US team loses again in world championships

[faba]

Greece Shocks Team USA With 101-95 Win

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer

document.write(getElapsed("20060901T100657Z"));3 hours agoUPDATED 2 HOURS 44 MINUTES AGO

SAITAMA, Japan - The European champions are playing for a much bigger prize. The best the United States can hope for is yet another bronze medal.

Greece used a sizzling stretch of shooting across the middle two quarters to turn a 12-point deficit into a 14-point lead, and beat the Americans 101-95 Friday in the semifinals of the world championships.

The Greeks (8-0) can add a world title to the European championship they won in 2005 with a victory over either Spain or Argentina in Sunday's gold medal game. Those teams, also undefeated, met in Friday's second game.

The Greeks _ with no current NBA players on their roster _ danced in a circle at halfcourt after their victory over an American team put together after a series of recent failures.

Done in again by their inept 3-point shooting _ and they weren't much better from the foul line _ the Americans will fall short of a championship in a major international tournament for the third straight time.

The U.S. (7-1) will return to the court Saturday against the loser of the Argentina-Spain game, hoping to match the bronze medal it left Athens with in 2004.

Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points for the Americans, who couldn't overcome their 32 percent shooting from 3-point range or 59 percent from the foul line. Dwyane Wade added 19 and LeBron James had 17, but the three U.S. captains were unable to avenge their disappointment from Athens.

Vassilis Spanoulis, bound for the Houston Rockets, scored 22 points for Greece. Mihalis Kakiouzis added 15 and 6-foot-10 Sofoklis Schortsianitis _ nicknamed "Baby Shaq" _ added 14, shooting 6-of-7. The Greeks shot 63 percent (35-of-56) from the field and made 31 of 44 shots across the final three periods.

The U.S. hasn't even played for a world championship since winning the last of its three titles in Toronto in 1994. Mike Krzyzewski _ who was looking for gold after winning bronze with the 1990 team _ and a few American players walked to midcourt to congratulate the Greeks, while most of the U.S. quickly headed to the locker room.

The Americans, who put together a national team program this year for the first time after their recent failures, now will be forced to qualify for the 2008 Olympics next summer in the FIBA Americas tournament in Venezuela.

The U.S. seemed in control after Joe Johnson's 3-pointer gave the Americans a 33-21 lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. It was around then that James told his teammates on the bench: "They don't know what to do."

Well, they figured it out in a hurry.

Greece scored nine straight points, pulling within three on Theodoros Papaloukas' drive with 3:51 left and forcing Krzyzewski to call timeout. Dwight Howard converted a three-point play, but the Greeks answered with a 13-2 surge, featuring eight points from Schortsianitis, to open a 43-38 advantage and force Krzyzewski to call a second timeout.

Greece hit nine straight shots _ its only miss in the last 5 minutes was a heave from halfcourt as time expired _ and led 45-41 at halftime. The Greeks shot 56 percent (15-of-27) in the half.

The Americans were 2-of-10 from behind the arc _ after going 10-for-40 in their quarterfinal victory over Germany _ and trailed at the break for only the second time in the tournament. Italy had a nine-point cushion in a group play game.

[124]

Oh no! We suck again.

[Alk]

Like I have said before, Europe has surpassed the US in basketball because they play the game the way it was meant to be played and beat the fundamentals into those kids' heads from the day that they're old enough to dribble a basketball.

[The Troll]

Despite ESPN's best efforts to shove this down our throats, I could not care less.

Trivia question: Who the last Worlds Championship? Does ANYONE know? Or care?

[Alk]

Despite ESPN's best efforts to shove this down our throats, I could not care less.

Trivia question: Who the last Worlds Championship? Does ANYONE know? Or care?

I don't know but I do care that we're getting our a$$es handed to us by other countries.

[wildthing2022000]

Like I have said before, Europe has surpassed the US in basketball because they play the game the way it was meant to be played and beat the fundamentals into those kids' heads from the day that they're old enough to dribble a basketball.

