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USA Blue Team Captures 100-81 Win Over USA White In 2009 USA Basketball Showcase
July 25, 2009

Featuring five players in double-figure scoring, including 20 points from Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas), the USA Blue Team fought back to erase an early deficit and capture a 100-81 win over the USA White Team in the 2009 USA Basketball Showcase on Saturday night at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The Showcase was the culmination of the 2009 USA Basketball Men's National Team Mini-Camp, which featured participation from 20 players and practice sessions on Thursday and Friday in Las Vegas.

"Jerry (Colangelo) had the idea to do this, and we all felt it would be good, but I think it was great," said Mike Krzyzewski, who was named Tuesday head coach of the USA Men's National Team program for 2009-2012. "Jerry just got through talking to them, and I said a few words and you could feel the sense of pride from all the guys. We had four really good days here, all these guys have built up USA equity, let's put it that way."

Durant, who shot a 9-of-9 from the free throw line, also recorded eight rebounds and four assists, while Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets / Stanford) added 18 points on a 7-of-8 shooting performance from the field, and Kyle Korver (Utah Jazz / Creighton), Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers / Georgia Tech) and Anthony Randolph (Golden State Warriors / LSU) also helped USA Blue with 12 points each.

"I just wanted to play an all-around game - rebound, score, pass, play defense," Durant said. "So, I could have done better on the defensive end, but I think overall we played a good team game."

USA White Team member Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies / Connecticut) drilled 11-of-12 attempts from the field and 3-4 from 3-point, to finish as the game's high scorer with 27 points; O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies / USC) added 13 points and four assists for the U.S. White squad; and Ronnie Brewer (Utah Jazz / Arkansas) contributed 11 points and a game high six steals.

"This is bigger than the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls," Gay said. "It's bigger than that. It's about your country, and I think everybody pretty much gave their all and tried as hard as they could."

Gay, who tallied eight points in the first period alone, sank a jumper at 7:53 to give White an early 6-2 lead. The Blue team countered with a 9-2 spurt and at 6:05 had recaptured an 11-8 lead following an Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona) 3-pointer. USA White answered right back, however, and closed the first period with a 15-4 run, and at the game's first break, the White Team led 23-15.

Midway through the second period, with 4:37 on the clock, the Blue had fought back to pull within four, 31-27. Gay again sparked his team and tallied five points during a 12-6 run that restored the White lead to 43-33 after a Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder / Georgetown) long ball at 1:35. With just 1:15 remaining before the halftime buzzer, the action was far from over. A 3-pointer from Durant and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA) and an old-fashioned three-point play from Lopez helped USA Blue close with a 9-0 run and cut the deficit to one, 43-42.

The third period was all USA Blue as nine players combined for 30 points while USA White managed just 17. Following a Brewer bucket for the White at 6:14, USA Blue closed the third quarter with another run - this time a 19-5 spurt that left the score 72-60 heading into the final stanza.

Neither team let up in the last 10 minutes, but despite nine fourth-period points from Mayo, Blue maintained its advantage and outscored White 28-21 to capture a 100-81 win.

USA Blue outrebounded White 36-32, shot 51.4 percent (37-72 FGs) compared to White's 43.1 percent form the field (31-72 FGs) and sank 19-of-22 free throws (.864), while White was 11-of-16 from the charity stripe (.688).

Tyrone Corbin (Utah Jazz) and Dave Cowens (Detroit Pistons) coached the USA Blue Team, while Kenny Gattison and Jerry Sichting (Minnesota Timberwolves) led the USA White Team.


POST-GAME QUOTES

Did you do what you wanted to do?

Kevin Durant: I just wanted to play an all-around game – rebound, score, pass, play defense. So, I could have done better on the defensive end, but I think overall we played a good team game.

What was it like playing that game?

Kevin Durant: Man, it was a lot of fun. We got that lead closed down a little bit and gave us some momentum going into the second half.

What did you get out of this week?

Kevin Durant: I learned a lot from the guys, played hard. I was like a sponge all week, and I’m looking forward to doing it again, hopefully.

What changed for your team in the second half?

Kevin Durant: We passed the ball, shared the ball with each other, got stops and fast break buckets. I think that second group did a great job closing it out in the second quarter, and we got it going after that.

Do you feel you made your case to be on the National Team?

Kevin Durant: I only control what I do, so I think I came out and played as hard as I could. I could have played a little bit harder. I could have done things a little better. But I gave it the best that I could, and we’ll see what happens. I really don’t know to be honest.

What did you show tonight?

Rudy Gay: Hopefully, I showed enough to make the team. It means a lot to me. I still think of some things to work on, but I think I pretty much showed what I have worked on.

What did you learn over the past few days?

Rudy Gay: People that can do more, they are more successful in this league. So, just talking with Coach K and the other coaches around, they are just telling me to do the helpful things. They know I can score, just try to rebound, just try to pass it off to people open.

Were you feeling the 3-point shot?

Rudy Gay: We were down, I was just trying to get us back. You know, whatever it takes.

Your thoughts on the game tonight?

Rudy Gay: I'm still mad we lost that lead. We had a pretty good lead, and I think we were good enough to finish the game out with that lead. But, you know, things happen. Won't get a chance to get it back this year, but at least maybe next year we will get a chance to do something.

You planning to continue your commitment to USA Basketball?

Rudy Gay: Definitely. As long as I am invited, I'm going to come back.

Was this weekend as challenging and fulfilling as you had hoped?

Rudy Gay: Yeah, it was challenging, but that is what I like. During the summer, there aren't many things that can challenge you. USA Basketball did this week. But I'm just grateful. It's something I definitely can take back to Memphis.

How does your performance tonight boost your confidence for the future?

Rudy Gay: For me, I don’t think confidence ever was a problem as far as basketball. Off the court, I’m a different person. I don’t think it’s confidence. It just shows what I have been doing. If you go out and work on something, when you go on the court, it shows you what you have done. It makes you want to work harder.

How much competition is there to make the upcoming USA Basketball roster?

Rudy Gay: This is bigger than the Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls. It’s bigger than that. It’s about your country, and I think everybody pretty much gave their all and tried as hard as they could. Now it’s now up to us. It’s up to them to figure out who they want on the team.


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USA Men's World University Games Team beats South Korea 113-76 in Belgrade
July 4, 2009

In a well-balanced team effort that saw all 12 players score, including seven in double digits, as the 2009 USA Men's World University Games Team (2-0) out-gunned South Korea (0-2) 113-76 on the Fourth of July in Belgrade, Serbia.

The U.S. advances to the second round, where it will face Greece (1-1), which finished second in Group A, on July 6 (2:00 p.m. EDT), and Group A first place finisher Serbia (2-0) on July 7 (2:00 p.m. EDT). Finland (1-1) also advanced to Group I second round action.

James Anderson (Oklahoma State / Junction City, Ark.) and Quincy Pondexter (Washington / Fresno, Calif.) led the USA with 14 points apiece; Talor Battle (Penn State / Albany, N.Y.), Lazar Hayward (Marquette / Buffalo, N.Y.) and Deon Thompson (North Carolina / Torrance, Calif.) contributed 12 points each; while Trevor Booker (Clemson / Whitmire, S.C.) and Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State / Brownsville, Tenn.) added 11 points apiece. Evan Turner (Ohio State / Chicago, Ill.) grabbed a team-best nine rebounds in the USA's dominant performance on the glass that saw the red, white and blue outrebound South Korea 62-21.

The USA, which dished out 21 assists, was a force inside the paint, scoring 82 points from inside. The American men also scored 21 second-chance points, compared to Korea's five. Additionally, the USA shot a sizzling 61.1 percent (29-78 FGs) from the field, while limiting the Asians to just 37.2 percent (29-78 FGs).


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25 Players Expected For USA Basketball National Team Mini-Camp
June 25, 2009

Twenty-five top rising NBA players have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate in the 2009 USA Basketball Men's National Team mini-camp that will be conducted July 22-25 in Las Vegas, Nev. The selections were announced by USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo.

The July USA Basketball Men's National Team mini-camp will feature practice sessions on July 23 and July 24 at Valley High School, and the mini-camp will be capped by the USA Basketball Showcase, a Blue-White intra-squad game, on Saturday, July 25, 8 p.m. (PDT) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV.

Accepting an invitation to attend the July 22-25 mini- camp were: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers / Texas); Trevor Ariza (Los Angeles Lakers / UCLA); D.J. Augustin (Charlotte Bobcats / Texas); Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers / Arizona); Ronnie Brewer (Utah Jazz / Arkansas); Glen Davis (Boston Celtics / LSU); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies / Connecticut); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers / New Mexico); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder / Georgetown); Blake Griffin (University of Oklahoma); Devin Harris (New Jersey Nets / Wisconsin); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona); Kyle Korver (Utah Jazz / Creighton); David Lee (New York Knicks / Florida); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets / Stanford); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies / USC); Paul Millsap (Utah Jazz / Louisiana Tech); Greg Oden (Portland Trail Blazers / Ohio State); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls / Memphis); Brandon Roy (Portland Trail Blazers / Washington); Josh Smith (Atlanta Hawks / Oak Hill Academy, Va.); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA); and Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia 76ers / Georgia Tech).

