Everything comes full circle, or so the saying goes. For the United States Olympic men's basketball team, this has especially proven to be true. The 1988 team was the last one made up of collegiate players. This year's Olympic team is the youngest since 1988. The similarities between the 1988 and 2004 teams are striking.
Kansas, coached by Larry Brown, won the 1988 NCAA Championship. The NBA champs this year is the Detroit Pistons also coached by Larry Brown. The 1988 Olympic team was led by Kansas star Danny Manning and future basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson.
John Thompson, who was regarded as one of the top coaches in college basketball at the time, fronted that 1988 squad. Thompson tried molding Team USA after his Georgetown teams. The pressing, up-tempo style that Thompson preferred didn't mesh well with the international game. That team was made athletic players that fit Thompson's high-octane system.
Their only consistent outside shooter was Hersey Hawkins. When Hawkins went down with an injury in the semifinal against the Soviet Union, the Americans were doomed. Hawkins injury allowed the Soviets to collapse their defense and dare the U.S. to shoot from outside. The plan worked to perfection. The Soviets pulled out an 82-76 victory on to their way to the Gold Medal.
The 1988 U.S. team featured a plethora of future NBA stars. In addition to Robinson, Hawkins, and Manning, Dan Majerle and Mitch Richmond also competed for the United States in Seoul. The strengths of the 1988 team were rebounding and defense. For the U.S. to recover from its opening loss to Puerto Rico, rebounding, defense, and an increased intensity will have to become more of a priority.
Allen Iverson is the only player on this year's team that can consistently hit the three and he tends to be a streaky shooter. In the loss to Puerto Rico in the opening game, the Islanders were able to collapse on Tim Duncan and force the young Americans to make shots from the perimeter. The American opponents in 1988 were able to do the same against Duncan's former San Antonio Spur teammate Robinson.
This year's team seems to be more motivated with its back against the wall. In front of a hostile crowd in Belgrade, the U.S. pounded medal favorite Serbia-Montenegro 78-60 in an Olympic tune-up. The Americans fed off the energy of the crowd and used a 14-0 run to begin the second quarter to seize control of the game.
The outlook for the remainder of the Olympics is hard to read. If the U.S. plays their game by being dedicated to defense and rebounding, increases their intensity and uses a more efficient transition game, than they should still be able to bring home gold.
The problem is that the majority of American players has been coddled throughout their basketball lives and expects to win with their presence on the court. Larry Brown's strength as a coach has been to get his players to buy into his system, play defense, and accept their roles on the team. If he can do that, then the Americans' gold medal chances will increase significantly.
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