Well that and Team USA is just an all-star team, while the other countries have been together for years.

[SweetLee83]

Like I have said before, Europe has surpassed the US in basketball because they play the game the way it was meant to be played and beat the fundamentals into those kids' heads from the day that they're old enough to dribble a basketball.

Like what? Shooting 3 pointers? Thats how they won, they were upstoppable from behind the 3 point line. US was something like 9-28 for 3.

Last I checked, when basketball was invented there was no there point line, I dont know if it was meant to be played that way.

The US. needs someone like Charles Barkley back in there, someone with some attitude and to throw their body around and be very physical. Then we'll start winning again.

[SouthernJet]

Well that and Team USA is just an all-star team, while the other countries have been together for years.

many NBAers are on the other countries teams also,,

the problem is that US team just cant get over the ME attitude no matter how hard they try,,

The other countries are able to turn off the NBA switch and play team ball while trhe US team still has the 'dunk and pose' mentality...

[JetsMan57]

Like I have said before, Europe has surpassed the US in basketball because they play the game the way it was meant to be played and beat the fundamentals into those kids' heads from the day that they're old enough to dribble a basketball.

Lets not kid ourselves, if the USA sent Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Wallace, Stoudemire, Artest, Kobe,, Kidd along with some of the players already on the team (James, Wade) nobody is beating that team.

Look at some of the scrubs that USA had on that team. Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Shane Battier.

Come on....

[SouthernJet]

Lets not kid ourselves, if the USA sent Shaq, Duncan, Garnett, Wallace, Stoudemire, Artest, Kobe,, Kidd along with some of the players already on the team (James, Wade) nobody is beating that team.

Look at some of the scrubs that USA had on that team. Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Shane Battier.

Come on....

ya those scrubs got beat by Greece,, no NBA players on roster,,

its the attitude man,, shaq and crew would have lost worse,,bigger star , bigger ME TURD attitude

[JetsMan57]

ya those scrubs got beat by Greece,, no NBA players on roster,,

its the attitude man,, shaq and crew would have lost worse,,bigger star , bigger ME TURD attitude

If USA sent their very best team they'd win it all no doubt about it. I mean the team they sent this year was OK and they still went 8-1. You're telling me if they sent all the best players they wouldnt win? I dont see it.

[SouthernJet]

If USA sent their very best team they'd win it all no doubt about it. I mean the team they sent this year was OK and they still went 8-1. You're telling me if they sent all the best players they wouldnt win? I dont see it.

yup...

GREECE!!!!!!!!!!!

we have to get a team mentality for this thing,,,

NBA turds dont have it..

GREECE lost by 30 in finals...

we need to weed out the turds from the NBA and forget star system,, if we get non turd TEAM players and weed out the ME players we can win with anyone in NBA that has at least a month or so to get coached by K

[PeterNorth09]

Like I have said before, Europe has surpassed the US in basketball because they play the game the way it was meant to be played and beat the fundamentals into those kids' heads from the day that they're old enough to dribble a basketball.

It was a fluke loss and an absolute disgraceful effort by a team that should have won it all. Give Greece credit but it was a fluke.

[SouthernJet]

It was a fluke loss and an absolute disgraceful effort by a team that should have won it all. Give Greece credit but it was a fluke.

ya, thats 5 flukes in a arow

[PeterNorth09]

ya, thats 5 flukes in a arow

Only an idiot like yourself would think that Greece is better at basketball than the US. That 2004 US Olympic team that had no chemistry at all easily beat this Greek team.

It's like France beating Brazil in the World Cup. Which country is better at soccer? Brazil by a longshot but France still managed to pull off the upset.

[Green DNA]

Only an idiot like yourself would think that Greece is better at basketball than the US. That 2004 US Olympic team that had no chemistry at all easily beat this Greek team.

It's like France beating Brazil in the World Cup. Which country is better at soccer? Brazil by a longshot but France still managed to pull off the upset.