USA Basketball announced on May 21 that Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano, Utah Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin, Detroit Pistons assistant Dave Cowens, former New Orleans Hornets assistant Kenny Gattison, and innesota Timberwolves assistant Jerry Sichting, would serve as the staff for the 2009 USA Basketball Men's National Team mini-camp.

"While we look to continue to build continuity within the USA national team program and continue to improve, in 2009 we will get a look at some of the top young NBA players who haven't been involved in USA Basketball at the top national program level previously. Although some of these players have represented USA Basketball in the past, this is their opportunity to be considered for the next generation of players who will help make up the USA Basketball National program. As was the case in 2005-08, the roster for the national team program will be fluid in 2010-2012 and we will make adjustments to the roster each year to help insure we have the strongest program and the strongest teams possible," said Colangelo.

Twenty-one of the expected 25 mini-camp participants have prior USA Basketball team experience.


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USA Basketball Men's U16 National Team (5-0) beat Argentina (4-1), win 2009 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship gold medal
June 21, 2009

Behind a game-high 26 points from Brad Beal (Chaminade College Prep H.S. / St. Louis, Mo.), the 2009 USA Basketball Men's U16 National Team (5-0) captured the gold medal at the 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship after posting a 101-87 victory over host Argentina (4-1) on Sunday night in Mendoza, Argentina. In addition to Beal, who hit 7-of-14 from 3-point, the USA's victory was aided by 22 points from Quinn Cook (DeMatha H.S. / Bowie, Md.), James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian H.S. / Norfolk, Va.) scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Johnny O'Bryant (Eastside H.S. / Cleveland, Miss.) had 10 boards and eight points and Adonis Thomas (Melrose H.S. / Cordova, Tenn.) nabbed 10 rebounds to go with six points.

Canada (3-2) defeated Venezuela (2-3) 106-81 to earn the bronze medal. With the Bronze, Canada captured FIBA Americas' third and final berth in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship, which will be held next July (dates TBD) in Hamburg, Germany.

"First of all you have to give a lot of credit to Argentina," said USA head coach Don Showalter, head coach of Mid-Prairie High School (Iowa). "They came in a little undersized, but they've been though some very tough games. I would say you'll have to play 20 points better to beat them here on their own court.

"I've got to thank Kevin Sutton, Herman Harried, my assistant coaches were truly outstanding. We worked together as a team really well. It's a great experience to work with those two and I'm looking forward to working with them again next year. Secondly, I know the kids appreciate what USA Basketball, Jim Tooley, Sean Ford, B.J. Johnson, have done. They've really done a great job of providing these kids with a great experience. A gold medal is something that they'll remember forever."

"It was a great game," said Cook. "We both played hard, fighting hard. The crowd, the atmosphere was great, and we just pulled through. Came together as one, and fortunately we came out with the gold.

In a first quarter that saw five lead changes and four tied scores, the U.S. took the lead for good on Beal's first 3-pointer of the night that put the red, white and blue on top 19-16 at 2:10. That spurred a 9-3 spurt that was bookended with another Beal three and the North Americans closed the first quarter up 25-18.

The U.S., which had not used much zone defense in its first four games, zoned Argentina to start the second quarter and the strategy worked. Argentina hit a three to open the scoring, but after that the U.S. reeled off 11 unanswered points to take a 15-point cushion, 36-21, at 7:04 and closed the first half up 50-36.

"We mixed up our defenses and used a two-three zone or man-to-man, and it worked," said Beal. "They started taking bad shots, and we forced turnovers. That's what coach wanted us to do, was to outrebound them. We were more athletic, so we just had to use our athletic ability and our fundamentals, and we came out on top."

The second half started with an 8-0 U.S. run during the opening three minutes as Argentina was forced into three turnovers during that span. From there the teams traded baskets and with 3:19 Argentina trailed 67-47. In the closing minutes of the third, the U.S. held Argentina to a single field goal, while expanding its lead to 73-52.


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USA Men Fight Off Spain To Claim 118-107 Win And Olympic Gold Medal
Aug. 24, 2008

Riding 27 points from Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) and 20 points from Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (8-0) dethroned reigning World Champion Spain (6-2) in a fight-to-the-finish 118-107 victory that earned the USA the Olympic gold medal Sunday afternoon at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China. The gold was the USA's 13th all-time in Olympic competition and its first gold medal finish in a major international competition since claiming gold in the 2000 Olympics.

Answering every Spanish comeback attempt in the second and third periods, the USA watched its nine-point lead shrink to as little as two in the fourth period before 13 points from Bryant and Wade's fourth 3-pointer of the game propelled the USA past Spain and to its eighth consecutive double-digit win in as many games, including its second over Spain.

In Sunday's bronze medal game, Argentina (6-2) topped Lithuania (5-3) 87-75 to collect the third-place medal.

"I'm proud of our guys. We played with great character in one of the great games in international basketball history, I think," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Because if we didn't have great character, we would not have been able to beat another team that had great character. Spain was fabulous. Everything we did, we tried to stop them, and we couldn't stop them completely. It was a great basketball game where everybody involved played at the highest level, and I think it brought out the best in us. We're thoroughly thankful for the opportunity to represent our country. (We're) ecstatic about winning the gold medal."

Both teams were hot from the field, but the USA bettered Spain's 51.4 percent (38-74 FGs) shooting with a 60.0 percent performance (39-65 FGs) of its own, and led by Wade's 4-of-7 shooting from deep, the USA shot 13-of-28 from 3-point to set a U.S. Olympic record for the most 3-pointers made.

"I felt that I haven't had a good game in the last two games, so I really made it a point to come out, be very aggressive from the start," said Wade, who tallied 21 of his 27 points in the first half. "I got into a rhythm early and it just kept going."

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) added 14 points and six rebounds; Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) tallied 13 points and five assists and shot 9-of-10 from the free throw line; and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) also added 13 points to round out the USA's double-digit scorers. Bryant also dished six assists.

"Every possession counted tonight for all 40 minutes, every possession counted, James stated. "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. Much respect to Spain, but U.S. is back on top again."

The lead changed six times to start the game before two bonus free-throws for Spain put it ahead 22-17. Paul converted on a 3-point play to kick off a 14-3 run that gave the USA a 31-25 advantage when Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), who grabbed seven rebounds and shot 6-of-6 from the free throw line, cleaned up a missed free throw by Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) with 1:31 on the clock. The teams traded scores from there, and Wade drained a 3-pointer 10 seconds before the first break to stretch the U.S. lead to 38-31 after one.

Four different U.S. scorers combined for five made 3-pointers in the second period, including two from Wade, to help the USA counter 13 points from Spain's Rudy Fernandez, and the U.S. held a 69-61 lead at halftime.

Spain outscored the U.S. 10-6 to start the third period, and the USA called a time out at with 6:04 on the clock and just a four point lead, 75-71.

Out of the break, Anthony blocked a shot, Bosh collected the rebound and fired the ball ahead to Anthony on a fast break, and the USA capped the third quarter with a 16-11 run and the score was 91-82 headed into the final 10 minutes.

Spain opened the final stanza with a 7-0 run that forced another USA timeout just 1:47 into the quarter with the U.S. up by just two points, 91-89. Bryant scored two points out of the timeout, Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) sank a 3-pointer and Howard dunked a Bryant assist to cushion the USA advantage to 98-89 with 6:48 left.

As was the case for the entire 40 minutes, Spain refused to quit and two points from Gasol with 3:32 remaining pulled Spain within five points, 104-99. Bryant answered once again, this time drilling a 3-pointer while drawing Fernandez's fifth and final foul. Bryant sank the free throw for a four-point play that restored the U.S. advantage to 108-99.

Bryant's four-point punch didn't knock Spain out, however, as Carlos Jimenez' 3-pointer at 2:25 cut the U.S. lead to 108-104.

It was Wade who dealt the final blow against Spain with his fourth 3-pointer of the game at 2:04 that put the USA back up by seven, 111-104.

"Not only did we win this gold medal, but it was probably one of the best Olympic games ever," said Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons). "I kept thinking I might have been part of one of the best Olympic basketball games for all time.

Both teams never gave up; both teams shot a high percentage. A different player on each team always came down the court and made a great play."

Both teams converted its free throw opportunities into points. Spain shot 23-of-28 (.821) from the line, while the USA was 27-of-37 (.730) from the charity stripe.

Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) is the only two-time Olympic gold medalist on the 2008 team and becomes just the 13th U.S. player in history to collect two gold medals; while Kidd, Anthony, Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), James and Wade now belong to a small group of just 18 two-time U.S. Olympic basketball team members.

"What you saw today was a team," Bryant added. "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 of here with a big win."

The U.S. men have medaled in every Olympics they have played in, including 13 gold medals, 1 silver and two bronze, while compiling a 122-5 win-loss record for a 96.0 winning percentage. U.S. Olympic teams featuring NBA players are 35-3 in the Olympics, and the USA has won four of five Olympic titles (1992, 1996, 2000 and 2008).


