting but contributed with a game high 10 assists and 5 steals giving Gavitt big problems. But that wasn’t enough. As NBA All-Stars coach Jack McKinney stated “Our guys played a nice branded basketball against a well-coached, well-conditioned group...but the Olympians proved they were ready to play. They wore us down. They kept coming and coming at us and finally it worked for them”. And Gavitt commented afterward “I love these kids, I will hate to give them up”.
    The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis, Indiana) • Tue, Jun 24, 1980 • Page 22

    Game 6, Greensboro

    1980 US Olympic Team vs 1976 US Olympic Team 81-77 (47-33)

    US 1980: Thomas, Wood 13, Aguirre, Bowie 12, Brooks 10, Blackman, Vranes 8, Williams 3, Hanzlik 2, Lister, McCray, Valentine 0.

    US 1976: Walter Davis 14, Mitch Kupchak 13, Scott May 12, Adrian Dantley 11, P. Ford 9, Phil Hubbard 6, Tom LaGarde 5, Quinn Buckner 4, Michael “Tate” Armstrong 3.

    All ex 1976 Olympians were currently playing in NBA except Armstrong (Bulls 1977-79). Former team’s members Kenny Carr, Ernie Grunfeld and Steve Sheppard dnp. Coach Dean Smith took again the reins of the former Olympians in front of an attendance of 7,029.

    This final game stayed close in the first minutes, then 1980 Olympians took the command opening a wide margin as 1976 team went cold on shooting. Despite a valiant comeback from the 1976ers in the second half, the 1980 Olympians hold off the rally and sealed the win with two free throws of Thomas and a dunk of Bowie catching a court-length pass in the last second. Thomas who also finished with 9 assists and dazzled with stunning moves took the honors in this final appearance. Gavitt praised Bowie who withstood the challenge of some feared NBA bigs commenting: “I said Bowie before we started that at the end of this week he would either be a such improved player or be dead. I’m happy to say he’s an improved player and alive as well”.
    The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) • Mon, Jun 30, 1980 • Page 24


    How good was this 1980 “Olympic” team? The way these youngsters managed to beat 5-1 various NBA stars selections was impressive. It’s true that besides being out of shape and not used to international rules NBA All-Stars were aggregations of individual talents lacking organized play. It’s not by accident that the only win from NBA came in Seattle where five players (Westphal, Sikma, Brown, Johnson and Walker) and the coach (Lenny Wilkens) belonged to the same team (the Sonics). However, the qualities shown by the 1980 Olympians impressed everybody. Their aggressive defense, fine shooting and fast break offense coupled with a good balance among roles and team work were their trademarks.
    Unfortunately, nobody will ever know how good this team would have been at the Olympics.

    They went for glory at home but didn’t go for gold in Moscow.
    Last edited by carlo; 06-15-2020, 04:50 PM.

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