U.S. men win gold medal in basketball

A talented Spain team was as close as two points early in the fourth quarter and still within five in the last three minutes of the game and never completely went away in the US's 118-107 victory.

By Jim Souhan, Star Tribune

Last update: August 24, 2008 - 10:46 AM

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The key members of the U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team thanked each other profusely, the players lauding the coaches and management, with the favor being returned.

They should have been thanking Allen Iverson and Larry Brown, and the 2004 Olympic team.

The 2008 Olympic team finished undefeated after beating Spain, 118-107, in the final on Sunday to win the gold medal. The players danced and hugged like high school kids who just won the state championship, then insisted on the entire team showing up for the postgame press conference.

This is why they should have been thanking Iverson, Brown and the rest of their predecessors: Without the United States’ 5-3 finish and disappointing bronze in Athens, what the 2008 team accomplished would have been considered routine, not the stuff of wild celebrations.

The United States has the best players in the world. That was proved again in this tournament, as the U.S. won by an average of 30 points before the final, which a number of American players and coaches said could be one of the greatest Olympic games in history.

Without the losses and backbiting in Athens, winning the gold in 2008 would have been expected. With the United States failing to win a major international tournament since 2000, USA basketball boss Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski knew they had to make dramatic changes.

So instead of putting together an All-Star team, they recruited players they believed would commit time and energy to the cause, players they believed would work well together. They even came up with a snappy nickname: The Redeem Team.

How often do grand plans succeed? This one did.

Krzyzewski’s bond with his players was evident throughout the tournament. A lot of college coaches couldn’t handle 12 NBA egos, but Coach K’s resume, personality and willingness to cede control to his players made him the perfect choice for this team.

Colangelo conducted numerous interviews with prospective players the last few years, trying to weed out undesirable personalities. The team he chose played hard, played cohesively and represented themselves well off the court around Beijing, even visiting the Olympic Village and showing up at a lot of premier events.

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