August 9th, 2006 by Phil Frangos
Starting to gel?
Has coach Krzyzewski assembled the right mix to bring home the gold?
I’ll admit, although I am not the biggest Krzyzewski supporter out there, Team USA made the right decision in choosing Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach for the 2006 FIBA championships.
You gotta believe that the players that were selected to be on this team, will buy into the team concept that coach K has taught for years, especially in this type of format. By weeding out the “me first” guys like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady, Team USA has assembled a great mix of talented players that do more than just score at will.
Theres no doubt that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony are gifted scoring machines. The good thing about these three guys is that it won’t matter which one is doing the scoring, as long as the team wins the game. You throw in the leadership of Elton Brand and Gilbert Arenas along with Bruce Bowen’s defensive abilities, and let’s not overlook the talented Chris Bosh who doesn’t get the much deserved attention due to playing in Toronto, and young Chris Paul, you have a coaches dream team.
With two exhibition blowout wins versus Puerto Rico and China, USA edged Brazil by 4 points despite Melo going down with a hyperextended right knee. The injury isn’t expected to keep him out that long, but with the depth this squad has, they can afford to have him ease back into the lineup when he’s 100% ready.
Even though the number of nations in the tournament has increased from 16 to 24, Team USA should breeze through their pool that includes China, Italy, Senegal, Slovenia and Puerto Rico on their way to regaining the status as champions of the world.
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