Let's talk a little basketball for just a minute...

I'm going to take a break from talking about the Cardinals for just a second. With the Olympics just around the corner I'm hearing a lot of talk about USA Basketball. There are high hopes for this team for several reasons. Number one, TEAM USA has not managed to maintain the level of dominance that we are used to in this country. So there is a sense of urgency with this group. Number two, we have several of the top players going to the Olympics this year, and this obviously raises expectations. Number three, USA Basketball has changed it's approach to international competition. The coaches and players made a three year commitment, so familiarity should improve and it is more of a "team" instead of a group of stars.

What kills me is how all the analysts say that international basketball has "caught up" to what we do here in America. Puuuuuuuh-LEEEEEZE! Yes, international basketball - especially in Europe - has improved. As a basketball coach, I truly believe that the "European Model" of player development is better in terms of teaching fundamentals and downplaying individual play. But what has happened to USA Basketball is more a product of the teams we've sent into international competition, and less to do with the improvements of other countries.

So let's take a quick look at the best (and worst) USA Basketball teams in the last 20 years. History has a great way of teaching us (hindsight is 20/20) that sometimes we just didn't send a very good team in the first place! Here are the teams:

In 1988 we finished 3rd at the Olympics. This was the last Olympic team we sent with college players. The roster included David Robinson, Mitch Richmond, Stacey Augmon, Danny Manning, Dan Majerle, Herman “J.R.” Reid, Willie Anderson, Charles E.Smith, Hersey Hawkins, Charles D.Smith, Vernell Coles, and Jeff Grayer. Coached by John Thompson, this group had one superstar (Robinson) and two stars (Richmond and Manning). The rest of the team were NBA role players. Some had very good careers (Hawkins, Marerle), but it is easy to see how this team didn't win it all.

In 1990 we finished 3rd at the World Championship. The roster included Alonzo Mourning, Chris Gatling, Christian Laettner, Henry Williams, Kenny Anderson, Todd Day, Lee Mayberry, Billy Owens, Mark Randall, Chris Smith, Doug Smith, Bryant Stith. Coached by Mike Krzyzewski, this group is obviously lacking the "all time great" talent from top to bottom. Mourning was a very good pro. The rest of this group were good college players and nothing else.

In 1992 we took the "Dream Team" to the Olympics and dominated. The roster was loaded, with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Chris Mullin, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, and Christian Laettner suiting up. Coached by Chuck Daly, this team was never challenged. You had the greatest player of all time, Jordan, in his prime. Johnson and Bird, two of the greatest players ever, were on the downhill slope of their career, but still very good. Barkley, Ewing, Malone, Clyde Drexler, and Robinson were superstars in their prime. All of them are future Hall of Famers. Stockton was a controversial choice because of the perceived snub of Isaiah Thomas, but Stockton is a Hall of Famer and is the NBA all time leader in steals and assists. Scottie Pippen is a Hall of Famer and a top 50 All Time player. This team was loaded! Oh yeah, they took Christian Laetner along for the ride.

In 1994 we won the World Championship. The roster included Shaquille O'Neal, Dominique Wilkins, Alonzo Mourning, Shawn Kemp, Reggie Miller, Derrick Coleman, Joe Dumars, Kevin Johnson, Mark Price, Steve Smith, Dan Majerle, and Larry Johnson. Coached by Don Nelson, this group was headlined by O'Neal. The rest of the group were NBA All Stars, with only Dominique Wilkins and Reggie Miller Hall of Fame caliber players. What this team did have was size, size, and more size. O'Neal, Mourning, Kemp, Coleman, and Johnson... that is agreat front line.

In 1996 we dominated the Olympic Games. The roster included Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, John Stockton, David Robinson, Gary Payton, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Grant Hill, Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond. Coached by Lenny Wilkens, this was a very good team. O'Neal and Olajawon, two Hall of Famers, as your centers? That's not even fair! Barkley, Malone, Pippen, David Robinson, and Grant Hill as your forwards? Man oh man did this team have some power and skill up front! Other than Grant Hill, who was fantastic before injuries, this front line is stocked with Hall of Famers. The backcourt was less impressive with Stockton, Payton, Penny Hardaway, Reggie Miller, and Mitch Richmond. There are no "WOW" players in this group, but Stockton, Miller, and Payton are all time great type of players. This was a great team.

In 1998 at the World Championship USA Basketball began to fall off the mountaintop. The roster included Trajan Langdon, Michael Hawkins, Wendell Alexis, Brad Miller, Bill Edwards, Kiwane Garris, Ashraf Amaya, Jason Sasser, Jimmy Oliver, Jimmy King, Gerard King, and David Wood. Coached by Rudy Tomjanovich, this team had a lot of college players, and they played well. But a quick scan of the roster shows that Brad Miller is THE ONLY guy on this list that was even a decent NBA player. What were they thinking picking this team?