Obviously you know nothing about soccer. France beating Brazil was not an upset, France was a better team hands down.

[SouthernJet]

Only an idiot like yourself would think that Greece is better at basketball than the US. That 2004 US Olympic team that had no chemistry at all easily beat this Greek team.

It's like France beating Brazil in the World Cup. Which country is better at soccer? Brazil by a longshot but France still managed to pull off the upset.

5 in a row turd,, 5 in a row,,

we have better athletes , but they dont play a team game anymore..

do the patriots have the best athletes? no,, but they win a team game,,

NBA ball is a ME game played for video game freaks and Sportcenter fanatics..

The last 5 times thi steam has failed against lesser competition becuse they cant play a team game..

shouldnt you be at the mall in KC or fluffin your puss for when Herm comes home?

[JetsMan57]

SouthernJet I agree with you where you say a lot of the current NBA players dont play a team game, so when USA DOES NOT SEND their absolute best team they run into trouble.

I do disagree with you where you believe USA would not win if they sent their true best team. We would absolutely annihiliate those teams. Who is gonna stop a front court of Shaq, Duncan and Garnett with Kidd at the point?

It would be a laugher.

[SouthernJet]

SouthernJet I agree with you where you say a lot of the current NBA players dont play a team game, so when USA DOES NOT SEND their absolute best team they run into trouble.

I do disagree with you where you believe USA would not win if they sent their true best team. We would absolutely annihiliate those teams. Who is gonna stop a front court of Shaq, Duncan and Garnett with Kidd at the point?

It would be a laugher.

u r missing my point,,

our BEST team isnt our best players,, lots of these guys are ME players..

agree our best TEAM players would destroy the world IF they had a few months to learn the sytem employed by K,,

It will take afew years to understand who the Best combo of athelte and TEAM players are,,,

Best NBA players doesnt mean best TEAM players for these tournaments...

Not anymore,,,

K will figure it out by Olympic time, ,u watch, ,several of the guys who played this time wont be asked back

[JetsMan57]

It will take afew years to understand who the Best combo of athelte and TEAM players are,,,

You are making this sound much more complicated than it really is and you make it seem like USA lost every game this year and got their doors blown off. Our B level talent (probably not even B level because guys like Brad Miller and Joe Johnson are average) went 8-1. A starting 5 of Kidd, Wade, Garnett, Shaq, Duncan (wont name the bench) would just need a few weeks of practice and would blow the doors off these countries. We dont need 3 years to figure it out, i just gave you a team in 3 seconds. These are hall of fame players and all time greats we are talking about here. You dont think that team would be able to handle the rest of the world after our B team just went 8-1?

We'll just agree to disagree.

[SouthernJet]

You are making this sound much more complicated than it really is and you make it seem like USA lost every game this year and got their doors blown off. Our B level talent (probably not even B level because guys like Brad Miller and Joe Johnson are average) went 8-1. A starting 5 of Kidd, Wade, Garnett, Shaq, Duncan (wont name the bench) would just need a few weeks of practice and would blow the doors off these countries. We dont need 3 years to figure it out, i just gave you a team in 3 seconds. These are hall of fame players and all time greats we are talking about here. You dont think that team would be able to handle the rest of the world after our B team just went 8-1?

We'll just agree to disagree.

We HAVE LOST FIVE YEARS IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

with ME players,, the world has caught up,, who cares if we are 8-1,, there are enuf good teams out there that one will bite us every time with ME players,, 5 years in a row we have lost,, we have to get back to basketball basics and take great athletes who are TEAM players,, ME players need not apply,,

they might be nice guys but we need players who will fit in a TEAM scheme,,,

The best players in NBSA might not be the best players that will make up a TEAM.. it might be the 1st, 5th, 20th, 32nd and 40th best NBA players whose skills make up the best team,,

dont think that if the 10 best NBA players came out that would make the best TEAM,,remember,, only one ball

