[人類精華影片特輯] Hall of Famers weigh in …

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Hall of Famers weigh in on U.S. failures By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 09/17/06 Dominique Wilkins, Joe Dumars and Charles Barkley have more in common than the Hall of Fame rings they received during last weekend's ceremonies in Springfield, Mass. All three basketball legends earned gold medals in international competition (Wilkins and Dumars at the 1994 World Championships, Barkley at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics). All three are perplexed as to why the current crop of NBA stars filling the national team roster can't achieve the same success. The U.S. team finished with the bronze at the World Championships in Japan earlier this month, succumbing to an experienced team from Greece in the semifinals before rebounding with a win over pre-tournament favorite Argentina to secure a medal. Explanations for yet another non-gold finish — the USA is in the midst of a four-year swoon in international competition — were plentiful, with everything from the U.S. players being unfamiliar with the style of play to the lack of time they had to prepare, compared with their international counterparts. But the NBA's newest Hall of Fame members aren't interested in excuses. We asked each of them about their impressions of the national team, its finish and its inability to overcome international foes that were dominated for years by the NBA's best. Q: Do you think the U.S. team's finish in Japan is more about the raised level of competition or its own shortcomings? Wilkins: "I think it's a little bit of both of those things. But the international competition has always been a little bit better than people think. But I can't come up with any scenario in my head that makes it understandable for this team to come up short the way they did. They were the most talented group over there. There's no question about that." Dumars: "I think the international teams have gotten better without a doubt; I think you have a lot more international players working in the NBA, so when the U.S. team shows up it's not like it's the first time they've ever seen them. I think the U.S. team has to do a better job with what they're doing on the court. To make all these different excuses [is understandable], but at the end of the day we're not getting it done, period." Barkley: "International teams have improved, but they don't have better talent than the United States. There's no reason we should lose. I'm frustrated and disappointed when we do lose. Basketball is our game. It's a street game. We all grow up playing basketball on the street. And when we don't win I take it personal. It's the only game we really own in the United States. And there's no reason we should lose. There's no excuse for them losing, plain and simple." Q: Three weeks to practice and come together as a team seems like an inherent disadvantage when you consider that some of their competition has played together for years. Why is that seen as an excuse rather than a reasonable explanation for why this team struggled? Barkley: "They're on the same criteria that we've always had. We never had a lot of time together. ... They didn't have a lot of time together, which was [ridiculous]. And the second excuse is 'They're playing by international rules.' We always played by international rules." Wilkins: "Last time I checked, three weeks in 1992 or 1994 was the same as three weeks in 2006. So if we're going to try and qualify these things, we need to come a bit stronger than that. I don't think there is any shame in saying out loud that we need to get better. But the excuses won't help us win any more games. We wouldn't have been allowed any excuses if we lost when we were considered by everyone to be the best players in the world." Dumars: "We can say we're not practicing long enough and the rules are different. But that hasn't changed. It's always been that way. We always had three weeks to practice. You get three and half weeks to practice and you play with their ball, with FIBA rules. It's their lane, their courts and whatever else. So when I hear that I'm like, 'Did this all just happen?' Enough with these excuses. We're just not getting it done. We have to get better." Q: Is the U.S. team's inability to capture gold a statement about the state of the game, not just domestically, but in terms of the quality of play at the NBA level? Wilkins: "I think it says more about the game and the way it's being taught. There was a time when guys spent every waking moment trying to learn how to perfect the fundamentals of the game. Sure, guys were flashy and they played above the rim and all that. But the offseason was about perfecting the fundamental art of this game. And you learned those fundamentals as a kid. I'm just not sure kids are learning those things the same way anymore. So it's more about basketball as a whole, to me, and not just about the NBA." Barkley: "I watch the game, and it's very scientific for me. I know who can play and I know who can't play. ... Our job is to tell people the teams we're watching are great and that there are all these really great players. First of all, they're not. There are some really good players, there are very few great players. Every player in the NBA is a good player. Some of them are really good, very few of them are great players. That's just the way it is. There are, like, three or four guys in the NBA today who are really great players, maybe five, maybe 10. The rest of them are just really good players. The national team is a perfect example. They've got some really good players. But they've got to play better, plain and simple. I love LeBron [James], he's a terrific player. I love Carmelo [Anthony] and Dwyane Wade. But they've got to play better as a team. People have to quit making excuses for them. They've got to play better." Dumars: "I know this, we're not just going to walk out on the court and play one-on-one basketball and beat these international teams. We have to play more five-on-five, more motion. And we have to go over as a team. ... Because right now, we're not getting it done." 資料來源 http://myurl.com.tw/qhmg -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 61.230.45.94