The 2000 Olympics saw Team USA put a gold medal team on the floor, but a quick scan of the roster will show how the attention to detail, and the lack of star power, were slowly catching up with Team USA. The roster included Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Mourning, Steve Smith, Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Vin Baker, Allan Houston, and Antonio McDyess. Coached by Rudy Tomjanovich this team had great players in Garnett and Kidd. Allen, Carter, Payton, Mourning, and Hardaway were very good pros in their prime. But Steve Smith? Vin Baker?? Allen Houston??? Huh? You can see where the overall talent of the roster was dropping off, and the rest of the world took notice.

In 2002 the debacle that was the World Basketball Championship. The roster included Reggie Miller, Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Baron Davis, Antonio Davis, Michael Finley, Andre Miller, Jay Williams, Elton Brand, Raef LaFrentz. Coached by George Karl, this team was an embarassment. Karl couldn't handle that many egos, and it got ugly. Reggie is an all time great, but he is not on the level of the Dream Teamers. The rest of these guys? I guess you can say several have been or could have been (Jay Williams) solid pro players. Pierce, O'Neal, Baron Davis, Elton Brand... all good players. This team did not have one guy I'd consider a "superstar," and more importantly, this team showed that NBA talent can't overcome bad chemistry and poor coaching.

The 2004 Olympic Games served as the official wake up call for USA Basketball. The roster included Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion, Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, Stephon Marbury, Richard Jefferson, Lamar Odom, and Emeka Okafor. Coached by Larry Brown, this was just about as embarassing as the '02 World Championships. Now this team had some superstars on the roster (Duncan, Iverson) and a great core of young guys who were emerging superstars (James, Wade, Stoudemire, Anthony). But the young superstars didn't get to play! Larry Brown didn't play those guys. Then you have to scratch your head how in the world we sent a team to the Olympics with Marbury, Odom, Okafor, Boozer, Shawn Marion, and Richard Jefferson on the roster. Only Boozer and Marion are "all star" caliber players here in the states. I think the biggest thing this roster showed is you can't put a bunch of guys on a team that can't shoot and expect to just "out athlete" the rest of the world anymore. Show me the shooters on this team? Look at the Dream Team again: Jordan (top scorer of all time), Bird (top clutch shooter of all time), Mullin (sharp shooter), Malone (an all time scorer), Barkley (a great scorer), etc... Now look at this team: Duncan is money on the low block. That is it! Double him, and who makes an open shot. This team was horrible, and the way Brown sat the young guys cost us big time.

The 2006 World Championships showed us that we still didn't have it figured out, as we finished third. The roster included LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Antawn Jamison, Brad Miller, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Kirk Hinrich, Chris Paul, and Joe Johnson. Coached by Coach K, as part of the new "3 year committment" that is USA Basketball now, this team played better. In the end, the results were still not good enough. We didn't win the gold. This team was a lot better than the '04 Olympic team. LeBron, Wade, and Carmelo had some experience under their belt, and that helped. The rest of the team was either too young (Paul, Howard, Bosh) or not the best of our best (Jamison, Miller, Brand, Battier, Hinrich). Simply put, this team did not have the horses to get the job done.

So having looked at every roster over the last 20 years, what have we learned? Well if you send a team full of Hall of Fame guys in their prime (Dream Team) or at least a few Hall of Famers and a bunch of All Stars in their prime (1996, 2000) the rest of the world can't hang with us. With that being said, look at our 2008 Olympic Team Roster: Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, and Deron Williams. Coach K will lead this group to Bejing.

So how many Hall of Famers do you count? I can count at least five:

Kobe (one of the all time greats, in his prime), Kidd (downhill slope of his career), LeBron (entering his prime), Howard (entering his prime), and Paul (entering his prime, the best small guard in years) are all "sure fire" Hall of Famers in my opinion. Then you could make the argument for Wade (if he stays healthy) and Carmelo (a great scorer, very versatile player). That is gives the team seven "all time great" type of players on the roster.

The rest of the roster? Boozer, he is an all star and entering his prime. Bosh, the same can be said for him. Deron Williams is a great player, and maybe one day will be mentioned in the first group of stars. That pushes the mark up to 10 star players. The final two players are on the team for specific skills they have. Michael Redd can shoot the lights out. Prince is a freak and can guard anybody. Both guys are nice picks for this roster.

So in summary, will Team USA win the gold? When we send great talent and/or great size to the Olympics, we don't just win, WE DOMINATE! So with that said, this team is small, but they have perhaps the best overall talent since any team we've sent since 1992! I'm predicting it right now, this team will win the gold, and they won't be tested. I hope they play hard and share the ball and show the world that we still play the best basketball on the planet.