Greece beats US Basketball team 101-95

[Burma Jones]

I posted this in sports, but nobody goes there and this has some "national character" flavor.......


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-BKO-Worlds-Gr...


Greece has no NBA players, yet still beat the US team.

Well, at least the USA players are fabulously wealthy, so that makes them better regardless of who actually wins some kid's game, right?

I can't help but think the sort of arrogance that has resulted in losses in Baseball and Basketball international tournaments is a metaphor for our arrogant ineptitude that insures losses wherever the Chimp's gang puts its hands.

[Broken_Hero]

1. oh damn...

I thought they would be better this time around. I wish our better nba stars would play...and not sit it out, but I guess they are ruled by the $.

[madinmaryland]

3. I thought these guy were supposed to be the "best".

Maybe this actually says something about the caliber of US players today??

[KeepItReal]

10. They're the best of what's available...Peep the Original dream team...

Check the lineup:

Charles Barkley Phoenix Suns (Auburn)
Larry Bird Boston Celtics (Indiana State)
Clyde Drexler Portland Trail Blazers (Houston)
Patrick Ewing New York Knicks (Georgetown)
Earvin (Magic) Johnson Los Angeles Lakers (Michigan State)
Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls (North Carolina)
Christian Laettner Duke University
Karl Malone Utah Jazz (Louisiana Tech)
Chris Mullin Golden State Warriors (St. John's)
Scottie Pippen Chicago Bulls (Central Arkansas)
David Robinson San Antonio Spurs (U.S. Naval Acd.)
John Stockton Utah Jazz (Gonzaga)

http://usabasketball.com/history/moly_1992.html

[Broken_Hero]

11. they are not the best

of the NBA, not by a long shot...they are the only players who agreed to play...the better ones are at home, washing their shorts.

Its sad...:( There are a lot of players out there, who refuse to play, aka Kobe, Shaq, bibby...

[NJ Democrats]

20. Uh, Bibby isn't better than those who went

and Shaq wasn't asked to go. Personally, I think the defending NBA chamions should go, casue they have played with eacgh other together for more than 2 weeks.

[Broken_Hero]

22. well, Bibby is neither here nor there

I like the guy and would pick him over Lebron James any day, or Carmelo. Bibby, Shaq, and Kobe I know were asked to play on the olmypic team in 04, and they didn't go...most of the players I saw were 1-4 yr players. During the 04 olmypics you had Iverson, and Duncan, the rest of the team I thought was mediocre at best...

I do believe that the other teams are getting better though, and I do agree with you that the NBA champions should go play against the other world teams, but that is never going to happen. Oh, the days of hte original dream team...man, a lot of talent/history on that first team....

I also believe the razzle/dazzle slam dunk aspect of the game has hurt the NBA. Its a sad day, when our players can't hit anything from outside the key, or from the 3 point line. Its a sad day when our nba players can't even dribble a ball properly(looking at you iverson/and others)...fundamentally, I believe the other world teams are a lot better than what I see in the NBA on any given night.

[jakefrep]

24. If you seriously believe Bibby is better than LeBron James....

...you must have a nasty crack habit.

The problem here is not so much that our guys suck (they don't) as it is that the rest of the world has improved significantly. Why don't people realize that?

[Telly Savalas]

29. Are the defending NBA champions all Americans?

[datasuspect]

2. OPA!!!

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

4. Well, here's where I see the difference

between NBA-style play and international play... First of all, NBA players are more concerned about the flashy dunk than actually playing as part of a team with all 5 players involved. It's too much of an individualistic scoring mentality (possibly a reflection of society?) rather than a concentrated team effort where all players, including guards and forwards, play together as a team.

There is a distinct lack of fundamentals in the U.S. team. Yes, the players taken by themselves are flashy and spectacular, but there is little technique underneath the glitz. In other words, they play playground basketball and while that may make for a better spectacle it does result in crappy international performances.

I do think that having a college coach, especially one who is known for his defense-minded approach, has helped this team perform better than expected, but they have a long ways to go.

JMHO

[underpants]

5. The international game has much more of a flow while the NBA

likes the iso play. The NBA has gotten a little better over the last few years-at the end of the Jordan era the defense was stifling no drives ever so everyone just dumped down on the block- but it still hasn't got the ball movement aspect of the international game.

The wider lane really does make a difference.

I am not disagreeing with you I am just adding this on to what you posted.

Oh and it is all Coach K's fault :bounce::spank::hide:

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

6. indeed

Oh and it is all Coach K's fault


:rofl: really funny!

