[外電] NBA Insider: Joe Johnson fits USA mold
NBA Insider: Joe Johnson fits USA mold
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/14/06
Salt Lake City — When USA Basketball czar Jerry Colangelo and
coach Mike Krzyzewski were evaluating talent for the national
team roster that will convene Wednesday in Las Vegas, they had
a simple vision.
They wanted the prototypical player that could excel in
international competition.
So they went in search of the versatile players, guys who could
play multiple positions, possessed a wealth of fundamental
skills, were unselfish and would be willing to compete at the
highest level for one of the coveted 12 spots on the team charged
with helping restore American basketball to its rightful place
on the world stage.
They were looking for guys like Hawks captain Joe Johnson, one of
the 24 players who'll be in Sin City over the course of the next
two weeks sweating through boot camp in preparation for next
month's World Championships that will be played in Japan.
"Joe can play anything from the so-called one [point guard] to
the four [power forward] in the international game," Krzyzewski
said last week when asked for a description of the prototype and
how close Johnson came to meeting that criteria. "[Team USA
assistant and Phoenix Suns coach] Mike D'Antoni coached him, and
he knows that Joe could sometimes be a big point [guard], he can
shoot, play defense and handle the ball.
"He does everything. Other than that, he didn't have any
qualifications."
Colangelo was equally effusive in his praise of Johnson.
"Everything we were looking for came in one package in Joe
Johnson," he said. "And that's a compliment to his abilities."
Johnson will join a star-studded group in Vegas that includes
Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and plenty of the NBA's
other brightest stars. What they won't be doing is "trying out"
for the team, because there are no tryouts.
"I'd rather not call it a tryout," Krzyzewski said. "No one is
going to be cut. All these guys are on the team and we'll just
decide on a team that is best-suited for competition right now
based on conditioning and the competition we'll face."
Following the lead of those international competitors that have
humbled the U.S. contingent in global competitions the past
decade is what led Colangelo to his groundbreaking system for
the national team. The roster will be "fluid," and requires
players to make a three-year commitment to the USA Basketball
program.
"I think once we took inventory of what happened in the past
and the infrastructure in place, what seemed to make an awful
lot of sense was to develop a new infrastructure," Colangelo
said. "For the first time in our history, we have a national
team. And in doing so with a commitment of three years, we have
taken care of a cycle.
"That's the basic difference, and the autonomy given to me to
select the coaches and in conjunction with Coach K to select the
players. So there have been some sea changes, hopefully for the
right reasons and in the right way."
That means there will be some NBA superstars who have to embrace
reduced roles on the national team, much the way many of the
members of the original Dream Team did during the 1992 Olympics.
"I think it would be good for every guy on the team to look at
himself as a role player," Krzyzewski said. "We're not the Lakers,
the Cavs or the Heat. This is the United States basketball team.
Guys have to share the ball and responsibilities with everybody
else on the basketball team. ... And that type of attitude should
not just be coming from guys like [Shane] Battier, [Luke] Ridnour,
[Antawn] Jamison and [Bruce] Bowen. It should be everybody.
"Originally, when USA Basketball went to NBA players, the
signature characteristic of that squad — and sure, you had
Michael [Jordan] in his prime and there were other great players
— was that they all played great defense and they all played
unselfish."
The player pool this time around is of a different generation.
When the original Dream Team was put together, Kevin Garnett was
still three years away from altering the basketball landscape
forever by jumping from the high school ranks directly to the
NBA. The 1992 equivalent to James knew he was heading to college
and not a seven-figure pro basketball payday.
Greg Oden, the consensus high school player of the year this past
season, has been invited to attend the national team camp and has
already been pegged as the anchor for future national teams.
But both Colangelo and Krzyzewski hope this new structure ushers
in a cultural change in the game all the way down to the
grassroots level.
"The great thing is we have two collegiate players and a high
school player selected," Krzyzewski said. "We hope building from
the top will influence the bottom. We're all a part of the same
team. And there was a disconnect there, starting in the 1990s.
Hopefully, in the future, USA Basketball can take an active role
and return to the festivals and things like that instead of just
shoe company camps. There's a lot that can help in the future.
"But we're not ready for that. We have to take care of this
process first. This has never been done before. This is a part
of a program, not just having a team. That's the thing everyone
has to get accustomed to. It keeps going. Fluid is a good word
because [the process] doesn't stop."
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0716nbainsider.html
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