USA - "Redeem Team" Brings Back U.S. Basketball Glory

From newsblaze.com
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The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team has earned the nickname "Redeem Team" after recapturing Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The U.S. team had gone from the dominant victories of the 1992 "Dream Team," the first team of U.S. professionals to play Olympic basketball, to the low point of defeat at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

In Athens, the American team lost to Argentina in the semifinals. In fact, the United States lost three games in 2004, more than all the previous U.S. basketball teams in Olympic competition. The team lacked cohesiveness because many of the players who had originally planned to be on the team had cancelled and the newly recruited players did not have enough time to train together.

The answer to USA basketball's woes was the organizing prowess of basketball guru Jerry Colangelo, who was appointed to the newly created position of managing director of the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team in 2005. Colangelo is a basketball veteran who played in college and later was a coach, manager and part owner of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Colangelo's strategy was to build a cohesive team by requiring players to make a three-year commitment to playing on the team. He recruited through personal interviews with every prospective player. Earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team became a privilege. Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski was selected as the team's coach. (See "Roster for U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team Announced ( http://www.america.gov/st/sports-english/2008/June/20080625100331xkknorb0.5909845.html )" and "U.S. Men's Basketball Team Aims for Olympic Glory.")

The newly formed team had a rough beginning: The team lost to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship. (FIBA is the world governing body for basketball.)

The players knew that to get a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, they had to place first or second in the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas. The U.S. players worked well as a team, and also learned how to better play international basketball, which has slightly different rules and tactics than American basketball.

At the Beijing Olympics, the team was able to return the Olympic gold medal to the United States.

DREAM TEAM VS. REDEEM TEAM

The 2008 Redeem Team's excellent play in the Beijing Olympics has resulted in many comparisons of the team to the original 1992 Dream Team.

Redeem Team player LeBron James, like many others, has wondered what a game between the two teams would be like. He compared the hypothetical match up, telling the Washington Post: "It would be a good one. ... They were a lot bigger than we were, with David [Robinson] and Pat [Ewing] and Charles [Barkley], but we're pretty good. We're really good. I mean, this is one of the best teams I've ever seen put together."

Size is a critical difference between the two teams. The Dream Team had taller, bigger players and might have an edge in rebounding and scoring close to the basket.
The Redeem Team was a younger team with an average age of 26. The Dream Team's players had an average age of 29, with older players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and John Stockton. Kobe Bryant, at 29, was the second-oldest player on the Redeem Team.

Coach Krzyzewski's emphasis on defense and teamwork was key to the Redeem Team's victory in the Olympics. The Dream Team was more of an all-star cast and relied on individual performance.

Since the Dream Team's entrance on the world basketball stage in 1992, the level of international basketball has significantly improved. The NBA has more international players - the Redeem Team faced teams made up primarily of NBA starters, something that was not possible in 1992 because there were fewer international players in the NBA. (See "U.S. Olympic Basketball Continues Quest for Gold ( http://www.america.gov/st/sports-english/2008/April/20080423115746opnativel0.4373133.html?CP.rss=true ).")

Redeem Team player Dwayne Wade told the Washington Post: "I would never even try to match us up with the Dream Team. First of all, they gave us the vision to be the team that we are, with all those stars coming together. They were the first NBA guys to come together and do it. You can't be compared to the first. Only thing you can do is write your own history, and that's what we are doing."