I agree completely... (but not about it being Coach K's fault)

[madinmaryland]

16. No!!! Its Clinton's fault!!!!!

[NewJeffCT]

8. I don't think it's lack of fundamentals

I think you'd be surprised at how fundamentally sound the average NBA player is, when they have to be.

The problem is that most of the NBA players were raised watching highlights on SportsCenter on ESPN, so they think that the individual move where you blow past your man to swoop in for an in-your-face dunk is the way to go. That's the way to get endorsements and big money. They probably have a team of agents whispering those things in their ears all the time.

On top of that, most of these young men have been put on a pedestal since junior high school and have the egos to match. The challenge for any coach, who probably has an ego just as big, is to rein in the egos of 12 millionaires and get them to play fundamentally sound team basketball.

Another problem is, believe it or not, psychological. The US team destroyed a German team that had a top NBA player in Dirk Nowitzki. Then, they see a Greek team that has no NBA players and they don't get as fired up because they think they'll have an easy time of it. As somebody who worked as a part-time sportswriter throughout the 90s, I saw this a lot - the high school/AAU team with a bunch of kids going to Division 1 colleges ends up losing/almost losing to the team with a bunch of mostly white kids who probably won't be playing college ball. Why? The team with the stars sees a bunch of white kids and doesn't get as fired up to play them as they did in their prior game when they played the team that had the superstar going to North Carolina. And, coincidentally, the other team plays the game like it is their Super Bowl, and when the game is close early on, they get more and more confident.

[jakefrep]

21. I call bullshit on the "lack of fundamentals".

These players are pros for a reason, namely, that they've mastered the fundamentals much better than the rest of us scrubs. There's nothing wrong with our players that couldn't be fixed through a steadier diet of international basketball, plus more time and opportunity to play together. I suspect this team will be vastly improved for the Olympics in 2008, and quite frankly, it has come some distance since 2004.

Truth be told, in virtually every major American sport, domestic success is prized above Olympic/International success, ie. an NBA or NCAA title is more coveted than an Olympic medal.

[Arkham House]

7. Bwahahahahaha...!!!!

That makes my day...:rofl: couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of over-paid, over-hyped "superstars"...

[ashling]

9. Latest - Greek team tested for drugs

they were all hyped up on Greek Oregano and Baklava!

[Zomby Woof]

12. The Greeks treated their ball with Windex

It gave them an obvious advantage.

[LostinVA]

14. Hahahahaha -- and, it heals your zits, too!

[LostinVA]

13. If the men played like the women, they would win

You know, play like a TEAM, not like a bunch of individual showboats trying to out score each other. Ugh. I can't stand them. I now actively root AGAINST the US men's basketball team because I can't stand the arrogant, overpaid snots so much.

[taterguy]

15. It's Michael Jordan's fault

Before Jordan, no one outside the US cared about hoops. Now other nations are into it and they're pretty good.

We never lost before Jordan, now we lose regularly

BTW, I don't share this thread's bashing of the team. Most of the truly selfish players didn't agree to play for the US. It is a major time committment and most of the players on the current team seem like class acts.

[KamaAina]

17. Nice job, Coach K (R-Lost to UConn in 2 of Last 3 Final Four Appearances)

:sarcasm:

You don't get to meet you idol the pResident, but at least you can still host fundraisers for Liddy Dole (R-Visited NC Once in 20 Years Before She Ran for Office) :puke:

[swag]

18. No fair. Not only is their food better than ours, their basketball team

is too.

What a rip.

[Balbus]

19. Good!

Give world competition back to the amateurs!

[LostInAnomie]

23. The lack of fundamentals and team play has destroyed USA basketball

We've traded disciplined team oriented ball for razzle dazzle bullshit. That's why I refuse to watch the NBA. I only watch college ball, where they at least have some resemblance to a team.

[jakefrep]

25. Bullshit nt

[LostInAnomie]

26. "Bullshit" what?

That college ball still resembles team basketball, or that the NBA's childish focus on dunks, drives, highlight plays, and ridiculously high individual scores has led to a defocusing fundamentally sound team ball?

My guess would be that you meant the former, because the latter has been proven consistently for the last 6 years of international play.

[jakefrep]

28. No, Bullshit that NBA players lack fundamental skills.

Is it not possible that the rest of the world has improved at basketball? Nobody seems willing or able to give credit where it's due instead of pointing the finger of blame.

[citizen snips]

27. The US team played bad defense.