Rio de Janeiro – Australian center Andrew Bogut has had fun on Twitter in Rio, ridiculing the size of his bed and the quality of his shower curtain in the athletes village, before apologizing to the people of Brazil and saying his beef is with the International Olympic Committee.
U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski had fun himself on Monday night, turning a question about his team living on a boat into a comedic monologue that made him sound like he was reprising Dr. Seuss.
Would he live upon a boat? Upon it does he like to float?
"We don't live on a boat,'' Krzyzewski said. "I actually live in Durham, N.C., and have a swimming pool, and once in a while I get on a raft. I never really thought about living on a boat …
"It's not our boat. We're not the only people on the boat. There are other people on the boat we say good morning to, hello. We actually make friends on the boat. I never knew I would have boat friends. In fact now that I'm talking about it I might go buy a boat.''
The Australians are not in the same boat as the Americans, just in the same pool during preliminaries. The Aussies and Americans are each 2-0.
Australia isn't expected to beat the Americans, or necessarily stay close, but in this lopsided competition they are one of a few teams considered to have an outside chance of testing the U.S. when the teams play Wednesday.
"They've got two of the best passers in the tournament, in Matthew Dellavedova and Bogut,'' Krzyzewski said. "They don't turn the ball over. It'll be a different type of team to play against. They can beat us, and we'll prepare accordingly.''
Said U.S. assistant Tom Thibodeau, the Timberwolves coach: "The've got a great program. Their system is terrific. We've watched them. We know they're experienced, and can play inside-out and run their offense extremely well. They're big inside and they protect the rim well and are physical.''
The Americans all mentioned Australia's ability to start five NBA players. The difference in the teams is that the U.S. can bring NBA stars off its bench.