[Matt39]

We HAVE LOST FIVE YEARS IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

with ME players,, the world has caught up,, who cares if we are 8-1,, there are enuf good teams out there that one will bite us every time with ME players,, 5 years in a row we have lost,, we have to get back to basketball basics and take great athletes who are TEAM players,, ME players need not apply,,

they might be nice guys but we need players who will fit in a TEAM scheme,,,

The best players in NBSA might not be the best players that will make up a TEAM.. it might be the 1st, 5th, 20th, 32nd and 40th best NBA players whose skills make up the best team,,

dont think that if the 10 best NBA players came out that would make the best TEAM,,remember,, only one ball

Who would you send SJ? Can you even name 40 players in the NBA without going to espn.com?

[JetsMan57]

We HAVE LOST FIVE YEARS IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

with ME players,, the world has caught up,, who cares if we are 8-1,, there are enuf good teams out there that one will bite us every time with ME players,, 5 years in a row we have lost,, we have to get back to basketball basics and take great athletes who are TEAM players,, ME players need not apply,,

they might be nice guys but we need players who will fit in a TEAM scheme,,,

The best players in NBSA might not be the best players that will make up a TEAM.. it might be the 1st, 5th, 20th, 32nd and 40th best NBA players whose skills make up the best team,,

dont think that if the 10 best NBA players came out that would make the best TEAM,,remember,, only one ball

You havent listened to anything I've typed in this thread. You are just repeating yourself over and over.

Like I said, we'll agree to disagree. Leave it at that.

[SouthernJet]

You havent listened to anything I've typed in this thread. You are just repeating yourself over and over.

Like I said, we'll agree to disagree. Leave it at that.

i listened to it all, ,you are probably very young with a Madden Video mentality to sports,,, you just dont get TEAM mentality,, its dunks and homers to you,,,

[SouthernJet]

Who would you send SJ? Can you even name 40 players in the NBA without going to espn.com?

i have no idea to send, ,and neither does anyone other than the coaching staff finding the right TEAM players to make a team, ,not a Video game with hilite reel dunks,,

it may include a few college guys,,who knows...

it may be guys who didnt make allstar team,, the world game is SO DIFFERENT than the NBA game,,

[JetsMan57]

i listened to it all, ,you are probably very young with a Madden Video mentality to sports,,, you just dont get TEAM mentality,, its dunks and homers to you,,,

I've read your posts on this site and I'll say I forgot more about sports than you THINK you know. Just calm down and keep reading. Ill teach you.

I've tried to be civil with you but if you decided to go into attack mode.

You can have the last word. I dont care. You offer nothing and im tired of trying to decipher your grammar.

[SouthernJet]

I've read your posts on this site and I'll say I forgot more about sports than you THINK you know. Just calm down and keep reading. Ill teach you.

I've tried to be civil with you but if you decided to go into attack mode.

You can have the last word. I dont care. You offer nothing and im tired of trying to decipher your grammar.

attack mode,, hell that was nothing, ,way too senstive,,

its plain that you dont understand strategy or team sports concepts and see the world through video games and sportscenter hilites,,

its ok, dont fret,,,, lots of youngsters like yourself are sadly in this boat,, its all homers and dunks to u,, and replica jerseys...

sports is more than that,, hopefully one day you can enjoy what sports really is,, not the ME aspect of it that you relish

[Bugg]

I thought at first this was crazy. But it really makes a world of sense. The NBA superstars already have a 10-month season and it's a no-win proposition-you're suppsoed to win, or you're a bunch of a-holes for losing. There are too many college basketball players who have zero business on campus. We have baseball, soccer and hockey national teams from time to time prior to international tournaments. the moeny is there. Some NCAA coaches will be pissed-so what.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=klosterman/060907

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Updated: September 7, 12:45 PM ET

A new game plan for Team USA

By Chuck Klosterman

Special to Page 2

I have a plan that will save USA basketball.

