Coach K headed to the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago yesterday to join day two of the U.S. Olympic Media Summit. Coach K and USA Basketball Managing Director Jerry Colangelo discussed Team USA’s plans for the months ahead with the 29th Olympic Games set to begin in August.
USA Basketball will convene for a week-long training camp in late June in Las Vegas and then head overseas in July. 15 to 18 players will gather in Vegas and the team will play an exhibition game before deciding the 12-man roster for the Olympics (with three alternates). Shortly after, the team will head to Asia for pre-Olympic exhibition games and training before arriving in Beijing on August 6th. The U.S. squad will open Olympic play on August 10th as 12 nations officially begin the battle for Gold.
Coach K Quote Board
“We feel we’re a team right now. We’re not a selection of All-Stars. This is the final step for this four-year period. Our final goal is to win the gold medal, but also do it the right way and develop a program that other players will want to be part of the next four years. Now we’ve got to close the deal by winning the gold medal.”
“We’ve asked them to be committed to playing for their country and not just to play. These guys have done that over the last two years we’ve seen our program develop. Whether it be LeBron, Kobe, Jason Kidd, they feel like they’re part of a team, they’re part of a movement, and they’re very, very proud to represent the U.S.”
“We have a unique opportunity here not only to represent our country but set a standard for how the game should be played. Enthusiasm, camaraderie, attention to detail, those kind of things. The team is showing that and hopefully will. We don’t want just a sound bite, one highlight of a dunk but a better appreciation of how to play the game. Our guys did that, especially this past summer. They were very unselfish.”
“Where the program has gone now is these guys want to represent their country . . . and that’s a good problem to have. You all would be amazed at just how cooperative all these guys have been. I have not had one second of problems with the two teams I’ve coached the past two summers. There’s a willingness to do what’s best for the group.”
“We have had an arrogance to say it’s our game. It’s the world’s game. It originated here. We’ve tried to educate people. It’s actually the fastest growing game in the world. Let’s get on that page instead of saying, ‘We’re American. We should win.’”
“The international game is much more disciplined. It’s more like the old NBA where you could use your forearm, use your strength. We got hurt like that at the 2006 World Championships. We were hit right at halfcourt, not fouled. That’s the way the game is called.”
“I felt that we didn’t give enough credit to the fact this game is being played at a very high level worldwide. Obviously the NBA has given credit to it since almost 30 percent of its players are from there. I could list a lot of different players.”
“If all our players are in the playoffs, that’s better. They will be in the best shape. We evaluate everything. We want to see what a guy does in his environment. That’s the highest level.”
“I don’t think we should be shocked at how good our opponents are. Defeat can hasten the learning process. You can’t be shocked when you lose to these teams.”
“(Jerry Colangelo and I) are like two guys at a dance. We fall in love with everybody. All these guys want to play for the United States. They want to represent their country. If that’s a problem, it’s a good problem to have.”
“Hopefully we will show a higher level. The guys who played for us last year had pretty good seasons. We would hope not only to produce gold medals but produce higher quality of play at all levels.”
“They have a right to say anything they want. None of these athletes has a responsibility to be political. They have a responsibility to represent their country in the best possible manner. That’s what we’ll focus on. Sometimes through a performance you show more than what you say.”
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