Ray Allen Mike Bibby Elton Brand Vince Carter Nick Collison Tim Duncan Allen Iverson Richard Jefferson Jason Kidd Kenyon Martin Tracy McGrady Jermaine O'Neal What do you guys think of the current roster that is representing the US? Right now they are playing to get a spot for the 2004 olympics in Athens...I don't think they will have problem getting a spot. Kenyon Martin just replaced Karl Malone because Malone's mom died. Anyways who out of these guys do you think should be replaced with someone else and who do you think will lead them to a Gold medal next year?
this team will take em all the way but last olympic was suppossed to do the same and the went in with that attitude and came out with nothing but sixth place
hey now i dont exactly like football but if you gave me a list of the top players in the league i would be able to recognize them....WHAT KIND OF SPORTS FAN ARE YOU???? tisk tisk tisk :roll:
I think they should go back to letting the college kids play. It's not a "Dream Team" anymore and Team USA has been having trouble with some of these other teams (how embarrassing). Plus, most of them don't appreciate it, and some of the top guys in the league have no interest in representing their country on the team.
well johnny,(can i call you johnny ) lol i guess your not to familiar with any of those guys cause at any given day all of those guys would be able to compete in the olympics and i believe imo they all are qualified to represent in putting on a show of american woop a$$ during the olympics. and no college basketball athlete would compare to anyone of those nba players.
Errm...I'm not so sure about that. They havent had trouble with any yet in the exhibition games. They spanked puerto rico or whatever and are most likely spanking brazil right now. College kids are boring to watch and I'd rather watch a bunch of over paid @$$holes play then them. Those guys are the tops guys and with the exception a few most are class acts. I can gaurantee you Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson are anywho.
of course there may be a couple of bad apples in that bunch....edited although there maybe a couple that have bad reps you gotta give them there props because no one can ball better. and no german or russian guy is going to be able to stop him.
Um, I was speaking more of last year's "effort" where they flopped and didn't even medal (5th place). It was the worst showing in history by a U.S. team at a World Championships. BTW, like Shaq and Kobe this year, T.Duncan made himself unavailable last year (Shaq and Kobe opted out last year too). Maybe he's embarrassed now and doesn't want to be associated with either of them and has decided to play, but still it's not the same caliber of team that the Dream Team was. Of course college kids would get killed against other countries and their pro athletes, but at least they would enjoy being there and take pride in their work. PS. No, you can't call me Johnny. hehe I'm like twice your age.
I'm just saying I haven't watched a basketball game since Jordan was a Bull. So all these new guys I don't know em at all. I don't even watch bb highlights so I have no clue of em.
not to be rued but why are you posting here for example i wouldnt go to the tenis or amped post or topspin and post random crap because basically i dont know shit about those sports if u wanna call them sports
Code: STANDINGS Group A W-L Group B W-L M?xico 2-0 United States 3-0 Argentina 1-1 Dominican Republic 2-1 Canada 1-1 Brazil 1-1 Puerto Rico 1-1 Venezuela 0-2 Uruguay 0-3 Virgin Islands 0-2 What a joke these team are man...USA will give their next beating out to the Virgin Islands... LoL BTW top four teams from each group advance to the next round incase you were wondering.
