Olympic disaster of 2004

[Guest]

2004 went down in history as the first edition of the USA All-Blacks, the first USA basketball team with ZERO white players. Of course, as could be expected, it was a total disaster. In their very first game, they were blown out by Puerto Rico, and would go on to lose to Lithuania and Argentina, more losses in one Olympics than in all previous Olympics combined.

Dwyane Wade spoke of his experience in 2004:

Frustrating. Disappointing. Comical. Which of those words best describes the U.S. men's basketball team in the 2004 Olympics? For Dwyane Wade, it's all of the above.

"It was very comical. You just had to shake your head. Everybody on that team was a good individual player, but when you tried to put it together, it didn't work. It was like a bad mix of food."

"There were so many tough moments for that 2004 team that I can't even single out one. I think the main thing was, everybody wasn't connected, wasn't together. From the first team to the second team, there was no commitment.

"We weren't rooting for each other. We were fighting against each other because everybody wanted to play. I was fighting for five minutes a game. I loved all the guys on the team, but it just wasn't the right combination for an Olympic team."

Of course, the one White guy connected with team, the head coach Larry Brown, usually takes the blame for failing to mold a Dream Team out of that collection of locker-room cancers, selfish ball hogs, and bad shooters.

 

[Guest]

LeBronze added:

"We didn't respect the Olympic name," says James, a 19-year-old benchwarmer on that '04 team. "We didn't respect what Team U.S.A. meant."

from LeBron's Gold Guarantee

My question is, why was it so hard to figure out what representing your country with pride and dignity meant, for these 19-24 year-old all-star millionaires four years ago?

Will LeBronze's guarantee be any more accurate than Carmelo Anthony's gold guarantee four years ago?

With little height, defenders, or shooters, this year's USA All-Blacks should perhaps show more respect to the international competition, which is stocked full of tall, sharp-shooting, ball-sharing, and tough defensive teams.

However, since the best competition is also all White men, it is little surprise that the USA All-Blacks demonstrate little pre-tournament humility.

Expressions of admiration for White opponents would be a major violation of the Caste system.

 

[Guest]

Wow, more revealing quotes about how bad that 2004 team experience was. Here is C. Anthony, in a quote that actually makes me feel kind of sad:

Anthony admitted the experience in Athens was humbling and unpleasant.

"We got booed," said the Denver Nuggets forward. "We laughed and joked about it. But on the inside it was kind of hurtful for us to get booed. We are supposed to be the best basketball players in the world. For us to go somewhere and get booed, it didn't feel right on the inside."

Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Carlos Boozer were members of the 2004 team that lost three times in the Olympic tournament and became infamous for their infighting and disharmony.

Tim Duncan battled with the referees and vowed never to return to the Olympics. Head coach Larry Brown dueled with point guard Stephon Marbury and tried to get him booted off the team.

They were all perceived as haughty and arrogant. So when the Americans finally wound up in third place, they were treated with scorn.

from the Houston ChronicalEdited by: 89Glory

 

[foobar75]

I don't know, it seems to me that the current group of guys are doing things the right way:


[url]http://www.nbcolympics.com/basketball/news/newsid=200607.htm l#u+s+team+focused+winning+with+class [/url]


You can be a cynic and call it fake or propaganda, but it seems to me, lessons have been learned from these past disasters, so now, they're making efforts to correct these errors. I've tried, I really have, but so far, I have found no reason to dislike this team. I'm rooting 100% for all the white athletes in these Olympics, but team USA hasn't done anything for me to hate them so far.


Everyone is doing and saying all the right things as of now.

 

[Guest]

For one, I find their treatment of lesser teams despicable. To be pressing, fast breaking, and show boat dunking on teams while up by 20+ in the 4th quarter, in friendly warm up games, especially against non-Olympic teams... If you see nothing wrong with that, you need to check your own ethical bearings.

Also, I have found them extremely arrogant and dismissive of the competition, repeating crap like "we have the best 12 guys in the world" and "there is no reason we should lose" and of course, all the gold guarantees.

Coach K is the only one with any sense of humility. And of course, he will be blamed when they lose.

