Posted By:
BenThe fact is, no one at any level involved in US Basketball can bring themselves to take the other national teams of the world seriously.
1. The Players. Despite losing 3 times at the 2002 World Championships and getting trounced by Italy, these players still can't grasp the concept that other teams can beat them. They've been told since grade school how great and superior they are, so deep down they can't fathom that merely by playing harder and better these inferior talents can beat them.
2. USA Basketball. They learned nothing from 1988, when John Thompson's college team that had no outside shooters didn't win Gold. They're too busy anointing the chosen "Stars of the Future" to put together a team that's best able to win at the international game. You need outside shooters to win at the Olympics. Brent Barry would help this team more than Carmelo Anthony. But instead of shooters like Ray Allen, Michael Redd, Brent Barry, etc., the team is filled with guys who have iffy jump shots (and that includes Iverson as well as the youngsters). Why? Because deep down, USA Basketball also believed that would be enough, that they really couldn't be beaten.
3. The American media. For all their talk about "wake-up calls", they also can't bring themselves to fully acknowledge that other countries have capable teams. After today's game, with Puerto Rico playing a fantastic game, who did NBA interview? Not Carlos Arroyo. Not any other member of the Puerto Rican team, and surely several of them speak English just fine. NBA went with Iverson. NBC doesn't think Puerto Rico won this game, only that the USA lost it.