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Not including the infamous 1972 Soviet Union rip-off game or the 1980 boycott, the amateur team fielded by the U.S. has won the gold medal in all but one Olympic tournament from 1936 to 1988. Our third place finish in 1988 prompted panic among many U.S. basketball fans. The upper executives in the National Basketball Association, seeking to capitalize on this panic, threw it's hat into the ring offering up professional players to go to the Olympics. Thus was born the "Dream Team". An exciting squad to watch and filled with legends at all positions, the "Dream Team" predictably waltzed to Olympic gold. Then came "Dream Team II". The team was becoming a sort of stop-over for aging NBA stars who wanted something juicy on their resume. The team had fewer legends and fewer players who were proven winners throughout their careers. Still, they were winning handily although a new malodorous element of cockiness had replaced the confidence of the original squad. Recently during the World championship, the situation reached crisis levels. Some U.S. players selected were not only NOT winners, they weren't even fundamentally sound players. Others, used to being the "man" for their respective NBA team, refused to share the ball with teammates and sacrificed team achievement for individual achievement and to settle on court grudges. This led to some "wake-up call" losses and a sixth place finish in the 2002 World Championship.
Now our current squad NBA filled squad is getting schooled by the likes of Puerto Rico and Italy. This has gone far enough.
It's time to bring the TEAM concept back into a game sorely lacking that very ingredient. The US Olympic basketball team should be a TEAM. In other words the five best players the U.S. can field. Note, this is not the same as the "best five". Anyone who has played, coached, officiated or even watched basketball for any length of time can point a game or games where a less talented but better TEAM beat a more talented group of individuals.
I am confident that an NCAA championship team, with coaching staff intact, could handle most of the competition from the rest of the world. I have no doubt that a playoff caliber NBA team could work any international team even with the rule variations. Certainly, there are some foreign players, particularly those that play in the NBA, which would cause problems for collegiate squads but that would add to the fun.
If collegiate teams started to struggle, why not select an NBA playoff team to represent the United States? Certainly, no sane person would suggest that the Indiana Pacers would be struggling with the international teams like our current group of "all-stars" are. |
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I am a concerned and embarrassed U.S. citizen. I am also an avid basketball player, fan, and student of the game. |
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