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USA Men Overpower Argentina 101-81, Advance To Gold Medal Game
Aug. 22, 2008

The 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (7-0) watched its 30-11 first quarter lead dwindle to six points late in the second period before regaining control in the second half with a balanced scoring attack that saw seven U.S. players finish in double figures to help the USA overpower Argentina (5-2) 101-81 and advance to Sunday's gold medal game Friday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), who made 13-of-13 free throws to set U.S. Olympic game records for made free throws and free throw percentage, led the way with 21 points.

The USA will face reigning world champion Spain (6-1), which survived Lithuania (5-2) 91-86 in Friday's other semifinals game, at 2:30 p.m. (2:30 a.m. EDT) in the gold medal contest on Sunday afternoon, while Argentina and Lithuania will fight for the bronze at 12:00 p.m.

"It's always a great honor to play Argentina," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "Internationally, over the last decade, they have been as good as anybody in the world. They play with the heart of champions, and we knew we were in for a tough game today.

"Our guys were ready to play and we feel really good to beat Argentina by 20 points. I'm pleased with that. I'm certainly pleased with playing in the gold medal game."

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) added 15 points and five rebounds; Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) each scored 12 points; Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) tallied an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double; and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) contributed 10 points and nine rebounds. Additionally, Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) dished seven assists in 16 minutes.

The win was the USA's fourth consecutive victory against Argentina at the senior level since losing in the 2004 Olympic semifinals, including a win in the 2006 FIBA World Championship bronze medal game and two wins in last summer's 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.

The USA held Argentina, which entered the game leading the tournament in 3-pointers made, to just 6-of-23 from deep for 26.1 percent. On the offensive end, the USA attacked Argentina on the interior to draw 28 fouls and make 18 trips to the free throw line, where it made 27-of-36 tries. The USA also won the rebounding battle 43-32, including 16 offensive boards.

"There was a lot of banging tonight," said Anthony. "I'm sore right now. Playing Scola, Oberto and Gutierrez, it was a lot of banging down there. I enjoyed it. I like playing like that. They were calling it a little bit tonight, but it was to our advantage a little bit."

With the U.S. trailing 4-3, a Kidd jumper ignited an 18-0 run that included seven of Bryant's nine first-period points, and the scoreboard read 21-4 when Paul stole the ball and raced the other way for a fast break bucket. A 3-pointer from Argentina's Pablo Prigioni ended the spurt, but the USA went on to outscore Argentina 9-7 to end the first quarter ahead 30-11.

Argentina and NBA All-Star Manu Ginobili left the court with an ankle injury with 3:39 remaining in the first period and never returned to the game.

In the game's first 10 minutes, the U.S. forced Argentina into seven turnovers and held its opponent to 4-of-14 shooting from the field.

The USA and Argentina traded scores to start the second quarter, and an Anthony 3-pointer 2:21 into the stanza brought the score to 37-18 with 8:07 on the clock. Argentina finally found its stride, and receiving five points from Alfredo Quinteros and four from Juan Gutierrez, reeled off 11 straight points to cut the U.S. lead to 37-29 with 4:24 remaining before halftime.

With the U.S. clinging to a 46-40 advantage and time about out in the first half, Anthony was fouled on a 3-point attempt with just 0.9 left. Making all three of his free throws, Anthony helped send the U.S. to the locker room with the momentum and a 49-40 lead.

The USA struggled against Argentina's zone defense in the second period and shot just 4-of-14 from the field. On the defensive end the USA sent Argentina to the free throw line five times, where it shot 10-of-10 in the second period.

"The guys were really anxious to play this team. I think you saw that by how we came out of the gate," said Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons). "I think when Ginobili got hurt, we kind of let up a little bit. They made some shots, went into a zone, played a soft zone there. We didn't penetrate or do anything to get in the gaps. We were just settling. Then we were also fouling, we put them in the bonus with 8:07 left in the second quarter and all they did was hit free throws, they're a great free throw shooting team. That's what got him back in the game."

Howard opened the second half with four quick points in the paint to put the USA ahead 53-40, and when a James 3-pointer increased the score to 58-44 in the USA favor with 7:33 on the clock, Argentina called a timeout and returned to its zone defense.

This time the USA continued to pound the ball inside, and Howard tallied three more points out of the break to put the USA up 61-44 with 6:55 on the clock.

The U.S. led 78-64 after three quarters, and just 1:14 into the final stanza, James had drained two 3-pointers to put the USA up 84-66 with 8:46 remaining. Argentina never again got closer than 13 points as the USA went on to outscore Argentina 23-17 in the period to win by its smallest margin of the Olympics, 20 points, 101-81.

The USA has played and beaten Spain eight times in Olympic action, including a 102-94 win over an undefeated Spanish team in the quarterfinals of the 2004 Olympics. Most recently the USA topped Spain 119-82 in preliminary play on Aug. 16.

"It doesn't matter. That was pool play," Wade said. "I'm sure they could have played better. It's going to be a tough game. They're not in the championship game for no reason. This team won the (world) championship in '06 and now they're back to the championship (game). They're improving. We're going to have to go out there and beat them. Just like Argentina. We're going to have to go out there and knock them off. They're not going to give us anything. They're not going to lay down for us. We know it's going to be a tough game but we're prepared."

The red, white and blue also beat Spain 122-81 in 1992; 97-53 in 1988; 101-68 in 1984 and 96-65 in the '84 gold medal game; 72-56 in 1972; 81-46 in 1968; and a forfeit win in 1936. Automatically qualified for the 2008 Olympics as the reigning 2006 FIBA World Champion, Spain's best Olympic finish came in 1984 when it took home silver.


USA Men Advance To Semifinals With 116-85 Drubbing Of Australia
Aug. 20, 2008

Riding a 19-0 run that started late in the second quarter and stretched until almost four minutes into the third period, the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (6-0) demolished Australia (3-3) in the second and third quarters on its way to a 116-85 win and a 2008 Olympic semifinal berth Wednesday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China. The victory improved the USA record to 6-0 and advanced the squad into the semifinals.

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) turned in a 25-point performance as all 12 U.S. players scored in the contest, including five in double figures.

The USA will face reigning Olympic champion Argentina (5-1) in the semifinals at 10:15 p.m. (10:15 a.m. EDT) on Friday, setting up a rematch of the 2004 Olympic semifinals when Argentina beat the USA 89-81. Argentina advanced to play the USA after surviving Greece 80-78 in today's late game.

"We want to play the best. We want to play the defending champs," said Bryant. "It's all about challenges, and obviously, we welcome all comers. Argentina is the defending champs. You want to be able to play the guys who won it the last time."

In the 8:00 p.m. semifinal game, Spain (5-1), which earlier today topped Croatia 72-59, will play Lithuania (5-1), which downed China 94-68. The Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24 at 2:30 p.m. and 12:00 p.m., respectively.

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) added 16 points, nine rebounds and four steals in the USA's win; Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) tallied 15 points; and Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) each contributed 10 points.

"We had to play really well in order to win," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "They caused us a lot of problems, and I'm glad my Duke team doesn't play St. Mary's next year. (Patrick Mills) is a great guard. He'll be an NBA guard, and I'm very, very impressed. We're ecstatic because we know we beat an outstanding team, who I think was playing their best basketball right now. So, it was a heck of a game for us.

While the USA shot an impressive 56.6 percent from the field (43-76 FGs), Bryant was 4-of-7 from 3-point to help the USA tie the U.S. Olympic record for 3-point field goals made with 12 for a second time in this tournament and set a new mark for 3-pointers attempted with 29.

"I think myself and Melo and the rest of our shooters, Michael Redd, we're starting to get a good rhythm for our shots," Bryant said. "And, it couldn't come at a better time. Being that it's do-or-die, it's go time. This is what we came here for, and we're all ready to go. Money's on the line."

The USA raced to a nine-point lead to start the game behind points from four U.S. scorers, and a James 3-pointer with 6:41 on the clock brought the tally to 12-3 in the USA's favor. Australia countered eight more U.S. points with three 3-pointers in the next three minutes, with the last one cutting the U.S. advantage to 20-17 with 3:20 remaining in the stanza. The teams traded scores to close the quarter, and the USA was ahead by one point, 25-24, as the period ended.

The USA put together its first consecutive points of the second period with a Chris Bosh free throw at 8:25 and a James fast break bucket at 7:57 that brought the score was 33-28. Following two points from Australia, the USA again compiled four consecutive points, and Australia called its first timeout after a Wade fast break increased the U.S. lead to 37-30 at 6:43. The next four minutes were back and forth as both teams tallied 13 points, and the scoreboard read 50-43 when Australia's Brad Newley sank a three with 1:48 remaining before halftime.

That was as close as Australia would get for the remainder of the game. The score reached 55-43 after Bryant scored off an offensive rebound and Williams pulled up in transition with a 3-pointer to just beat the halftime buzzer.

"When I caught it, it was about three seconds," Williams recalled. "I could make it to the basket, but he (the Australian defender) kept backing up. That was my first thought. If he came up and challenged me, he was a big man, then I was going to try and get to the basket. But he kept backing up and I just rose up for the three."

The momentum, and the run, carried through the break for the USA. The red, white and blue sank three 3-pointers in the first 3:23 of the third period, including two from Bryant, as it raced to 14 unanswered points. The 19-0 run, which included 10 points from Bryant, was interrupted by a 3-pointer from Australia's Patrick Mills with 6:01 on the clock, but the Aussie response was too little too late.

