With all eyes on the senior men's national team in the Olympics this summer, the under 21 men's national team won the tournament of the America's in Halifax, Nova Scotia in August. Tobacco Road played a large part in the victory for the young men of the USA. Sean May of North Carolina and Justin Gray and Chris Paul of Wake Forest led the way as the USA finished 5-0 to secure a bid to next year's World Championship for Young Men (under 21).
The last two international tournaments have seen a sixth- and third-place finish. American basketball fans seem to becoming increasingly frustrated with the performances of the senior men's national team. Oklahoma mentor Kelvin Sampson put together a squad that played unselfish ball and fit their roles perfectly. This has often been the problem with the senior team. NBA Olympians are all superstars who want the ball in their hands and are not used to being role players.
May led the team in scoring and rebounding with 16 ppg and 9.5 rpg, Gray contributed 14.3 ppg and 3.5 apg, and Paul ran Sampson's offense perfectly, posting, 10.5 ppg and 7.8 apg.
The young Americans respected their opponents and took every game seriously. They brought home gold with a 97-86 victory over Puerto Rica in the Gold Medal game. Five Americans finished in double-figures, led by May's 18 and 17 by Charlotte's Curtis Withers.
The college players who competed for team USA didn't complain about lack of playing time or who was leading the team in scoring. These players wanted to wear the red, white, and blue and were happy to contribute to a team that brought home gold. After the win over Puerto Rico, May commented on what it took to capture gold.
"We all played together and all the hard work we put in paid off. The coaches did a great job of getting us prepared for every game and we really came together in the end ... A lot of players could have come into this tournament and averaged 20, 25 (points a game). A lot of guys took a back seat even though at times they probably didn't want to."
Sampson has put Oklahoma basketball back on the map and did an outstanding job molding the team and getting the players to buy into his system. They used a balanced inside-outside game and had different heroes each night.
In the title game, the U.S. was patient despite getting torched by Washington Wizard draftee Peter John Ramos. Ramos competed for Puerto Rico in the Olympics in addition to the tournament of the Americas U-21. Ramos finished with 34 points, but fouled out with 49 seconds left and the Islanders down 13. The savvy play of the young Americans paced their march throughout the tournament.
A large reason the Americans were able to capture the tournament of the Americans was their ability to grow together as a team. This team was chosen after having tryouts. The senior team also captured the tournament of the Americas last summer, but this was with the best players the United States had to offer.
If the top players are not going to compete, then a careful selection process needs to be implemented. Sampson and his staff proved that this summer. The senior men's team failed in the Olympics largely due to an unbalanced team. A lack of outside shooting, an uneven commitment to defense, and the unwillingness to buy into Larry Brown' system ultimately doomed them.
The junior team was just the opposite. They all bought into Sampson's style of play, play hard on both ends of the floor and accepted their roles. Stu Jackson, the Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations for the NBA, and USA Basketball Executive Director Tom Jernstad have both proposed tryouts for the 2008 Olympic team. Most of the NBA players would likely be opposed to the tryout process. This would ensure that the players who were interested would be truly dedicated to playing.
Playing for their country meant everything to the young men of Team USA. Sean May was able to match the Gold Medal that his father won at the 1976 Olympics. All the players should be able to take their experience this summer and return to their respective campuses as team leaders.
The ability for the search committee for future USA basketball teams to find chemistry, leadership, and commitment is going to be vital to restoring the honor to USA basketball. When the Dream Team competed at the 1992 Olympics, they were a feared team that teams were honored to be on the court with. NBA players have seemed to have lost interest in competing for any national team. The NBA players could learn from the exuberance of the collegiate players.
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