This plan won't guarantee that we will win gold in men's basketball at the 2008 Olympics, nor does it mean that the team created by this plan would be more talented than the squad that just ended up with the bronze at the World Championship in Saitama, Japan. But it would nonetheless save USA basketball, and it would improve society as a whole (not by much, but certainly more than the premise of sending 12 millionaires across the globe to play in a tournament in which any loss is viewed as a complete failure).

My plan is founded on a collection of five truths. These five (seemingly unconnected) truths are as follows:

The secret to success clearly isn't superstars. At least not anymore.(1) America has the best basketball players in the world.

(2) America has the best basketball players in the world, and that absolutely does not matter in the context of this argument. To win an international basketball tournament, you need a cohesive, harmonic team.

(3) It is virtually impossible to craft a cohesive, harmonic team by arbitrarily borrowing the best players in the world.

(4) High school graduates are no longer allowed to enter the NBA until they turn 20. If a high school player aspires to play in the NBA, he must attend college.

(5) There are many, many high school basketball players who have the potential to play professional basketball but really have no business attending college.

Here, in short, is the crux of our current predicament: We might not be able to win the Olympic gold medal no matter who we send to Beijing. On the surface, it seems obvious that any U.S. team would be better if it added Kobe and Shaq and KG and Duncan. But there's an ever-growing body of evidence that suggests individual talent plays an inexplicably minor role in this brand of basketball. The U.S. club was beaten by Greece, a team that does not have one NBA player. Greece was then defeated by Spain, a team whose lone NBA star (Pau Gasol) did not play in the gold-medal game. For some interesting, counterintuitive reason, it seems like star power is a disadvantage in this specific idiom.

Moreover, it is becoming more and more difficult to understand why NBA players would aspire to represent America in these no-win scenarios. I suspect Dwyane Wade has a pretty awesome life in Miami -- why would he want to spend three months in Asia, busting his arse in an unwatched tournament where anything less than perfection will be universally viewed as a failure?

Kakiouzis and company will never forget the day they toppled the Americans.When Greece beat the U.S. in the semifinals, it was the greatest day in the history of Greek basketball; in fact, I assume it was the greatest day every member of that Greek squad will ever experience. When Mihalis Kakiouzis is lying on his Athenian deathbed five decades from this summer, he will still be thinking of the day he beat LeBron James in 2006. Who can compete with that kind of emotive intensity? How do you defeat an enemy who's playing for his self-identity? These are the same reasons America won the Revolutionary War but lost in Vietnam -- motivation matters. And it's unreasonable to expect guys like Dwyane and LeBron to care about beating Argentina more than they care about beating each other.

Which brings us to my plan. Right now, there are dozens (maybe hundreds) of wonderful 18- and 19-year-old D-I and juco basketball players who probably should not be in college. They have no interest in academics; they are attending school only because it's the best potential avenue for playing basketball professionally. This is bad for the integrity of the university system (obviously), and it's often bad for the individuals themselves (this desperate dream sets them up for disappointment without preparing them for life). But these are the very kids who could save American basketball. Why don't we select 15 of these non-scholar-athletes and turn them into the U.S. national team? It would seem to solve a lot of problems at once.

The obvious advantage to this system would be structural cohesion: Not only would the entire roster play together for two or three years, but they also wouldn't be playing with anyone else. The problems I noticed with our World Championship squad had little to do with selfishness; the problems seemed more rooted in confusion (it's hard for someone like Chris Bosh or Carmelo Anthony to suddenly "become" a role player for three months, even if they believe it's best for the overall team). The second benefit would be ideological; the creation of this kind of staunchly unprofessional team would lower international expectations. As things stand now, the only feeling that would be generated by a gold medal in basketball would be relief. Winning is so expected that it's becoming virtually meaningless. Why not consciously place ourselves in the role of underdog? There is still enough available talent to beat everyone else on the planet.