"(Kobe) had a great performance, and he came up when we needed it the most, right at the start of the second half," Krzyzewski said. "It was such a possession by possession game, we were lucky that Deron hit that shot right at the end of the first half."

Having recorded just two assists in the first half, the USA went on to record nine assists on 12 made field goals in the third quarter to outscore Australia 34-19 in the period and stretch its lead to 28 points, 89-61, headed into the final 10 minutes.

With the game's outcome decided Australia never gave up, but the USA offense continued to overpower its opponent. With the help of six more points from Bryant and five from Williams and Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) the USA tallied 27 points to Australia's 24 to bring the game to its final score of 116-85.

While the USA dominated the boards, outrebounding Australia 57-28, including 19 on the offensive glass, the Americans struggled from the free throw line, shooting just 58.1 percent (18-31 FTs) from the charity stripe.

The USA has played Argentina four times in Olympic action, recording wins on three occasions and a loss in the 2004 Olympic semifinals. The USA topped Argentina 96-68 in 2000, 85-76 in 1952 and 59-57 in 1948. Handing Argentina a 96-81 setback in the bronze medal game of the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and additionally, the USA beat a less-than-full strength Argentina squad twice in the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship, 91-76 in second round action and 118-81 in the gold medal game. The 2007 Argentina team, while featuring Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino, was without several starters including Manu Ginobili, who currently leads his squad with 20.3 ppg., and Andres Nocioni, who is the team's third-leading scorer with 12.8 ppg. And the leading rebounder at 6.8 rpg.

"Well we haven't accomplished anything yet," said Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks). "We've taken one baby step, and now our next step is going to be tough. When we play Argentina, we will have our hands full. We'll have to make sure that our defense is tight and remember that we are here for one thing and that is to win a gold medal."


USA Dominates Germany 106-57, Advances To Medal Round Quarterfinals Undefeated
Aug. 18, 2008

The 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (5-0) compiled 40 minutes of efficient offense and harassing defense in its final preliminary round game against Germany (1-4), and in the process recorded its largest margin of victory yet of the 2008 Olympics posting a 106-57 win on Monday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.

Everybody scored for the USA, led by 22 points and 10 rebounds from Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), who shot 9-of-10 from the field. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) contributed 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from 3-point; Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) added 13; and Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), who added three assists on the night, and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) tallied 10 points each.

Advancing as Group B's No. 1 seed, the USA faces Australia (2-3), Group A's No. 4 finisher, in medal round quarterfinals play on Wednesday at 8 p.m. (8 a.m. EDT time on USA, USA HD). The quarterfinals action also features Spain versus Croatia (2:30 p.m. Beijing time); Lithuania meeting China (4:45 p.m.); and Argentina taking on Greece at 10:15 p.m.

"We're excited about finishing pool play undefeated and getting on to the medal round," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We're healthy. I think our team has played well. We're very excited about getting in the medal round. It's time to try to win a gold medal."

The game was never a contest as Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) scored the USA first points with game barely three seconds old and never looked back. Sprinting on to a 20-3 lead less than seven minutes into the first period, the U.S. held Germany's NBA tandem of Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman to just five first quarter points combined and to only 20 total points for the game. While Germany was held to just 30.1 percent shooting from the field, including 7-of-30 from 3-point, the red, white and blue outscored Germany in the paint 62-26 and won the battle on the boards 53-38.

"I think tonight's game was very exciting for me," Howard said. "I talked to Coach K earlier today before the game, and he really told me to get myself going and get myself back into how I know how to play basketball."

Behind eight points from Howard and seven from James, the USA raced to a 20-3 advantage after James snatched a steal, and converted a Paul assist with 3:35 remaining in the first period. After the first 10 minutes the Americans led by 19 points, 31-12.

The USA stretched its advantage to 24 points in the second period thanks in part to four 3-pointers, including two consecutive threes from James. Forcing 12 turnovers in the first half, the USA was 7-of-14 from deep in the first 20 minutes and headed to the locker room up 53-29 at halftime.

"We're trying to play with a chip on our shoulder," James said. "We go out every night and try to get better. Going against Greece and going against Spain were easy to get up for. We could have easily had one of those games (tonight) where we came in and made excuses, but we didn't take a step backwards today and that was good."

The USA continued its hot shooting out of the break, opening the third period with an old-fashioned 3-point play from Howard, who scored 10 points in the third quarter alone, followed by consecutive 3-pointers from Bryant, and the score had reached 62-29 just 1:24 into the period. The USA hit two more 3-pointers before the quarter ended, including one more from Bryant and one from Paul, to help take a 83-46 lead headed into the final stanza.

As the USA raced to 23 more points, including seven from Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) and six from Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz), Germany made just five shots and added 11 points to bring the game to its final 106-57 tally.

"We're excited. This is what we've been preparing for," Wade said. "We've been preparing for these three games right here. We had to play these five games to position ourselves the right way. We did that, we played well. Now we have to take it up a notch and play even better. Some people say, 'well, how can you all do that?' Well, we feel that we're hungrier now and we're going to look at every game as a Game 7. If we continue to play defense the way we've been playing, if we continue to move the ball, it's going to be tough to beat us. But we know teams are going to come at us very hard. This is what we live for."

Following the USA's win, the team was congratulated in its locker room by U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps, who collected eight gold medals and set seven world records in the 2008 Olympics.

In Tuesday's other games, Group A saw Croatia (3-2) easily beat Iran (0-5) 91-57 with the help of 16 points from Marin Rozic and Marko Tomas; Australia (3-2) shot 16-of-25 from 3-point and Andrew Bogut tallied 23 points to top Lithuania (4-1) 106-75; and Luis Scola tallied 37 points to help Argentina (4-1) handle Russia (1-4) 91-79.

Headed into the medal round quarterfinals, Lithuania advances as Group A's No. 1 seed, Argentina is No. 2, Croatia is No. 3 and Australia is No. 4; while Russia and Iran have concluded their Olympic play.

In Group B competition, Yiannis Bouroussis and Vassilis Spanoulis scored 19 points to lead Greece (3-2) past China (2-3) 91-77; and behind 31 points from Pau Gasol, Spain (4-1) cruised past Angola (0-5) 98-50.

After No. 1 seed USA, Spain earned Group B's No. 2 spot, followed by No. 3 Greece and No. 4 China; while Germany and Angola will exit the tournament.

With game times still to be determined, semifinal match ups will be as follows: the winner of Spain versus Croatia will play the winner of Lithuania versus China; and the winner of Argentina versus Greece will meet the winner of USA versus Australia. The quarterfinal losers will conclude their Olympic play.

The Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24 at 2:30 p.m. and 12:00 p.m., respectively.


USA Men Light Up Spain For 119-82 Win
Aug. 16, 2008

In its fourth consecutive win and widest margin of victory yet, the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (4-0) proved it does have shooting range, sinking a U.S. Olympic record-tying 12 3-pointers to down reigning World Champion Spain (3-1) 119-82 Saturday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.

The victory secured the USA claiming the No. 1 seed in Group A for the medal round quarterfinals, regardless of the outcome of its final preliminary game against Germany at 8 p.m. (8 a.m. EDT on USA, USA HD) on Monday, Aug. 18.

"We're really pleased with our effort. It's an honor to play against a great team. And, Spain has a great team," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewksi . "I thought they missed some open shots tonight. We made our open shots; that was a big factor in the game. We know it's a pool game. We know the importance of winning pool games, but the most important games are next week."

Everybody scored for the USA, including eight players in double figures. LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) led the way with 18 points, eight assists, five rebounds and four steals; Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) shot 4-of-6 from behind the arc to help tally 16 points and six rebounds; and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) added 16 points and six rebounds.

The USA also forced 28 turnovers, collected 16 steals and raced to 32 fast break points. Spain shot just 39.4 percent from the field (28-71 FGs), 21.4 percent from behind the arc (6-28 3-pt FGs) and recorded zero fast break points.

"We played an excellent team. It shows how far we have come," James said. "Defensively we were in tune, and when we get defensive stops, it allows us to get out and run, which we do best. We did a great job tonight and we just have to continue having the same effort every night we step on the court."

Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), who recorded 14 points, tied for a game-high eight assists, five steals and five rebounds, also shot 8-of-8 from the free throw line to tie the U.S. Olympic single game record for free throw percentage.

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) added 11 points each; while Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) and Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons) posted 10 points apiece; and Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) collected seven rebounds.

"I like defense so forcing the number of turnovers we did I thought was the most satisfying thing for me," Krzyzewski said. "We had eight guys in double figures, but I thought Chris Bosh's performance was outstanding. He scored two points, but he had seven defensive rebounds and he anchored our defense. His defense led to us having confidence and playing passing lanes a little bit more."

The USA took its first lead, 14-11, when James sank a 3-pointer with 4:48 on the clock. Two points from the free throw line from James were followed by seven more U.S. points, including an Anthony 3-pointer, and the U.S. lead had improved to 23-16 with 2:24 remaining in the first period. With Spain's fifth team foul at 2:18, Paul converted two free throws to kick of a 6-0 run that was capped by a fast break bucket from Wade to make the score to 29-16 with 1:42 remaining and Spain called its first timeout. Out of the break, Spain put together its own 6-0 run to bring the score to 29-22 with 40 seconds left in the quarter. Wade scored the period's final two points after he blocked a shot, collected the loose ball and drove the length of the court for a dunk that put the USA up 31-22 at the end of one.

