Radical changes in store for USA men's hoops

[greasywheels121]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2048026&num=0

 

Colangelo given control, wants two-year commitment

Associated Press

 

PHOENIX -- Jerry Colangelo has been given total control of the U.S. men's Olympic basketball program and has promised radical changes in an effort to restore the United States to international prominence in the sport.

 

The system of a handful of NBA stars gathering for a few weeks before the competition will be abandoned, said Colangelo, the chairman and CEO of the Phoenix Suns who has been involved in basketball for 50 years, 39 of them in the professional ranks.

 

"It's going to be drastically different," Colangelo said Wednesday at a news conference, "and I say that because you know stars do not necessarily make a great team."

 

The 10-member committee that selected the teams has been disbanded, and Colangelo alone will name the players and coaches. He said he wants them to commit to the team for two years leading up to the 2006 world championships and 2008 Beijing Olympics.

 

"The international game is a lot different game than people truly recognize," Colangelo said. "It's more than just the trapezoid lane compared to our line. It's a different game. As you prepare a team, you need players who can shoot the ball, pass the ball, understand the game, as much as you need players who are just athletic."

 

The president of USA Basketball, Val Ackerman, said that the organization felt significant changes in the structure of its senior men's team were necessary after it finished sixth at the 2002 world championships in Indianapolis, then won only the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics. Before Athens, the United States had won every Olympic basketball gold medal since the NBA "Dream Team" of Barcelona in 1992.

 

"The current reality, the new normal if you will, is that the dominance that the United States has enjoyed, and which we continue to aspire to, is simply much harder to achieve," she said, "and it can no longer be taken for granted."

 

The committee that selected the 2004 team was one of the problems, she said.

 

"Simply put, it was too many cooks in the kitchen," said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball executive director.

 

The 65-year-old Colangelo immediately became the obvious candidate to take over, Ackerman said.

 

He came to Arizona 37 years ago as general manager of the expansion Phoenix Suns. Later he put together a group to buy the franchise, and just last year sold it to businessman Robert Sarver. A member of the basketball Hall of Fame, Colangelo is chairman of the NBA board of governors. He was appointed by NBA Commissioner David Stern to head a committee in 2000-01 that ex

amined the state of the game and made rule changes.

 

Colangelo also brought major league baseball to Arizona before leaving the Diamondbacks a year ago in a dispute with the new owners.

 

College players will be considered along with NBA players for the new team.

 

"We certainly want to change the perception that this thing is a locked-in deal for a handful of star players to participate in," he said. "No, that's not the case. I really like the idea of tryouts, I like the idea of opening the process up. We want people to feel that it's all-inclusive. This is not a fraternity, far from it."

 

As for selecting a coach, Colangelo said, "One of the things that I'm very, very sure of is those who have a true understanding of the international game I think have an edge. It's very, very important to understand it's a different game."

 

One coach who fits that description is the Suns' Mike D'Antoni, a star point guard and later a highly successful coach in Italy whose team had the NBA's best record this season.

 

Colangelo said he will appoint a small advisory group, and hopes to have it in place by early next month. But he alone will have the final say on the team's makeup. Character, he said, will be a major part of the selection.

 

"The perception of our athletes around the world is one that I'm very sensitive to," he said. "The kind of people I want wearing a USA uniform are those we can take some pride in. I want good people and high character. I think that's very, very important."

 

He also wants former Olympic players and coaches to be part of the process of building the new U.S. team.

 

"I have relationships with players, coaches and people within the business," Colangelo said. "I'm looking for people who share the same kind of passion I do. It's as simple as that, and there are plenty of them out there. Some of them may not have the star recognition that we're accustomed to in the past, but that's all right."

 

Colangelo wants the same coach and virtually the same team for the 2006 worlds and the 2008 Olympics. He plans to meet one-on-one with prospective players to explain his ideas and the commitment he believes is necessary.

 

USA Basketball has no qualms about giving one person so much authority of its highest-profile team, Ackerman said.

 

"We're actually kind of relieved to be putting it in his good hands," she said.

[backman]

Good! About time that was the worst Olympic team ever!