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Can Colangelo right the USA Basketball ship? May 25, 2005 by Tim Adams Jerry Colangelo was recently named Managing Director of the USA Basketball senior men's team. The duties he will take on had been handled by a ten member committee, so Colangelo is now in "total control" of USA Basketball. Colangelo takes on the burden of getting Team USA back on track in a new era of global basketball. The basketball environment has changed dramatically since the original 1992 Dream Team as the rest of the world has begun to level the playing field. Will Colangelo be able to put together a product that satisfies American basketball fans' desire to stay on top of the hoops summit? From the original Dream Team of '92 up until the 2000 Olympics, the all-NBA teams were a combined 58-0, winning by huge margins along the way. The aura of invincibility was pervasive, but the seed of doubt was planted at the 2000 Olympics by the Lithuanians who became the first team to give the US a close game. Lithuania not only gave the US a game, but came up only 2 points short on a missed last second three-point attempt. The US was 58-0 though and it was one of the most dominating eras by a nation in international team competition. Since 2000 though the US team has been a not so dreamy 11-7; finishing in sixth place in the 02' Worlds and stuck with the bronze medal in Athens. The aura of invincibility is gone and the dream seems to have turned into somewhat of a nightmare for some. It seemed no more evident that something was awry than when Team Titanic was sunk by 20 points to an iceberg named Puerto Rico in the opening game of the '04 Olympics. The US had fallen from absolute supremacy to complete mediocrity. One of the biggest factors is that international talent has gotten extremely better since the '92 Dream Team. The popularity of the original Dream Team on a global level is one of the reasons why the international talent has grown by leaps and bounds. The sheer dominance and intrigue in basketball that the Dream Team showed the world has come back to bite Team USA. Is it even realistic in this new era to expect first place all the time? USA Basketball has been searching for solutions. It seems that simply throwing together a team of NBA All-Stars for a couple of weeks will no longer guarantee success. Major fundamental changes are needed and Colangelo has said he is going to shake up the system. He will be the one who is solely responsible for the selection of the coaching staff and players. Colangelo wants to have tryouts, although some top NBA talent has already scoffed at the idea. This brings to light some of the hurdles faced by Colangelo. Many NBA players are simply looking for rest after a long season. NBA owners have no vested interest in seeing their top players risking injury. The absolute success of the US in the 1990s also may have been somewhat of a curse in recent years as everyone in the world was gunning for Goliath and the Americans were simply playing not to lose. Another very important issue is that the rest of the world is already playing FIBA rules basketball, and American teams must go through a crash course adjustment. Colangelo must tackle these issues as he forges a new concept of USA Basketball. He must find out which players are willing and interested in making a commitment. He has said he wants players committed to Team USA for a 2 to 3 year period. He also is looking for more of a team concept rather than an All-Star lineup. He will try to choose some solid NBA role players who will not make a fuss about playing time and who might be more intrigued at the idea of representing their country. Good shooters is one ingredient that the last Olympic team seemed to be lacking and as the zone defense is much more prolific in international competition, great shooting is a very valuable commodity. Colangelo also must figure out the most effective way to get players in their cherished off-season to spend as much time as possible learning, adjusting to, and competing under FIBA rules. Can Colangelo succeed with his plans for Team USA? Yes, but success won't be like the phenomenon that was the Dream Team 90's. This much we should recognize right from the get go. The perception of success must be recalibrated. There won't be any more 58-0, but somewhere between that and 11-7, and hopefully more along the lines of the former. Tim Adams
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