Spain opened the second period in a zone defense, which completely failed to slow the U.S. offense. In the stanza's first 6:03 minutes the USA connected on four 3-pointers, including long ball's from Prince at 8:54, James at 6:28, Bryant at 5:59 and Williams at 3:57.

By the time Spain called a time out and reverted to man-to-man defense with 2:56 on the clock, the U.S. held a 54-36 lead and control of the game. Shooting 7-of-11 from deep in the first 20 minutes, the USA seven made threes and had equaled its best 3-point performance of the tournament by halftime.

But it wasn't just the long-ball that helped the USA outscore Spain 30-23 in the second period to take a 16-point, 61-45, halftime lead to the locker room. Also in the first 20 minutes, the USA had collected 12 of its 16 steals and forced 17 of Spain's 28 turnovers.

"I think our defense is always key for us," Williams said. "Defense is always our bread and butter, always where we like to start our basis from because if we're playing good D, we're going to get out in transition; we're going to run because we're creating turnovers and forcing miscues. So, just got to be proud of how our defense stepped up and shut those guys down.

Jason Kidd opened the third period with a blocked shot and rebound, which he fired ahead to a streaking Bryant for a fast break dunk. Anthony followed with another 3-pointer that increased the U.S. lead to 66-45 with 8:31 on the clock in the third quarter, and from there, Spain never got closer than 18 points

Overall, the USA recorded 24 assists on 44-of-76 shooting (57.9 percent) from the field. Entering the game ranked last in the 12 team field for 3-point shooting having made just 29.2 percent of its 3-pointers, the U.S. against Spain found its shooting eye and sank 48.0 percent (12-25 3-pt FGs) from beyond the 3-point arc.

"All-around we felt good," Wade said. "Guys are getting into a rhythm and like I've been saying, we're going to play our best basketball toward the end of the whole thing and that's going to be a good thing. I think we're kind of reaching our stride."

In Tuesday's other games, Group A saw Australia (2-2) top Russia (1-3) 95-80 with both Andrew Bogut and CJ Bruton tallying 22 points; while 20 points from Mindaugas Lukauskis led Lithuania (4-0) past Croatia (2-2) 86-73; and Argentina (3-1) downed Iran (0-4) 97-82 thanks to 32 points from Manu Ginobili.

In Group B competition, Greece (2-2) cruised past Angola (0-4) 102-61 with 22 points from Ioannis Bouroussis; and 25 points from Yao Ming helped China (2-2) survive Germany (1-3) 59-55.

Following the USA's final preliminary game on Tuesday against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the men's Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22 and the Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D'Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.


USA Men Soar Past Greece To Capture 92-69 Win
Aug. 14, 2008

In its first real test of the 2008 Olympics, the U.S. Men's Olympic Team (3-0) passed with flying colors and soaring dunks to top Greece (1-2) 92-69 Thursday night at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China. Having earned three wins in as many outings in preliminary group play, the USA also secured its berth into the Olympic medal round quarterfinals, regardless of the outcome of its preliminary round games against Spain (3-0) on Saturday and Germany (1-2) on Monday.

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) and Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) led the way with 18 points each; followed by 17 points, six steals and five assists from Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); and 13 points, six rebounds and six assists from LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers).

"(Greece plays basketball) the right way," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "They play hard, they play together and they're a difficult team to beat, and they were tonight. They missed some shots but we played very good defense and they played good defense. So, it was tough to get shots. We're proud of our effort. I thought we played one of the best teams in the tournament tonight."

Up by just four points after the first quarter, the USA outscored Greece 31-16 in the second period to take a 19-point lead at halftime and deflate any hopes Greece had of a second win over the USA in as many years. The last time the two teams met, Greece stunned the U.S. with a 101-96 victory in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship.

"We knew if we got into them early, picked them up full court, we would kind of wear them down," said Bosh. "In 2006 we just let them run their stuff, so we wanted to extend our defense and make them run their offense about 30 or 35 feet away from the basket."

In the game's first 20 minutes, the USA held Greece to 0-of-7 shooting from 3-point, outrebounded its opponent 23-14, forced 13 turnovers and tallied 16 fast break points to build a 19-point lead.

"This was a big game for us. We had this game circled for a long time once we found out what the groups were," said Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets), who played over 25 minutes of hawking defense while recording four points, three assists and two steals. "Greece is a very good team; they beat us in '06. There were a few of us on this team that felt like we needed this game to prove to ourselves that we mean business and we're ready to win this gold medal."

Down 13-9 with 4:06 remaining in the first period, the USA put together its first crowd-pleasing run of the night with a 6-0 spurt that included a dunk from James, a fast break bucket from Paul and another slam, this time from Bryant to help the USA regain the lead, 15-13 at 2:26. From there, Wade tallied the red, white and blue's final five points in the first quarter and the score was 20-16 at the first break.

The USA carried its momentum through to the second period, which it opened with another of the night's spectacular highlights. Falling out of bounds to collect a stolen possession, Wade lobbed the ball to the rim where Bryant was waiting to throw down the alley-oop. Greece's Ioannis Baourousis next managed to get inside for a two-handed jam at 9:10, but the bucket didn't slow the American offense. Howard's dunk at 8:59 was followed by a soaring one-handed slam from James, and the score stood 26-18 at 8:45.

The USA and Greece traded points over the next five minutes, and the lead reached 10, 38-28, after James skied to collect and throw down a Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) miss, prompting a timeout from the Greek bench at 3:45. Greece scored two points after the 60-second intermission, but a deep 3-pointer from Bryant again launched a U.S. onslaught, this time a 13-4 run that featured two 3-point plays from Bosh and four points, including a reverse dunk, from James. With Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) blocking Greece's last shot attempt at the halftime buzzer, the U.S. headed to the locker room fully in charge, 51-32.

Greece nearly kept pace with the USA in the third period and came as close at 16 points after two Vasileios Spanoulis free throws cut the U.S. advantage to 65-49 at 3:48. Seven third quarter points from both Wade and Bryant, however, helped the USA thwart any Greek comeback attempt, and with the USA outscoring Greece 23-22 in the stanza the score was 74-54 headed into the final 10 minutes.

The fourth period was the same story as the U.S. tallied 18 points to Greece's 15 to improve its advantage by three and bring the final tally to 92-69 as the final buzzer sounded.

"Chris Bosh was terrific," Bryant said. "He always seems to find himself in the right place at the right time and when we penetrate he's able to find a little crack or seam and be able to finish. And defensively he did a great job on the pick and roll and stopping their guards from penetrating. He was getting steals and we converted them into easy points. He did a fantastic job."

Overall, Greece shot just 22.0 percent from behind the arc (4-18 3pt FGs) and committed 25 turnovers, while the USA dished 23 assists on 36 made baskets and shot 54.0 percent from the field (36-67 FGs). The only blemish for the USA on the night was its foul shooting as the U.S. made just 13-of-23 attempts for an icy 57.0 percent.

In Tuesday's other games, Group A saw Australia (1-2) cruise past Iran (0-3) 106-68, with Brad Newley recording a game-high 24 points; Lithuania (3-0) survived Russia (1-2) 86-79 led by 20 points from Rimantas Kaukenas and three additional scorers in double figures; and Argentina (2-1) easily handled Croatia (2-1) 77-53 as Andres Nocioni finished with 18 points.

In Group B competition, Spain (3-0) featured three players in double digits to top Germany (1-2) 72-59, including Jose Calderon with 15 points, Alex Mumbru with 14 points and Paul Gasol with 13 points; while 10-of-11 shooting and 30 points from Yao Ming propelled China (1-2) past Angola (0-3) 85-68.

Olympic men's basketball preliminary round action is being contested through Aug. 18. The U.S. continues preliminary play against 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and closes out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men's Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22 and the Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D'Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.


USA Men Coast Past Angola for 97-76 Win
Aug. 12, 2008

The U.S. simply had too many weapons for Africa champ Angola to make the Tuesday game suspenseful, and behind Dwyane Wade's (Miami Heat) 19 points and five rebounds, the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (2-0) coasted past Angola (0-2) for an easy 97-76 win at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.

Along with Wade, three other U.S. players scored in double figures, including 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting from Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), 12 points and six rebounds from Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) and 12 points, five rebounds and three steals from LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers).

Next up for the Americans is Greece on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. (EDT). The last time the two teams met was in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship and Greece stunned the U.S. with a hard fought 101-96 victory.

"You have to play (Greece) with great intensity for 40 minutes," USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski said of the USA's next foe. "Our guys already know that, but we'll reinforce that. It's a great game for us to play too to get ready for the medal round because we feel Greece has as good of a chance as anybody. That's how much we think of them."

In a game that was not as close as the final score indicated, the USA continued its red-hot shooting percentage from the interior, shooting 70.0 percent from inside the arc (33-47 FGs), and remained frigid from deep, making just 5-of-21 tries from 3-point for a dismal 24.0 percent.

