I thought this was so unbelievable that it deserved it's own thread.

I was watching MSNBC and I caught part of the crawl that read "...was eliminated from medal contention will a loss to Yugoslavia..." And I could have sworn I saw USA. I thought, that couldn't be right.

But it was right.

Now I'm thinking who the hell was on that team? And then the xenophobic part of me said that non-Americans shouldn't be allowed to play in the NBA because they come to this country to play and get better.

I'm still stunned.

[ September 05, 2002: Message edited by: PCC ]

Dude, calm down. Everyone knows we didn't send our best to compete. There are two LA Clippers on the team for heaven's sake. Another player wasn't even drafted. Come on, as long as Shaq, Kobe, TMac,AI, VC,Duncan,etc are resting at home, the world may not see the best we have to offer again.

Can you spell hubris?

That's why any sport needs upsets like this. ¡Viva Argentina! Go Yugoslavia!

Here's an excellent article from ESPN.com. It's a rather scathing indictment of the USA basketball program, or lack thereof.

the effort by the players was lacking big time in my opinion. i think this shows the almost total lack of fundmentals in american basketball. if its not a dunk or a 3 pointer the guys are lost.
i know the best players were not there but its not like the team was a bunch of scrubs either. Hopefully this will be a wake up call but i doubt it.

Oh, come on now. Can American basketball sink any lower?

Spain 81 US 75

This is unbelievable.

What a debacle. I doubt anything is going to change, however, since the slam-dunk, outdoor court type of game has taken hold in the NBA and in many athletic programs around the country. Some of the foreign teams, like Spain, were basically playing the Princeton game, though with a faster tempo. Young basketball players have to be taught at an early age that outside shooting, picks, blocking out, passing, and layups (without dunking) are FUNDAMENTAL to winning games. They can add on the flash--as Michael Jordan did, spectacularly--but he could do all the basics without even thinking about them. The final loss to Spain was a sign they just gave up, I think. (BTW, New Zealand had some cute players.)

It really was an embarrassing event. While we might not have sent our best players, that was the first sign of poor judgment. It got worse as the desire really didn't seem to be there. Representing one's country is an honor, not a right.

And, by the way, the women brought the best players AND won the World Championship tune up over the Aussies today. Funny how that works.