Coach K will keep the right attitude

OK, the Redeem Team won the Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics. Peace is restored and all is normal once again in the World!

After the Dream Team showed up and mopped up it appeared that the United States and the NBA had the winning formula, just show up with some NBA talent. It did not work.

So a plan was put in place. There was a 3 year commitment and a change in attitude. No longer would just showing up suffice.

Krzyzewski, an assistant on the 1992 Dream Team, the first team that used NBA players, said the thinking after ‘92 was to just send over the best players for each Olympics. But he said what the rest of the world did was different — build national programs from the junior level up. That’s exactly the type of thing McKillop said goes on in Argentina — with a funneling of junior players up to the Olympic team.

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Now with Coach K involved and continuing his involvement only good things are bound to happen. Coach K does it right and does it with class.

“We won a gold medal, represented our country well, and the question is now where do we go from here and how do we get better?” Krzyzewski said. “How do we make this a much better program and make it fashionable [to play for the USA]. We want people to have an intense desire to play for their country out of high school, college and the NBA. I know the guys who did were ecstatic and a number want to do it again.”

As for coaching the team again, Krzyzewski said, “right now I just want to help. I enjoy recruiting and coaching Duke but I’ll see where all of it goes. All I can tell you is that I’ll be involved. I want to be with how we go forward.”

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Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Chris Bosh show off the Gold!

Have you heard that LeBronze James is thinking of changing his name to LeGold James?

OK, bad joke, but it sure was refreshing to see the United States do it the right way. The guys on the team actually wanted to be there. They stayed in the Olympic village and said all the right things.

USA 118 Spain 107

Spain played an inspired game with Manu Ginobili going out early with an ankle injury and Jose Calderon also out with an injury. This did not stop the Spaniards, as they just kept firing the ball down from long range or busting it inside with slashing drives against a good U.S. defensive team.

But it was not enough as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade led the way to victory with the U.S. making plenty of their own 3 point shots.

Dwyane Wade scored 27 points for the Americans, who found a much gamer Spanish team than the one they humiliated by 37 points earlier in the tournament. Kobe Bryant added 20 points.

In a game so devoid of defense that it felt more like an NBA All-Star Game than one with a title at stake, the Americans had too much offense down the stretch. Bryant converted a clutch four-point play with 3:10 remaining, holding his finger to his lips to quiet the rowdy Spanish crowd behind the basket.

Wade added another 3-pointer that made it 111-104 with just over 2 minutes left, and only then could the Americans relax a little.

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Jason Kidd is amazing

Jason Kidd ran his record to 56-0 in senior international play and collected another gold to place alongside the one he earned in 2000, becoming the 13th U.S. player with multiple golds. source

USA Olympic redemption

The U.S. started planning for this game after the Athens Games four years ago, the low point in its hoops history, following a sixth-place flop two years earlier in the world championships. Jerry Colangelo was given control of USA Basketball and constructed a national team program in 2006, requiring those who wanted to play to commit to three years.

He got Bryant and James quickly on board and landed almost everyone else he asked for, finding a group of NBA stars eager to give up their summer to get back what they felt belonged to their country.

And he needed all of them against a Spanish team that on this day would have likely beaten any other recent U.S. squad.

“Being a part of the ‘04 team, we really didn’t get the opportunity to showcase our talent,” said Wade, one of four holdovers from Athens. “We really wanted to come in and help lead this team.”

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Check out this YouTube of Dwight Howard singing and dunking!

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Manu Ginobili knows Argentina will have to play perfect to beat the Redeem Team

The United States is a 19 point favorite over Argentina in the semi final game that starts Friday morning at 10 a.m., but hold on here. Argentina has beaten the USA twice since Dream Team time and that is an exclusive club. In fact, it was Argentina that took the Silver in the 2004 Olympics after beating the U.S. in the semis.

Still the smart money is on the Redeem Team with the way they have played in this Olympics.

Argentina has really struggled to get to this game.

Argentina had a harder time getting out of the quarterfinals than the Americans did, its fate hanging in the balance as a 3-point shot by Vassilis Spanoulis of Greece arched through the air in the final seconds on Wednesday night, hitting the rim and failing to go in. The Argentineans embraced each other, trudged exhaustedly to their locker room, then got started on the task of trying to find a way to defeat the best-looking team the United States has put on a basketball court this decade.

“We’ve got to play the perfect game, and they’ve got to miss more than usual,” Luis Scola said. “But it’s only one game, that’s all it takes — 40 minutes. We going to play the best way we can, and try to do what looks impossible right now.”

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Manu Ginobili will be starring for Argentina and Kobe Bryant will draw the defensive assignment.

The always quotable Carmelo Anthony had this to say.

“I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get over that hump,” Carmelo Anthony said. “These last two games, there’s no reason to hold anything back. To be a champion you have to beat a champion. They still have the gold medal, no matter who won the world championship in ‘06. We have to go out there and take that from them.”

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Kobe Bryant speaks Spanish. Will he learn Chinese?

Will the NBA be looking to set up shop in China? Yes.

Will the NBA be looking to set up another NBA in China? Not according to David Stern, but he does see some potential.

Stern said NBA China is in an “ongoing dialogue” with Chinese authorities about installing 800,000 baskets in villages across this sprawling country. The NBA also hopes to be involved with a Chinese professional league. But Stern balked at comparisons with the NBA’s Development League.