"I thought we played with really good energy and in spurts, we played some really terrific basketball," Krzyzewski said. "Our goal wasn't to win by a certain margin. It was to really work hard, keep up our pressure and once that was done, we just worked a few other things. But, the main thing was to keep some consistency. So overall, I was very pleased with tonight."

"The Angola team really played hard tonight," Wade said. "They really came out and they made us really play our A-game. So, we want to thank them for playing a good, hard game. Our only thing was to get better, like we do every day, and I think we did that. We're proud of that and we're looking forward to moving on."

Angola managed to keep pace with the U.S. starters early, and the game's first four minutes featured five lead changes and two knotted scores. At 6:00 minutes, however Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) dished to Howard who threw down a dunk that gave the USA a 10-9 advantage, and the Americans never again trailed.

The USA then scored a quick four points with an Anthony slam and a reverse layup from Howard, and the score was 14-9 when Coach K brought in his first subs at 4:00. Following a Howard goaltending call and more U.S. substitutions, the USA bench closed the first period with a 15-7 run to give the red, white and blue a 29-18 advantage after one.

Angola sank three 3-pointers in the first 4:30 of the second period to help counter a 3-pointer from Anthony, five points from Howard, including two monster dunks in transition, and an offensive put back from Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks), and the score was 39-27 at 5:31. From there James raced to nine more points during a 16-10 U.S. run, and the USA headed to the locker room with a 55-37 lead.

"I think we played well today," James said. "It would have been easy for us to come in and look past Angola tonight, but we didn't. We came in and took care of business and worked on some things that we needed to work on to get better for the rest of the tournament."

As Coach K continued to rotate lineups, four of the five U.S. starters, including Bryant, Howard, James and Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks) played less than 7:30 in the second half, while Anthony tallied the most minutes of the starting five with 11:50. The USA outscored Angola 26-16 in the third, and the scoreboard read 81-53 headed into the final stanza.

With Angola down by 28 points headed into the fourth period, the U.S. took its biggest lead of the game, 33 points, at 7:50 when Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) scored two of his six points. Angola refused to give up, however, and went on to outscore the USA 23-16 in the period to bring the final score to 97-76. The reigning FIBA Africa Champion also managed to out rebound the USA 38-34.

The USA defense continued to control the game. Forcing Angola into 25 turnovers, the Americans limited Angola to 39.1 percent (25-64 FGs) shooting overall, 29.0 percent (9-32 3pt FGs) from 3-point.

In Tuesday's other games, Group A saw Linas Kleiza tally 22 points and Sarunas Jasikevicius contribute 20 to help Lithuania (2-0) top Iran (0-2) 99-67; while Croatia (2-0), led by 22 points from Marko Popovic and 20 from Zoran Planinic, beat European Champion Russia (1-1) 85-78; and 21 points from Manu Ginobli propelled Argentina (1-1) past Australia (0-1) 85-68.

In Group B competition, 23 points from Vasileious Spanoulis led Greece (1-1) past Germany (1-1) 87-64, while Spain (2-0) needed overtime to earn a 85-75 win over China (0-2), with Paul Gasol recording 29 points and Rudy Fernandez adding 21 for Spain.

Olympic men's basketball preliminary round action is being staged Aug. 10-18. The U.S. continues preliminary play against 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and closes out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men's Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22 and the Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D'Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.

USA Men Open Olympic Play With 101-70 Win Over Host China
Aug. 10, 2008

Led by 19 points and 7-of-7 shooting from the field from Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat), the 2008 U.S. Men's Olympic Team (1-0) opened its Olympic play with a convincing 101-70 win over host China (0-1) in front President George W. Bush, former President Bush and a standing-room-only crowd Sunday at Wukesong Arena in Beijing, China.

"It was an honor for us to be in this game. I thought the Chinese team and our team both played extremely hard. I was proud of our effort," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewksi. "We have great respect for the Chinese team and the Chinese people, and I thought that was displayed in the effort that we showed. It showed a great deal of respect for the level of play and the country that China is."

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) contributed 18 points and six rebounds, while Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) rounded out the USA's double-digit scorers with 13 points each.

"I'm glad we finally played. It feels like we've been waiting forever to play our first game here," Wade said. "Running out on the court here, feeling the crowd roar when we came out, the emotions that were everywhere, we're just glad to be a part of this game. China did a great job of playing very hard for their fans, too. I think the fans in China got a great show tonight."

Yao Ming opened the game with a 3-pointer at 9:37, and the basket was an indicator of things to come as China made two more threes in the next three minutes to take a 9-7 lead at 6:43. Following another bucket from China at 6:30, James finished at the rim and then converted off a fast break assist from Bryant to tie the game at 11-11 with 4:47 remaining the period. Bryant sank a deep 3-pointer at 4:20 to give the Americans the lead, and from there the two teams traded baskets to bring the score to 20-16 at the first break.

As China continued its long-range attack in the second quarter, the USA exploited its speed and athleticism to dominate the interior. Zhu Fangyu opened the period with another basket from beyond the arc to pull China within one point of the red, white and blue, 20-19, but Wade slammed home a reverse dunk and Howard scored off a no-look feed from James to push the U.S. lead to five points, 24-19 at 8:49. As the USA raced ahead for transition dunk after fast break lay-up, including eight more points from both Wade and Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), China sank three 3-pointers to hold the U.S. advantage to 12 at halftime, 49-37.

While the USA shot a dismal 1-of-12 from 3-point in the first half, China was an impressive 8-of-16. The effort wasn't enough, however, to counter the USA's scorching 83.0 percent from inside the arc (20-24 FGs) in the game's first 20 minutes. By the halftime intermission, the USA had scored 38 of its eventual 60 points in the paint.

"We've been shooting the three alright, and I think we were just a little excited," said Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks). "Emotions were high. It's like you have Big Brown, the horse, I'm the jockey trying to hold him back and these guys broke the reins. It's just that the emotions were so high, you try to suppress them and we missed some wide open shots Hopefully we come back the next game and knock those down.

The U.S. lead remained moderate through the first five minutes of the third period, and an offensive rebound and tip in from Zhu Fangyu brought the score to 56-43 in the USA's favor at 4:34. Bosh collected and scored on his own offensive rebound at 4:02 and ignited an 18-5 U.S. run that closed the third quarter with the U.S. up 74-48 and put the game firmly out of the host country's reach.

Yao, who finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, was whistled for his fourth foul at 4:45 in the fourth quarter and headed to the bench with applause from the crowd. China, however, nearly kept pace with the USA in the final 10 minutes, scoring 22 points to the USA's 27 to bring the final tally to 101-70.

Bosh, who also grabbed eight rebounds, and Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) each scored all nine of their points in the second half; Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) finished with nine points and four rebounds; and Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) dished a game-high six assists.

In Sunday's other contests, Group A action saw Russia (1-0) roll over Iran (0-1) 71-49 as J.R. Holden tallied 19 points and Andrey Kirilenko added 15 more; Linas Kleiza drained a three in the game's final seconds to propel Lithuania (1-0) to a 79-75 win over defending Olympic champion Argentina (0-1); and Croatia (1-0), which featured five players in double figures, disposed of Australia (0-1) 97-82. In Group B play, Spain took an important clash against Greece by an 81-66 score as Rudy Fernandez tallied 16 points; and Germany (1-0), behind NBAers Chris Kaman's 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki's 23 points, pounded Angola (0-1) 95-66.

Olympic men's basketball preliminary round action is being staged Aug. 10-18. The U.S. continues preliminary play versus Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local time, which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men's Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22 and the Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D'Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.

USA edges Australia 87-76 in Exhibition Game
Aug. 5, 2008

Led by a balanced offensive effort that saw Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) pump in 22 points and three other U.S. team members score in double digits, the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team (5-0) fought off a determined Australian squad 87-76 Tuesday night in Shanghai in the team's final warm-up game before opening Olympic play Aug. 10 in Beijing against host China.

Also aiding the USA cause were LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers), 16 points; Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), 13 points; Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds; Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors) added nine points and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) scored eight.

"Well Australia played us very well. We were not shooting well and their defense took away a lot of driving areas. They got really hot (shooting) in the second half to put a lot of game pressure on our guys and I thought our guys handled it well on a night where from the free throw line or from the 3-point things were not easy for us," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

"We're still in the process of getting prepared (for the Olympics. We've played four games in six days and we gave them off yesterday just because were trying to pace ourselves. Probably that lack of practice had a little bit of an impact on our performance. I didn't think we were as sharp as we have been and the three days that we can have practice in Beijing have to be three good practice days in order to get us going. We've been playing outstanding basketball and tonight I didn't think we played very well, or not up to what we can play."

The USA found itself in a 17-13 hole with 2:53 to play in the opening stanza, but after tightening things up, the red, white and blue closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to secure a 22-19 lead after one period of play.

The USA lead was back to a single point, 26-25, following a drive and hoop from Australia's Brad Newley, however James took over and broke the game open scoring eight points in a 12-0 run that ballooned the American's lead to 38-25.

At halftime, the U.S. had its biggest lead of the first half 44-29. The U.S. defense again led the way limiting the Aussies to 4-of-14 shooting in the second quarter while pressuring them to cough up the ball eight times.