In any objective analysis, this team is fatally flawed as a basketball unit, but NBA fans have been too programmed/brainwashed to see that. Thank God for international teams who can demonstrate the sad state of American basketball under the manipulation of the NBA and its corrupt college/high school feeder system.Edited by: 89Glory

 

[bigunreal]

I fear that the "fix" is in here. After watching those few minutes of the USA-China game, and all the flagrant rule violations the Nightmare Team got away with in that little bit of time, I think that powerful forces are at work to see to it that our lovable heroes aren't "disrespected" again. If the officiating was that bad IN China, against the Chinese team, I can only imagine how ridiculous it will be against Greece or Spain.

I certainly hope I'm wrong, but all signs point towards a USA gold medal. If Spain is so great, how did they barely beat the Chinese, who were destroyed by the US? Also, the team from Spain didn't do itself any favors by posing for a picture that seemed to be a blatant swipe at China. I just can't imagine a group that does something that politically incorrect being allowed to defeat the arrogant, overpaid, all-black USA team.

If the rules of basketball are actually enforced during the games, then the USA will struggle, just as they did in 2004. These street thugs are simply horrendous at shooting, and they have no ability to play within the rules. However, from what I've seen so far, I'm not very confident.

 

[Guest]

Don't worry about the refs. The non-NBA game is more physical, and all teams get away with it. It is actually a handicap for NBA players, because they are not used to the physical play, and a lot of their moves don't work when the extra physicality is allowed.

Cross-comparisons are difficult, since every team plays a different style. Consider, USA beat Angola by less than Germany beat Angola. Doesn't necessarily prove Germany is better than USA.

It is all about matchups and styles. USA plays a gimmicky defense that relies on pressure and passing-lane steals to generate fast breaks, which works like a charm against less skilled teams, leading to big blowouts. However, doesn't work at all against skilled teams, in fact it works against them, since it is not a team help concept.

It is the exact same hubris of the last 8 years, as coaches believe they can just "out-athletic" their competition. What, big rebounders, good shooters, good passing schemes, bah, who needs that? Those are for mere morals, not black gods like the NBA all stars!

Spain, on the other hand, plays a half court game, relying on sound offensive and defensive fundamentals, i.e. big rebounders, good shooters, and good passing schemes.

Especially when teams can play more physical and use zone defenses, the USA reliance on individual isolation scoring puts them on a very thin edge for success. Frankly, I doubt they can beat either Spain or Greece, and Germany might give them fits too. We shall see!

 

[guest301]

The excuses for a potential USA loss are already in the making. The two black brothers who rountinely guest host opposite of Skip Bayless on ESPN's First Take were on yesterday. One of the brothers stated that the only reason the USA might lose is because we play by international rules and that gives the international teams a unfair advantage and we clearly have the better athletes win or lose. The other brother thankfully didn't agree with most of his brother's rant and said the world had pretty much caught up to America in basketball and these were just excuses his brother was making.

 

[foobar75]

Sorry, this is just too much hatred for me to deal with.


The main reason I joined this forum was because I was happy to finally have a place where we can discuss and celebrate white atheletes. I did not realize hating all black athletes with a passion was also part of the requirement.


Anyway, now that I know that the deal is, I will refrain from making further comments, since useless and hateful flame-wars gets us nowhere.

 

[jared]

foobar75,
I thought 89 laid out some pretty good basketball analysis and genuine reasons for why he thought Team USA still acts too arrogant, dismissive, and showboats too much. I don't see any hatred there at all but if that gets you all riled, I don't imagine you'll make it through some of the other threads here. One or two people expressing an opinion does not necessarily speak for everyone on this forum.
I for one don't have anything really in particualr against Team USA. However I will definitely root for the whiter teams. Seeing our mythical black superheroes beaten on the world stage does wonders to shake the brain dead consciousness of average Joe fan here in the U.S. It gives more credence to white basketball players which in turn leads to young whites getting a less dismissive attitude from scouts, fans, coaches, and the media.

 

[Guest]

Take it easy there fella. No one here hates all black athletes. But our basketball team has been an embarrassment to our nation since about 1996, and we are tired of the US caste system in basketball, which is outrageously pro-black, and which involves an astounding amount of excuse making. Such behavior is bad enough when done in the NBA, but done while wearing our national uniform is a disgrace and an affront to all of us. When we call that out, we are not expressing hate.

I will agree with you 100% that the current squad is about a zillion times better than previous squads in that regard.

But, quite frankly, they are doing little more than acting as the front men for the latest marketing campaign in China (the NBA is planning to create a league there). Ugly Americans in Atlanta or Athens hardly matter to Stern, obviously, but now we are talking money! Stern is probably the biggest empty-suit corrupt money-whore in the history of American sports.Who says we hate only on blacks?

