It’s the end of August. That means it’s still two months before the NBA tips off, while NCAA hoops start in about two and a half. It’s a dead time for those sports fans like myself suffering from the basketball jones – heck, I can’t even settle for high school girl’s basketball, which doesn’t tip off until winter this year. That is why last night, after another disappointing Detroit Tigers loss, I flipped the channel to check out the new and improved Team USA, and let me tell ya, I liked what I saw.
Sure, the Americans haven’t yet faced any difficult competition, but their effort has been superb. The superstars are gelling, the role players are doing their thing and all is coming together just as USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo envisioned.
It’s not the Hall of Fame laden Dream Team of ’92, which featured MJ, Magic, Bird, Sir Charles and countless others, but it’s a team that gels much better than the 2004 “me first” team of Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury. LeBron James is proving he’s King of the NBA (and perhaps the world), while Carmelo Anthony isn’t far behind, and Mike Krzyzewski is proving his basketball brilliance on a world-wide stage.
The real test comes today against Argentina, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist, and it looks to be quite a game. I’m confident in predicting an American win, and I’m also confident in making another statement: USA Basketball is back on top of the world, and after their embarrassing fall in 2004, they’re on top to stay.
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