Taken from www.nba.com USA Too Much For Virgin Islands, Seven Players Score In Double Digits In Balanced Scoring Attack At Olympic Qualifying Tournament ?Allen Iverson Scores 17 Points To Lead USA Offensive Onslaught ? August 23, 2003 ? San Juan, Puerto Rico Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers) scored 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting to lead seven USA players in double figure scoring as the U.S. rolled easily to a 113-55 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands (0-3) Saturday evening at the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With the victory, the USA finished off its preliminary play 4-0 and earned the Group B No. 1 seed for the Aug. 25-28 second round. The USA strolled to its lopsided victory without the services of NBA MVP center Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs). Duncan, who was born in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, asked not to play in the game. "It was a personal decision of course," Duncan said afterwards. "I did speak with the coaches and some of my Virgin Islands friends and came to the decision that it was the best gesture to make, the right thing to do and that it felt right in this situation." The Virgin Islands squad kept it tight for one quarter. Kevin Sheppard made a steal and scored on the layup to make the score 22-19 in favor of the United States with 2:01 remaining in the quarter. Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic) connected on a 3-pointer and Ray Allen (Seattle SuperSonics) made one of two free throws to help push the USA to a 26-19 lead after the first quarter. The Virgin Islands scored first to open the second quarter, and the USA responded with a game- clinching 20-0 run that was fueled by seven points from Mike Bibby (Sacramento Kings) and Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets) that left the score 46-21. The USA went on to lead 60-32 at halftime, 90-48 after three quarters, and the Americans outscored their opponents 23-7 in the fourth quarter to make the final tally 113-55. "You know, I've been reading a lot of comments from our players and comments from the people throughout the country and I think they recognize how much he's (Allen Iverson) trying to play like a team player... to defend and share the ball," USA head coach Larry Brown (Detroit Pistons) responded when asked about Iverson's play throughout the tournament. "I've said it since I coached him at Philly, he had to do a lot of things that maybe some people thought were selfish. But, he was trying to help us win. I wish he could have been involved with a situation like this four or five years ago. But, I'm proud of the way he's played and I think his teammates are as well." Assisting the USA in it's 113 point production were Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors), 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting, Martin added 14 points and a team best seven rebounds, Nick Collison (Seattle SuperSonics) was credited with 13 points and five rebounds, Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers) made all five of his shots and finished the day with 12 points, while Allen and McGrady each tossed in 10 points. Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) recorded 10 assists, and Bibby scored nine points, and added six assists and five steals. On the evening, the USA shot 65.6 percent from the field overall and 47.4 percent (9-19 3pt FGs) from 3-point. The unselfish play of the USA team was again evident as the U.S. had assists on 38 of its 42 baskets, and it committed just 12 turnovers. The Virgin Islands was limited to 28.9 percent shooting and forced into 18 turnovers. The USA, which concluded preliminary round play averaging 108.0 points a game and compiled an average margin of victory in the first four games of 39.7 points per game, will resume play on Monday. The specific game schedule for the second round will not be known until after Sunday's final four preliminary round games. "Well, I thought we were tested against Brazil. And, I think our players felt that way," summarized Brown about his team's play in the preliminary round. "You know the other teams were undermanned. Brazil was really well coached and they had a lot of talent. Kenyon (Martin) said it best. They have a lot of respect for Argentina, respect for Puerto Rico. Steve Nash is on Canada and we've played them in the past. We're not looking past anybody." In Saturday's first game, Canada (2-1) edged Uruguay (0-3) 90-84, while host Puerto Rico (2-1) handed Mexico (2-1) a 92-70 setback. Saturday's 10 p.m. game features Brazil (1-1) versus Venezuela (0-2). Ten men's national teams from North, South and Central America are competing in the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the top three finishers will qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games. Preliminary round play takes place Aug. 20-24, then the top four finishing teams from each of the two preliminary round groups will advance to the second ground where they form one group. The second round games are scheduled for Aug. 25-28, each team will play the other four teams they have not previously played. The top four finishers based on overall records will then advance to the Saturday, Aug. 30 semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals games will meet on Sunday, Aug. 31 in the gold medal game, while the losers of Saturday's semifinals showdowns will square off in the bronze medal game. USA Basketball has had to qualify for the Olympics through a zone qualifying tournament twice before, 1992 in Portland, Oregon, and 1999 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Americans in 1992 rolled to a 6-0 record, won the gold medal and earned a qualifying berth in the ?92 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. In 1999, under the direction of Brown, the American squad won 10 games in 11 days to finish 10-0 and in possession of the gold, while earning one of the two Americas Olympic qualifying berths.