 

[foobar75]

Hey, what didn't you guys say some of this stuff before?

Look, you're really preaching to the choir here. I grew up in Europe as a kid during the 80s (my parents were US military). So, I had a lot of exposure to the many Olympic sports that rarely get coverage in the US. That includes international basketball. I still remember the great rivalries between the former USSR and Yugoslavia teams in the 80s, Spain, Italy, and Greece have always been powerhouses. Even new nations like Lithuania, Croatia and Serbia have continued some of the past traditions. Argentina has certainly entered the scene during this decade as another great team.


NBA basketball has evolved into this garbage made up of isolations and one-on-one match-ups. It's nothing more than a more glorified form of playground/street ball.It's a shame the way it's been allowed to happen. Sadly, the average American sportsfan is too ignorant to know anything better, so there's no cryfor change. These international competitions may open someeyes every 4 years, but then we go right back to doing things our own way and that's unfortunate. The MSM is certainly a culprit in all of this, but I agree that David Stern is the worst of them all.


In any event,the games will get tougher from here on. The US team has only shot 12-45 from the 3-pt range so far, and that's going to bite you sooner or later. Their two fatal flaws are outside shooting and interior presence, so we'll see how it all plays out.


For now, I'm looking at an even bigger picture, and that's the overall medal count. We may not getmost golds, as China continues to pile-them up. But we need every medal we can get to at least win the overall count, so if Team USA fails to get a gold again, I hope they at least get a medal.


I want United States to win the most medals, and we know most of those will be won by white athletes, so I don't minda few black medal winners if it'll help us in the end.Edited by: foobar75

 

[bigunreal]

Foobar,

It isn't a hatred of all black athletes that compels most of us to post here. Sure, we rant and rave about the outrageous behavior that too many of them display too often, but few of us are unreasonable enough to just blindly hate someone for being a different color.

Basketball has been ruined in the USA, at all levels (especially from high school on up to the NBA), due to a conscious effort, for many years now, to populate all the "best" teams with virtually all black players. Many of these black players are, in fact, not very good at basketball. They are selfish, ball hogs, make illegal physical contact constantly and cannot shoot better than the average middle-aged coach potato.

However, due to the fact that the NBA, NCAA and high-profile high school basketball programs have all allowed the game to become nothing more than the disorganized mess that one can see on the courts of any inner city, only black players from those neighborhoods can truly "excel" now. Basketball is no longer played by the rules; it is doubtful that the likes of Alan Iverson, for instance, could make it to half court dribbling the ball if the traveling and palming rules were enforced. If fouls were called by the book, Shaquille O'Neal could probably not score a legitimate basket and every game would see both benches emptied of players, because all of them would foul out pretty quickly. This situation is nothing new; "Dr. J" probably never dunked the ball without traveling, for instance, and Magic Johnson traveled so blatantly that I once counted him take EIGHT steps as he stumbled his way to a "continuation" basket (another absurd rule created for the "street player").

The USA team this year doesn't have the likes of Iverson, but still has some obnoxious thugs like Carmelo Anthony and Koby Bryant. If they don't win the gold medal, it will be a victory for truth and justice.

 

[ThatBlackGuy]

Of course, the one White guy connected with team, the head coach Larry Brown, usually takes the blame for failing to mold a Dream Team out of that collection of locker-room cancers, selfish ball hogs, and bad shooters.

As he should, hes the coach, he got all the credit when he won a championship in detroit with "all blacks" hell get the credit when they get their asses handed to him. Fact is, all that team needed was a damn point gaurd and they would have upped their chances to win. Larry Brown was NOT the right coach for that team, stacking the team with guys who live around the basket in a game that doesnt really reward the NBA style of play was bad to begin with, and having iverson and marbury run your point in the larry brown system was a terrible idea. Coupled together with the fact the team had only been together for a week and you have a bad recipe for disaster.

Yes the team was all black.

Yes the team was loaded with SOME selfish ball handlers (marbury, iverson) .

and WAY too many young guys (wade, carmelo, boozer and lebron). I am sure you yourself would be unselfish and a charismatic leader at 19/20 with millions in your pocket and outstanding talent

You gonna call marion, brand, odom, duncan and boozer(mind the incident with cleveland) selfish? I think not. It was just a bad combination of guys who didint really know each other.
Edited by: ThatBlackGuy