Australia open the third quarter on fire and behind three 3-pointers, two coming from David Barlow, outscored the U.S. 13-2 to close the gap to 46-42 with 6:52 remaining in the third.

Anthony nailed a jumper that launched the U.S. on a mini 7-2 offensive run that cushioned the USA lead to 53-44 and at the end of the third, the lead stood at 10, 65-55.

The USA advantage in the fourth quarter ranged between seven points (71-64 at 5:24) and 16 points (84-68 at 1:56), and the score ended 87-76, but only after Australia managed to outscore the U.S. 8-3 over the final 1:50.

"Australia played well, our defense wasn't crisp early on. They knocked down their shots and really made us work for the game. It was actually a good game for us, and we knew from the jump that they'd come out really physical. You can make whatever you want from it, we're still growing, we'll get better as each game goes on," said the game's high scorer Wade.

The USA shot a respectable 50.8 percent from the floor for the night, but managed a frigid 3-of-18 from 3-point and further hindered its cause shooting just 20-for-33 from the foul line.

Five Aussies scored in double digits, led by 13 points from Chris Anstey and Saint Mary's University guard Patrick Mills. Barlow finished with 12, while CJ Bruton and Newley each tossed in 11 points.

In its five exhibition game, the U.S. averaged 106.0 ppg. and owned a 31.0 margin of victory. The U.S. shot 61.6 percent from the field, 41.3 percent from 3-point and 70.0 percent from the foul line, while limiting its opponents to 41.2 percent shooting overall, 37.0 percent from 3-point.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's basketball preliminary round play of takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men's Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D'Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.

Team USA shuts down Russia 89-68 in Exhibition Game
Aug 3, 2008

After being led to victories in its first three games by a high octane offense that averaged 118 points a game, the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team (4-0) turned to good old hard-nosed defense to propel it to a 89-68 victory over Russia Sunday afternoon in Shanghai, China, and in front of a sold-out Qizhong Forest Arena crowd of 14,523. The win improved the USA's pre-Olympic record to 4-0 overall, and 3-0 in the USA Basketball International Challenge. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) led the American offensive effort with a game high 19 points, while Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) recorded 16 points.

"This was a really good for us because Russia put the ball in the hands of their two best players (J.R.) Holden and (Andrey) Kirilenko and when they do that they're a really good team and a tough team to defend. I thought our defense was excellent and on offense we seemed a little bit out of synch. What I'm really pleased with is it didn't come easy offensively for us and it never had a negative impact on our defense and tome that's a really big thing," said USA mentor Mike Krzyzewski.

The USA Basketball International Challenge concludes on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. local time) against 2007 Oceania champion Australia at the Qizhong Arena in Shanghai.

"They're a physical team, they're a big team, they did a good job on the offensive boards which kept us out of the open court for a little bit. But in the second half I thought we did a much better job being the initiators and playing with a bit more energy, whether we scored the ball or whether we got a defensive rebound, we played with more energy and pushed the ball up the floor," said Bryant.

The U.S. scored the game's first five points and never trailed in Sunday's game, although Russia did fight back to share the lead at 9-9 with 4:51 left in the first quarter.

But Wade helped launch an 8-1 run with a 3-pointer as the Americans cushioned their lead to 17-10. Leading 22-16 with 1:16 remaining in the opening period, the USA posted a 7-1 run that was capped by a Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) 3-pointer with :04 left that pushed the USA ahead 29-17.

The second period remained a physical battle and try as they might, Russia could not get the U.S. lead below eight. Getting five points from Wade, the USA posted a 7-3 run over the quarter's final 3:15 and at halftime the U.S. had upped its advantage to 46-31.

With the USA leading 50-33 and 8:19 to play in the third quarter, Bryant, who was selected the Player of the Game by a media panel, scored the USA's next 11 points on an assortment of dazzling moves, but still, with 3:34 left in the third, the USA lead stood at only 12, 61-49.

Russia cut the U.S. advantage to 10, 61-51, after a J.R. Holden hoop, but the red, white and blue finished out the quarter with a 10-0 run as Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) drilled a pair of 3-pointers and Wade added a pair of baskets to leave the USA in charge 71-51 heading into the final 10 minutes.

"They had some gaps there and I just took advantage of them. The ball found me and I was able to make them pay," said Bryant of his 11 straight points. "In that kind of situation where the game is kind of see-sawing back and forth, we have so many weapons - it could be LeBron, it could be D-Wade, one of us is going to kick into high gear."

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) was the fourth USAplayer to score in dsouble-figures after finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. Williams credited with nine assists to go with his five points, three rebounds and two steals.

The USA, which entered the game shooting a sizzling 66.2 percent from the field overall and 45.9 percent from 3-point, shot 57.1 percent from the floor versus Russia, and was a hot 53.8 percent (7-13 3pt FGs) from 3-point. Meanwhile, the USA defense forced Russia into 17 turnovers, and limited the defending European zone champ to 39.7 percent shooting from the field, including just 4-of-17 from 3-point.

"You've got to learn guys tendencies and get used to guys, but it's pretty easy with this group because they all know how to play the game, they all know how to move without the ball, and so it's pretty easy to find someone out there," admitted Williams who leads the team in assists after four games averaging 6.25 assists a game.

"Tonight I thought Chris Bosh played a great game. Chris' defense away from the basket is outstanding. I think it's been one of our strong points," stated Krzyzewski. "When I look at Chris' performance a lot of it isn't going to show up in the stats except the fact that they got 68 points and Chris Bosh had a lot to do with that. As a coach you can't just judge this (the box score) you've got to judge what you see and what's happening out on the court."

"We have so many talented offensive guys I'm really not worried about offense, I feel I can help this team on defense being active, getting my hands on some deflections, rebounding the basketball and running the floor," said Bosh . "Defense is very important to this team because we're not going to shoot the ball well every day and we can't let our offense dictate how the game is going to go, we have to let our defense dictate that."

Russia was paced by Utah Jazz standout Andrei Kirilenko's 18 points, while American J.R. Holden, who played at Bucknell University, added 17 points.

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games men's basketball preliminary round play of takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men's Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men's gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.


Team USA rocks Lithuania 120-84 in Exhibition Game
Aug 1, 2008

For all the doubters, Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat) showed he is back in full all-star form after tallying a game best 19 points, while U.S. center Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) added 17 points and the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team (3-0) stormed to a convincing start-to-finish 120-84 victory over Lithuania (0-1) Friday night in Macao, China. It was the third straight win for the USA Team, and the second in as many nights of action in the USA Basketball International Challenge.

"I’m healthy again, as healthy as I’ve been in two years and I’m excited not only about this opportunity, but I’m excited about the rest of my career because now I know what it takes and the weight room has become my best friend. Hard work has got me here,” said Wade, who made 7-of-9 shots and added four assists and three rebounds.

The Americans set the tone on this one right from the opening tip that led to a LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) dunk.

With the game just 2:37 old, the U.S. had opened up a 10 point lead, 12-2, and the USA lead never fell below double digits in the first half and was only reduced to nine on one occasion in the third quarter.

“We made it a priority early to get Dwight (Howard) involved and he did a great job of dominating inside, not just with his offense but defensively too,” said USA mentor Mike Krzyzewski. “I thought our defense set the tone for the game and Dwight’s defense anchoring our defense was key.”

Howard scored six of the USA’s first eight points and with 7:23 left in the opening stanza the U.S. had sprinted to a 12-2 lead.

The USA advantage quickly reached 20 after Howard made one of two free throws to push the score to 25-5 with 3:06 left in the quarter, and after one period the Americans were up handedly, 31-15.

Lithuania refused to fold and twice managed to cut the deficit to 13 points, but each time it did, the USA answered in spectacular fashion and at the intermission the U.S. owned a 17 point lead, 56-39.

Lithuania finally found the range on its 3-point shooting and after draining its first four 3-balls of the third quarter, the USA’s advantage had been cut to nine, 61-52.

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) answered at the other end with a traditional three point play to end the third quarter rally and push the U.S. lead back into double-digits, 64-52.

Turning back to its defense, the Americans sealed the game with a 16-3 offensive run during which Anthony poured in six points and had highlight passes to two teammates for crowd pleasing dunks.

Playing in front of another CotaiArena sellout crowd of 11,885, of the USA’s 48 made baskets, 34 were assisted on. The U.S., which outscored Lithuania in fast break points 29-3, forced Lithuania into 23 turnovers.

The USA scoring was also aided by Michael Redd’s (Milwaukee Bucks) 16 points that came off 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point, James finished with 15 points, Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers) tossed in 13 points and Anthony finished with 11 points. Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) accounted for seven assists each.

Lithuania was paced by Roimantas Kaukenas’ 17 points.

“I think we played really well tonight because we had so much respect for Lithuania, who I think can be a medal round winner,” said USA mentor Mike Krzuzewski.

The USA Basketball International Challenge now moves to Shanghai and the Americans will conclude the USA Basketball International Challenge with tests versus 2007 EuroBasket champion Russia on Aug. 3 (3 p.m. Shanghai local time) and 2007 Oceania champion Australia on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. Shanghai local time). Both games will be held at the Qizhong Arena in Shanghai.