“That would be a separate league that would be NBA-affiliated or NBA-sponsored, but it would be independent,” Stern said. “And it would just sign players. For a very long time to come it would be at a lower scale than the NBA. But as the sport develops in China, and as more players around the world recognize the opportunities of playing in China, we see that league growing and strengthening.”

For now, the NBA will maintain its on-court presence in China with exhibition games, with games planned for Guangzhou and Beijing this fall. The teams have not been announced.

“I think that that is likely to become a regular thing,” Stern said.

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This US Team, nicknamed the Redeem Team, is more likeable than any Olympic basketball team since the Dream Team took the court in Barcelona. Chinese fans are loving LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and the dynamic style of NBA play.

David Stern has another winning hand and he knows how to play it.

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Dwight Howard is even helping other players dribble the ball

Medal play will now begin after the Redeem Team beat Germany handily 106 – 57.

Carmelo Anthony, always good for a quote, had this to say.

“It’s finally here,” forward Carmelo Anthony said. “We’re knocking on the door. It’s time to get down to business right now. We’ve got three games to accomplish what we’ve been waiting to do for four years.”

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The United States went off to a huge lead punctuated by a LeBron dunk to make the score 20 -3.

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps made a huge impression on the Redeem Team.

After the game, the Americans celebrated in their locker room with Michael Phelps. He went 8-for-8 in Beijing, and that’s exactly what the U.S. is shooting for.

In a tribute to the record-setting swimmer, center Dwight Howard sported a pair of swim goggles at the postgame news conference, and he joked that he’s going to give the 100 meters a shot.

Dirk Nowitzki is not having a great Olympics so far and only had 14 points for Germany. By contrast, Dwight Howard had 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Be sure to check out all your Olympic news at NBCOlympics.com

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Carmelo Anthony does not want to hand the game to Greece

It has been easy sailing so far for Team USA in Olympic Basketball. China and Angola were really not much competition. Greece is different. They are tough and may expose some weaknesses in the US game.

Greece has beaten the U.S. in the teams’ last two significant meetings, in 2006 and at the 2004 Olympics. Greece, a team without any NBA players, routed Germany, 87-64, holding NBA duo Dirk Nowitzki (13 points) and Chris Kaman (four points) in check with aggressive defense.

Instead of a roster with one-named NBA stars, they have a roster with long-named stars such as guards Theodoros Papaloukas and Vassilis Spanoulis. “They’ve played together for so long and run their system so well,” said Chris Paul of Greece’s success.

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Do you think the US players are concerned? Just ask Carmelo Anthony.

“It’s been circled on my calendar for about two years,” Anthony said of the rematch. “They know we’ll be coming back to redeem ourselves. Everyone’s excited.”

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Michael Redd concentrates to float the ball

Hey, it was Angola. What can you say? Name your favorite Angolan basketball player. Hmm?

Still the US won the hoop game and they are improving.

If they have any weakness, it is from the outside. Michael Redd is the only true 3 point shooter on the team.

One of these nights, the U.S. team may need to start making some outside shots. Forcing turnovers and converting them into fast breaks has enabled the Americans to average 99 points in 40 minutes of basketball, but their outside game remains suspect – even with a 20-foot, 6-inch three-point line, considerably shorter than the NBA specifications.
Three-point shooting was a problem in Athens in 2004 and nothing has changed in Beijing. After Kobe Bryant went 0-for-8 Tuesday, the Americans are 12-for-45 in the tournament.
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When the Redeem Team gets to the really good teams and needs to make some outside shots, will they be able to do it?

Dwyane Wade led the team with 19 points.

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LeBron James is selling NBA jerseys

Ok, so it really was the US Team defeating the Chinese Team in Olympic basketball by 31. Still, to marketing experts, it was winners all over the place as the Chinese arena and the whole world watching was all buzzing about these players.

China has improved and will be a vital place for NBA basketball growth.

The Americans may be treated like rock stars here, but they suffered from a bit of stage fright early on. The U.S. turned the ball over on its first possession, and the Chinese grabbed a quick 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Yao from the top of the key.

“He scripted it perfect,” Wade said. “You just had to smile because you couldn’t write it any better.”

In the past, the Chinese might have been tempted to call timeout and take a picture of the scoreboard. But China has improved under Kazlauskas.

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Yao Ming needs more NBA jersey sales

China loves more than Yao Ming. They love the NBA. Consider the fact that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Dwyane Wade jerseys all out sell Yao Ming jerseys in China. That is right, in China!

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Years ago when Marvin Gaye sang the National Anthem at the All Star game, there was not a whole lot of talk about it. Every time your intrepid author would rave about it to friends they would just kind of like nod their heads and say “Oh yeah? Marvin Gaye?”

The year was 1983 and the place was the Forum in L.A. and Marvin Gaye was ‘The Celebrity’ in a room full of celebrities.

One year later Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father Marvin Sr. At the time, Marvin Gaye was suicidal and suffering from depression. The charges against Marvin Sr. were dropped after it was discovered he was suffering from a brain tumor.

Now the song is featured on a Nike commercial with film of the current Redeem team warming up for the Olympics.

To get a taste of the original song, check out this YouTube.

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