SPORTS NOTES EXTRA - USA's OLYMPIC REDEEM TEAM - AUGUST, 2008

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

How the USA's Olympic Basketball team came together - USA OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAMS LAST AMATEUR STANDING - USA OLYMPIC TEAM ROSTER - Sports Trivia

Thursday August 14, 2008

USA's REDEEM TEAM COME TOGETHER

The USA Olympic team is off to a fast start after an opening game 101-70 victory over Olympic Games host China. The USA is trying to regain the respect of being the worlds best in basketball, the game they invented. That road to salvation in regaining respect has taken a concise route to achieve their goal.

Following a disappointing 5-3 finish and bronze medal showing at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, USA Basketball in 2005 set off in a totally new direction with its men’s senior national team. Setting aside the old committee system used for selecting its senior teams, USA Basketball’s Executive Committee selected respected former Phoenix Suns chairman and CEO Jerry Colangelo to serve in the then newly created position of Managing Director of the USA Men’s Senior National Team Program for 2005-2008.

Building a program that eventually consisted of 33 of this country’s premiere players, and the very best coaches and support staff, USA Basketball proceeded to create a true USA Senior National Team program.

Players named to the USA Basketball’s Men’s Senior National Team include: Anthony; Gilbert Arenas (Washington Wizards); Shane Battier (Houston Rockets); Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons); Bosh; Boozer (Utah Jazz); Bruce Bowen (San Antonio Spurs); Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers); Bryant; Tyson Chandler (New Orleans Hornets); Nick Collison (Seattle SuperSonics); Kevin Durant (Seattle SuperSonics); Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls); Howard; Joe Johnson (Atlanta Hawks); Jason Kidd; James; Antawn Jamison (Washington Wizards); Shawn Marion (Miami Heat); Brad Miller (Sacramento Kings); Mike Miller (Memphis Grizzlies); Adam Morrison (Charlotte Bobcats); Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Paul; Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics); Prince; Redd; J.J. Redick (Orlando Magic); Luke Ridnour (Seattle SuperSonics); Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns); Wade; and Williams.

Through international competitions in 2006 (FIBA World Championship) and 2007 (FIBA Americas Championship), and an exhibition tour by the Senior National Team in 2006, the USA Senior National Team has logged a combined overall record of 23-1. Members of the Senior National Team program were together 42 days in 2006 (including the FIBA World Championship), and in 2007 the team was together for 24 days (including the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship).

In 2007, the USA Senior National Team rumbled over its opposition at the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas, Nev., and finished 10-0 to win gold and capture one of the FIBA Americas zone's two qualifying berths for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In winning its 10 games in just 12 days, the USA averaged 116.7 ppg., the most by a USA Senior National Team since the 1994 USA World Championship Team scored 120.1 ppg.; and the USA defeated its 10 opponents by an average of 39.5 ppg., the largest margin by a senior squad since the 1992 U.S. Olympic Team defeated its opponents by 43.8 ppg. The USA team led the FIBA Americas Championship team statistical rankings in 13 of 17 categories. An astounding 61.7 percent of the team's made field goals were assisted on.

Members of the gold medalist 2007 USA FIBA Americas Championship Team were: Anthony; Billups; Bryant; Chandler; Howard; James; Kidd; Mike Miller; Prince; Redd; Stoudemire; and Williams. Statistically, there were plenty of impressive individual stat lines. Anthony led the team's potent scoring attack averaging 21.2 ppg., James posted 18.1 ppg., Bryant added 15.3 ppg., Redd averaged 14.4 ppg., while Stoudemire and Howard posted 11.1 ppg. and 10.0 ppg., respectively.

The 2006 FIBA World Championship, expanded to 24 teams, proved to be the most competitive and exciting ever. Spain emerged as the World Champion after defeating Argentina in the semifinals (75-74), then Greece (70-47) in the gold medal game. The U.S., after falling to Greece 101-95 in the other semifinal game, rebounded to claim the bronze medal by beating 2004 Olympic champ Argentina 96-81.