Allen Iverson's Shooting Display Leads USA To 111-71 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Victory Over Canada ?Iverson Makes 7-of-8 3-Pointers, USA Sinks 14-of-18 3-Pointers in Win? August 25, 2003 ? San Juan, Puerto Rico It was a record setting night for 6'0" USA guard Allen Iverson (Philadelphia 76ers). Iverson scored a USA Olympic Qualifying single game record 28 points (surpassing Gary Payton's previous mark of 25 points set July 19, 1999, versus the Dominican Republic) and made a USA single game record seven 3-pointers (besting Tim Hardaway's record of five made 3-pointers set against Argentina, July 17, 1999) to lead the USA to a 111-71 victory over Canada (2-2) Monday night in the first game of second round action at the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The win improved the USA to 5-0, 4-0 in second round standings and upped the Americans' Olympic qualifying tournament win streak to 20 consecutive games. The U.S. earned the win without its leading scorer, Tracy McGrady (Orlando Magic), who did not play because of a tight back. McGrady is listed as day-to-day. The USA will look to continue its winning ways Tuesday in a much anticipated 5:00 p.m. (EDT) game against Argentina (3-1). Last year at the FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, it was Argentina who put a halt to the USA senior team's remarkable 58 game win streak that dated back to the 1992 Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Meeting on Sept. 4, 2002, in second round action, Argentina shocked the Americans 87-80 and went on to finish 8-1 and claimed the silver medal at the World Championship, but only after falling 84-77 in overtime to Yugoslavia in the gold medal game. "It was a good feeling because I felt every shot was going in," said Iverson, who shot 10-for-13 for the night and was 7-for-8 from 3-point. "Usually when I get in a 'zone,' I am getting some layups and jumpers and maybe some threes. But tonight, they were all behind the arc. "The last one...I just felt like it was going in, because all the rest of them went in. I felt like everything I put up was going in," Iverson added "I never saw that!" said USA mentor Larry Brown (Detroit Pistons) when asked if he recalled ever seeing Iverson shoot like that from 3-point. "I've been with him for six years but this has been the best two weeks he's ever played. Just trying to do the right thing, taking what's available. "We don't go to him like we went to him in Philly. He would probably tell you, it's fun playing because when you're open here, everybody shares the ball. I think he makes other players better and the people around him, make him better. That was an amazing shooting display. I don't think there was any doubt. Any of his shots! Even the last one, when I was trying to get him out. He just got in a rhythm and I didn't see him force one shot. He just took what was there." After falling behind the U.S. 12-7, Canada out scored the USA 21-9 over the first quarter's final 5:43 to grab a 28-21 advantage. In need of a spark, the USA got it from Ray Allen (Seattle SuperSonics) who came in off the bench and accounted for 10 points during a 15-3 run by the Americans that saw them take charge 36-31 with 5:21 to play before half. Canada cut the lead to 38-36, but the USA then reeled off 11 consecutive points, four coming from Vince Carter (Toronto Raptors), to increase its lead to 49-36. When the USA retired to its locker room at halftime, it was ahead 51-39. Canada, which hit 42.9 percent of its shots in the first quarter, was stymied in quarter two and made just 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) of its field goal attempts. The USA made a blistering 12-of-20 shots for a 60.0 percent shooting touch in the second quarter. The third quarter was all Iverson. Hitting his first 3-pointer with 7:41 to play, by the end of the third quarter Iverson had found the bottom of the net from beyond the 3-point line seven times, including a 35-footer with less than a second remaining as the USA had surged ahead 82-59. The lights-out shooting continued in the fourth quarter and the U.S. sailed in for the 111-71 victory. Allen, 6-of-7 from the field and 4-for-4 from 3-point, Carter, 6-of-9 from the floor, and Duncan each finished with 16 points, and Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers) tossed in 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets) spirited the USA's rebounding effort with seven boards, Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers) added six rebounds Credited as a team with a striking 40 assists for the game, Mike Bibby (Sacramento Kings) had nine assists, while Richard Jefferson (New Jersey Nets) was credited with six. The United States enjoyed a very impressive shooting night. Sinking 65.5 percent (42-64 FGs) from the field overall, the U.S. was a remarkable 14-of-18 from 3-point, and was 13-of-16 from the foul line. In Monday's other second round games, Argentina (3-1), despite losing twice to Brazil (2-2) in the July South American Championship, squeaked out a 76-74 victory, Mexico (2-2) continued its surprising run and recorded a 100-91 win against the Dominican Republic (1-3), and host Puerto Rico (2-2) rolled to an 85-59 decision over Venezuela (1-3). Second round play continues Tuesday with Venezuela playing Mexico in the 2:30 p.m. (all times are EDT) game, the Dominican Republic meets host Puerto Rico at 7:30 p.m., and the day's final game is Brazil versus Canada at 10 p.m. Ten men's national teams from North, South and Central America are competing in the 2003 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the top three finishers will qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games. Preliminary round play took place Aug. 20-24 and the top four finishing teams from each of the two preliminary round groups advanced to the second ground where they form one group. The second round games are scheduled for Aug. 25-28, each team will play the other four teams they have not previously played. The top four finishers based on overall records will then advance to the Saturday, Aug. 30 semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals games will meet on Sunday, Aug. 31 in the gold medal game, while the losers of Saturday's semifinals showdowns will square off in the bronze medal game. USA Basketball has had to qualify for the Olympics through a zone qualifying tournament twice before, 1992 in Portland, Oregon, and 1999 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Americans in 1992 rolled to a 6-0 record, won the gold medal and earned a qualifying berth in the ?92 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona. In 1999, under the direction of Brown, the American squad won 10 games in 11 days to finish 10-0 and in possession of the gold, while earning one of the two Americas Olympic qualifying berths.