Moreover, this program would be great for the (otherwise at-risk) kids who make the roster. Here, in five steps, is how this system could be built:

Wonder if John Chaney would make the Olympians practice at 6 a.m.?(1) Find an available coach who adores discipline and fundamentals (my suggestion is John Chaney). Leading this team would become his singular, full-time job.

(2) Conduct an open tryout for anyone under the age of 20 who is either (a) deemed academically ineligible by the NCAA or ( honest enough to admit they're not interested in faking their way through Organic Chemistry 201.

(3) Pick 15 players who would rather die in an Iraqi dungeon than lose to the likes of Puerto Rico. Hide them away in some place like Colorado Springs, Colo., and make them practice six hours a day. Provide meals and housing. Give them enough spending money to buy PlayStations and Blizzards, but not enough to buy handguns or Escalades. Put their faces on Wheaties boxes and sell them as patriotic heroes. They will love it. Being famous at the age of 18 is better than being a millionaire when you're 28.

(4) When they're not being schooled on how to run the weave like the 1989 Princeton Tigers, outside academic advisors would teach these kids practical life lessons they could actually use as adults (i.e., how to balance a checkbook, how to read a contract, why there is a fiduciary downside to getting multiple girls pregnant, et al).

(5) Have this national team play barnstorming games around the world. During NBA All-Star weekend, they could serve as the opponents for the Rookie Game; on Sunday night during the Final Four, they could play a nationally televised exhibition against whoever won the NIT championship. They could play random games in Europe and China. They could challenge the Globetrotters, for all I care. But here is the thing: THEY WOULD ALWAYS BE PLAYING TOGETHER. Always. And then -- after they unexpectedly win the gold (or after they valiantly lose) -- they could declare themselves eligible for the NBA (or the CBA) draft. And unlike most of their peers, they'd actually understand why basketball is a team game.

Now, am I 100 percent sure this is feasible (or even legal)?

No.

But do you have a better idea? Because what we're doing now certainly isn't the answer.

Chuck Klosterman, whose latest book is <A href="http://www.amazon.com/Chuck-Klosterman-IV-A/dp/0743284887/sr=1-2/qid=1156886580/ref=sr_1_2/102-9714648-6326512?ie=UTF8&s=books"" target=new>"Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas", is a columnist for Esquire and a regular contributor to Page 2.

[PeterNorth09]

Who would you send SJ? Can you even name 40 players in the NBA without going to espn.com?

Don't listen to SJ. If he knows as much about Basketball as he does about football then he would know... not much really.

Why don't all these amazing European players come to the NBA and dominate? If these countries are so much better than us at basketball why aren't their players filling nba rosters and making $100 million contracts? It's not like the NBA hasn't gone out of it's way to go after European players. Every draft, every European guy over 6'5 is hyped up as the next Dirk Nowitzki. For every Nowitzki and Ginobili, you have a dozen Nikolai Tskishivili's and Darko Milicic's.

But hey, why play in the NBA for millions of dollars when these Euroguys can play a real team sport in Kraznoviastan for 10 Rubles a month?

[SouthernJet]

Don't listen to SJ. If he knows as much about Basketball as he does about football then he would know... not much really.

Why don't all these amazing European players come to the NBA and dominate? If these countries are so much better than us at basketball why aren't their players filling nba rosters and making $100 million contracts? It's not like the NBA hasn't gone out of it's way to go after European players. Every draft, every European guy over 6'5 is hyped up as the next Dirk Nowitzki. For every Nowitzki and Ginobili, you have a dozen Nikolai Tskishivili's and Darko Milicic's.

But hey, why play in the NBA for millions of dollars when these Euroguys can play a real team sport in Kraznoviastan for 10 Rubles a month?

football,, says the Herm is great, Eric is terrible expert,,hahahahahaha,,,how is that going sparky,,

and as far as basketball,, duhh,, proof/pudding skippy,,,5 years , no international championships,,nuf said,,again, u show u have nothing more that Madden Video knowledge of sports,,

game, set , match