Finishing with an 8-1 overall record, as a team, the U.S. finished ranked among the top leading teams in almost every offensive statistical category at the 2006 World Championship. The USA finished ranked first in scoring offense (103.6), first in field goal percentage (.503), first in assists (18.78), first in free throws made (182), first in assist-turnover ratio (1.74), second in scoring margin (+20.4), third in rebounding margin (+5.6), fourth in offensive rebounding (13.11), fifth in 3-pointers made (82) and seventh in 3-point shooting (.369). On the defensive statistical side, the U.S. also ranked first in steals (10.78), second in turnover margin (+7.44) and second in blocked shots (4.89).

Anthony led the team in scoring averaging 19.9 ppg., while Wade added 19.3 ppg., and James contributed 13.9 ppg. Paul led the U.S. in assists handing out 4.9 apg., James and Howard paced the USA effort on the glass snatching 4.8 rpg. and 4.7 rpg., respectively. Opening training in 2006 on July 19 in Las Vegas, a team of 14 finalists went 5-0 in its pre-World Championship tour.

Selected for the 2006 USA Basketball Men's World Championship Team were: Anthony; Battier; Bosh; Brand; Hinrich; Howard; James; Jamison; Johnson; Brad Miller; Paul; and Wade.

2008 USA Men’s Senior National Team Roster BELOW

USA OLYMPIC BASKETBALL TEAMS LAST AMATEUR STANDING

The current policy of the USA incorporating NBA players on their squad is a result of their poor showing in 1988 where with an amateur squad of college players they lost the competition. At that time it was the USA's second failure to win the Gold medal in Olympic men's basketball in history. That 1988 loss resulted in the USA taking the position that they should send their best players who were professionals in the NBA. At the time the Olympics were for amateurs only.

That all changed when the competition permitted the 1992 Dream Team which consisted of 11 of the NBA's best ever players and ONE college player to compete. Of the 12 players on the team, 10 would be named in 1996 among the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, the NBA's official list of the 50 greatest players of the league's first 50 years.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Who was the last college player to play on a USA Olympic basketball team in 1992?

2. What year did the USA fail to win for the first time the Olympic Gold medal in Basketball?

3. Name the 11 players on the 1992 Dream team.

If you can name 8 of 11 you have a passing grade. If you name all 11 and the college player you are as Queen sang... THE CHAMPION.

 

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CURRENT TEAM / COLLEGE or HIGH SCHOOL
Carmelo Anthony	F	6-8	230	5/29/84	Denver Nuggets / Syracuse University
Carlos Boozer	F	6-9	258	11/20/81	Utah Jazz / Duke University
Chris Bosh	F	6-10	230	3/24/84	Toronto Raptors / Georgia Tech
Kobe Bryant	G	6-6	220	8/23/78	Los Angeles Lakers / Lower Merion H.S. (PA)
Dwight Howard	F/C	6-11	265	12/08/85	Orlando Magic / Southwest Atlanta Christian Acd. (GA)
LeBron James	F	6-8	240	12/30/84	Cleveland Cavaliers / St.Vincent-St. Mary H.S. (OH)
Jason Kidd	G	6-4	212	3/23/73	Dallas Mavericks / University of California
Chris Paul	G	6-0	170	5/06/85	New Orleans Hornets / Wake Forest University
Tayshaun Prince	F	6-9	205	2/28/80	Detroit Pistons / University of Kentucky
Michael Redd	G	6-6	215	8/24/79	Milwaukee Bucks / Ohio State University
Dwyane Wade	G	6-4	212	1/17/82	Miami Heat / Marquette University
Deron Williams	G	6-3	205	7/26/84	Utah Jazz / University of Illinois

(NBA)

MORE NBA TRIVIA:

1. Kobe Bryant's jersey number ranks number one is sales in China for the second consecutive year.

Q - 1. Of the top 10 players listed of this year's list there are two new players on the list.

Q - 2. Conversely there are two players who dropped this year from last season's list. Who are those players?

2. There are four players on the China national team who were drafted or are a part of an NBA team roster in the past or now. Who are those players?

ALL TRIVIA ANSWERS.