With Athens flaws fixed, Team USA must be golden

Reason enough to reprise the whys and wherefores of Team USA's abysmal failure in the 2004 Olympic Games, and to determine what measures have been taken to avoid similar results in Beijing. One excuse commonly offered for the embarrassing performance in Athens was the lack of sufficient preparation time. However, given the experience of the NBA veterans who made up that squad, as well as their familiarity with each other, the two-week training camp should have been enough. In any event, the long-term planning and the extended rehearsal time for the Beijing squad are certainly beneficial. In retrospect, the very makeup of the Athens squad was flawed. Both point guards — Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson — were shoot-first players. While it's true that A.I. did make an effort to distribute the ball, he generally did so only... [read full story]