Classy USA celebrate, give Spain their due

BEIJING (Olympics) - I enjoy the odd blowout like the next American.

I watch in awe and love it when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard put on the USA jersey.

I see Chris Paul go an entire tournament and hardly put a foot wrong and think, “Why didn’t he play like this at the FIBA World Championship two years ago?”

At the end of the day, though, it’s no fun if it’s no contest, and that’s why Sunday’s gold medal game between Spain and the USA made me the happiest guy in Beijing.

Before that, the USA had flattened nearly every team in their path.

I watched Los Chicos de Oro challenge the USA. I watched Rudy Fernandez give a breathtaking performance, which including dunking over Howard before hanging on the rim.

I watched Spain out-rebound the Americans. I watched 17-year-old Ricky Rubio deliver an NBA All-Star pass in the opening minutes of the game.

The USA won the game 118-107, and they deserved it.

I was so happy at what I’d seen, though heartbroken for Spain because really, they couldn’t have done much more.

At no time when the USA lost at the 2002 FIBA World Championship, or the Athens Olympics, or the 2006 FIBA World Championship, did I hear them make excuses.

No one should be making any for Spain, now.

Spain, the world champions, closed to within two points early in the fourth quarter and were behind by four late in the game before coming up short.

LeBron, you surprised me when, in the post-game press conference, you ran the show, from making sure Wade (game-high 27 points) had a seat next to you.

LeBron was so good in his remarks, I want to remind everyone of just what he said.

“On behalf of the players, first of all, we want to give respect where respect is due to the Spain team,” James said.

“They were unbelievable. Just like Coach said, we had a game plan and they countered our game plan by making some incredible plays.

“Every possession counted tonight for all 40 minutes … every possession counted!

“You couldn’t take one possession off, one second off. If it wasn’t for the determination and the will power we have in each other, we wouldn’t have pulled through and got this win.”

USA coach Mike Krzyzewski, you get a big thumbs-up.

You gave Spain their due, which they fully deserved, and you said something else that jarred me.

You said: “It’s been the greatest experience of my life and the lives of the other coaches.”

Then there was Kobe Bryant.

“What you saw today was a team,” Kobe said.

“Everybody wants to talk about NBA players being selfish, being arrogant, being individuals. What you saw today was a team bonding together, facing adversity and coming out of here with a big win.”

Hey USA bashers, take note – Coach K, LeBron, Kobe – they loved the international experience. They embraced it.

The mastermind in this USA run, though, was Jerry Colangelo, the man who had the idea of building a program that got three-year commitments from those involved.

For all his genius, the best part of Colangelo is his sense of humor.

When asked about the future of Team USA in the post-game press conference, he said: “They forgot this was a six-year commitment.”

Everyone laughed.

What else did I like?

I liked the fact that Spain’s players were the angriest, most disappointed group of guys in China, just as they were four years ago in Athens when they went undefeated in the preliminary round only to lose to the USA in the quarter-finals.

I thought Spain would be happy with silver, but they weren’t.

Rudy, who had 22 points to lead Spain, was devastated in the mixed zone when speaking to reporters.

Nate McMillan, the USA assistant coach who will be Rudy’s boss with the Portland Trail Blazers, was not.

I found him in the mixed zone.

“Nate,” I said, “can you give me your impressions on Rudy Fernandez?”

“He’s great,” McMillan said.

“He’s been good at all the games in this entire tournament for them. He didn’t start tonight, but came off the bench.

“I think what they were trying to do was get (Juan Carlos) Navarro going. It certainly happened.”

Navarro, who had pulled a disappearing act (actually, he never got a chance to get into his rhythm before the final) had 18 points.

“We felt that was a dangerous combination with Rudy and Navarro out on the floor at the same time,” McMillan continued.

“He (Rudy) played a brilliant game for them. I think he was five of nine from the three-point line. We even had Kobe on him.”

“So what about him next year in the NBA,” I asked.

“What an exciting player,” McMillan said.

“Portland, the fans are going to be really excited because he plays the game the right way with a lot of passion. I’m excited.”

Pau Gasol wouldn’t agree in the press conference that this had been the best game that he and his Spain teammates had ever played.

Well, I’ve been at the last three Olympic finals and this was by far the best.

Jeff Taylor, Basketball World News