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On The USA Men's Hoops Team

VC's monster dunk over Weis wasn't enough to bring home the gold in 2000.

All from http://truehoop.com/

Ryan Schwan of Hornets247 has been watching some international hoops, and has some deft observations: "When you watch the other teams, who are experienced with international ball, they initiate their offensive sets about six to eight feet back from the three point line. Their wing shooters hover a good three to four feet back from the line. The US, however, like good NBA players, initiate their offense at -- or a few feet behind -- the three point line. Their wings toe it. This is especially the case with slash-minded players like Anthony, Wade, James, and Bryant. In the NBA, this is fine -- the wider arc of the 3-point line adds another 6 feet to the space within it, giving penetrators more room to operate, and generating greater spacing. But the international arc is so much shorter, when a player penetrates, the help defense has three or four fewer feet to cover to collapse on them. Watching the games -- at times it does seem amazing how quickly the defenses will jam penetration and attack post players. When Redd is on the floor - he actually sits where the normal three-point line is -- and that does help the spacing and our half court offense. Deron Willams and Paul are also adept at making their moves well outside the three-point line -- probably because as point guards, they are a little more used to making moves further out, using as much floor as they can to create space on their defender. Hopefully, they'll figure that out. It would help [Dwight] Howard greatly. ... [On defense] this team ballhawks too damn much. All of 'em. A team can support one ballhawk. Maybe two. But when all of the guys are chasing the ball, there are too many open shots. I still don't think we're going to lose, but some disciplined team is going to make us pay and keep it close. ... That team will be Spain."

Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer on team USA's tune-ups: "Back-door screens still kill Team USA, and though the men still have the athleticism to recover and sometimes make up for it, Coach K's crew is still getting beat way too much by teams using Team USA's pressure against itself. That pressure seems to be a rallying point, both for Coach K, and legions of observers who still think the US can pressure non-stop and bully toward the gold medal. The team racks up oodles of steals, but once those turnovers dry up, this is still a limited defensive outfit. And it's a limited, three-point happy, offensive outfit in the half court. The team continues to make decisions that were depressing not as an American watching his country being represented overseas, but as a basketball fan in general. A long fadeaway jumper is the easiest shot in the world (and we mean that, "in the world," at this stage) to get, and there's a reason why you're usually open when you take it. Because guys like Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James can make one out of every three, though, they think the next one is going in. And that kills an offense."