Preliminary round play of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men’s Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men’s gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D’Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.


Team USA handles Turkey 114-82 in Exhibition Game
July 31, 2008

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets) combined for 37 points on 13-of-15 shooting as the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team (2-0) hounded Turkey for a 114-82 victory Thursday evening in the opening game of the USA Basketball International Challenge in Macao, China.

It was an impressive performance by James, who was selected Player of the Game. After missing the USA’s opening game on July 25 while shaking off a mild sprained ankle, James was back at full speed and scored 20 points and made 8-of-9 shots, including his only 3-pointer, and 3-of-4 free throws, while adding six rebounds, five steals and four assists in 22:31 of action.

Anthony likewise was impressive. Hitting for 17 points, Anthony made 5of-6 shots, 2-of-3 3-pointers, 5-of-5 free throws, while collecting two assists and one steal in 17:14 of play.

The United States continues play Friday (8 a.m. EDT) in the USA Basketball International Challenge facing Lithuania at the Cotai Strip Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macao. The tournament then moves to Shanghai and the Americans will conclude the USA Basketball International Challenge with tests versus 2007 EuroBasket champion Russia on Aug. 3 (3 p.m. Shanghai local time) and 2007 Oceania champion Australia on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. Shanghai local time). Both games will be held at the Qizhong Arena in Shanghai.

"It was good having LeBron back. Having him back I have to as the head coach get accustomed to rotations which we tried a bunch of things today that we didn’t do against Canada. The willingness to give up the ball and share it and the enthusiasm is all there so it was a good opening exhibition in China,” said USA and Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“This type of competition really helps us because Turkey runs very good continuity and for us to have different line-ups trying to defend that that was really good for us.”

The USA jumped out to 5-0 and 22-15 leads, but Turkey assembled a 12-2 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from Ender Arslan that propelled Turkey to a 27-24 lead with 1:42 to play in the first quarter. Dwyane Wade’s (Miami Heat) back-to-back layups earned the U.S. a 28-26 advantage and the quarter ended with the Americans owning a 31-30 lead.

The USA’s full-throttle offense and relentless defense began to pay dividends as the Americans outscored Turkey 23-7 in the second period.

With a 35-34 lead in hand early in the second quarter, the USA got baskets from Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), Wade, James and Kobe Bryant during an 8-0 spurt that pushed the U.S. lead to 43-34 with 6:42 to play in the second stanza. Ahead 43-37, the U.S. locked up the game with an 11-0 run to close the half up 54-37.

At the intermission, the USA had forced Turkey into 13 turnovers while making 10 steals. The USA shot a sizzling 63.6 percent in the first two quarters, and harassed Turkey into 48.1 percent shooting.

Turkey continued to struggle with the USA’s athleticism and depth. The Americans outscored Turkey 33-22 in the third period to expand its lead to 87-59 and cruised in from there for the 114-82 win.

“Speed and quickness are our best assets and we have to go with that. Someone else is going to try and use bulk and try and punish us on the boards and it’s just ‘Can we do ours better than they do theirs’ and that will be the story of the Games,” Krzyzewski said on his team’s style of play that saw the U.S. outscore Turkey 27-10 in fastbreak points.

“I think we’ve realized that we’re not going to blow a team out in the first quarter and just continue to play solid defensively and try and wear a team down. What we are coming off the bench with – are Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and etcetera. We have guys who can come in and wear a team down. Once we realize it’s not going to happen in the first quarter, but towards the middle of the second quarter and then towards the end of the third quarter where we can break the game open and that’s what we did. We allowed them to get into a little comfort zone because we tried to blow them out too fast. Our pressure will automatically put pressure on other teams. . we did a great job in that second quarter in bumping that lead up.

Eleven of the USA’s 12 players scored and finishing in double figures in addition to James and Anthony was Dwight Howard, 14points and a game high eight rebounds, Chris Bosh added 13 points as did Dwyane Wade, while Chris Paul finished with 12 points and six assists. Kobe Bryant had another outstanding all-around performance, finishing with seven points, seven assists, five steals and a pair of boards.

Impressively, of the USA’s 41 made shots, 29 were assisted on.

Turkey was led by Cenk Akyol’s 22 points. Orlando Magic standout Hidayet Turkoglu did not see action because of a leg injury.

The United States continues play in the USA Basketball International Challenge facing Lithuania Friday at the Cotai Strip Cotai Arena at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau, China.

Then, moving to Shanghai, the Americans will conclude the USA Basketball International Challenge with tests versus 2007 EuroBasket champion Russia on Aug. 3 (3 p.m. Shanghai local time) and 2007 Oceania champion Australia on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. Shanghai local time). Both games will be held at the Qizhong Arena (13,708 capacity) in Shanghai.

Preliminary round play of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men’s Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men’s gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D’Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.


Team USA Destroys Canada 120-65 in Exhibition Game
July 25, 2008

Shooting lights-out in their only domestic exhibition contest, six players scored in double digits, including three with 20 points apiece as the 2008 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team (1-0) opened its five-game exhibition series with a 120-65 victory over Canada on Friday evening in the 2008 State Farm USA Basketball Challenge. Played in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,498 fans at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev., and an ESPN nationally televised audience, the USA was led by 20 points each from Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets), Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks) and Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat). The fan favorites also received 15 points from Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers), Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) notched 14 and Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets) tossed in 11 points and dished out eight assists.

"I thought for our fifth day of practice we showed a lot of energy, guys are committed to playing defense," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski , whose team forced 24 Canadian turnovers. "I thought playing Canada, although we're deeper than they are and a little bit bigger, the fact that they've been together for a while was really good for us. Their point guard did a good job against our pressure, so that was good to go against a veteran point guard, especially one that can shoot. I like the effort we have on the defensive end of the court and after the first 10 minutes, that's the first game we played, we just seemed like we were in synch, we were passing the ball more, and playing much better defense the last three quarters."

Canada struck first but the U.S. soon overtook its neighbor to the north on a Wade three at 8:54 to give the USA a 5-2 lead and the home team never again trailed. The red, white and blue spent the first quarter getting warmed up and at the first break the U.S. was up 30-24.

It didn't take much longer for the Beijing medal favorite, to assert its dominance over Canada, a team that narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

In the first two minutes of the second period the USA built a double-digit pillow as it pulled away from the visitors 35-25. With its running game starting to take hold and the passes hitting their marks, the U.S. expanded its lead to 47-32 with 4:05 to play in the opening half. With 2:10 to go in the half and the USA's lead up to 52-35, the squad capped the first half on a 9-3 spurt that put the game virtually in the books, 61-38.

"It was fun, especially to be out on the court with all these great players," said Redd. "Getting a rhythm like we had last summer is important. Tonight was pretty good."

The second half turned into a highlight reel of no-look passes, steals, transition buckets and fierce dunks as the United States outscored Canada 24-18 in the third quarter and 25-9 in the fourth for the eventual exhibition win.

"There were some things we did well and there are some things we can work on, but the best thing is that we played together, and did it at both ends of the court," said Wade. "We got after them defensively and when LeBron comes back it's going to make us even more explosive as a team."

Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) grabbed a team-high seven of the USA's 38 boards and Anthony collected six.

Shooting a deadly 65.7 percent from the field, behind 6-of-8 shooting from Redd from behind the 3-point line, the Americans made 50 percent from 3-point land (11-22 3pt FGs). The USA's defensive showing was equally impressive as its offensive effort. Limiting Canada to 33.3 percent of its attempts overall and 39.1 from beyond the arc, the U.S. also forced 24 Canada turnovers.

Canada’s Jermaine Anderson led his side with 18 points, while Rowan Barrett and Carl English each posted 11 points.

The United States will play four additional games in the USA Basketball International Challenge that will see the USA play two games in Macao, China, and two more games in Shanghai, China.

The USA in the Macao portion of the USA Basketball International Challenge will face Turkey on July 31 (8 p.m. Macao local time) and Lithuania on Aug. 1 (8 p.m. Macao local time). The games will be held at the Cotai Strip Cotai Arena (11,572 capacity) at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau, China.

Moving to Shanghai, the Americans will conclude the USA Basketball International Challenge with tests versus 2007 EuroBasket champion Russia on Aug. 3 (3 p.m. Shanghai local time) and 2007 Oceania champion Australia on Aug. 5 (8 p.m. Shanghai local time). Both games will be held at the Qizhong Arena (13,708 capacity) in Shanghai.

Preliminary round play of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games takes place Aug. 10-18. The U.S. opens preliminary play Aug. 10 against host China at 10:15 p.m. (all times listed are Beijing local times which is 12 hours ahead of EDT); then play Africa zone champion Angola on Aug. 12 at 8:00 p.m.; on Aug. 14 at 8:00 p.m. the USA will face 2006 World Championship runner-up Greece at 8:00 p.m.; 2006 FIBA World Champion Spain on Aug. 16 at 10:15 p.m.; and the USA will close out preliminary play Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. against Germany, third place finisher at the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

The men’s Olympic quarterfinals action takes place Aug. 20, semifinals play is slated for Aug. 22and the Olympic men’s gold and bronze medal games will be held Aug. 24.

Serving as 2008 USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D’Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.