Men : USA Olympic Basketball Team
ATHENS, 13 August - USOC Press Conference attended by the US Olympic Men's Basketball team.
Larry BROWN (USA) – head coach
On his Olympic gold medal as a player in Tokyo 1964:
"One of the best things that happened to me as a player was representing my country and winning the gold medal. About the only thing I have in my house from when I was a player is my gold medal. Being here now is one of the best moments of my coaching career."
On the Olympic experience:
"This means a lot to us. With life in the world the way it is these days, I think sports can bring a lot of people together, and we're a part of that. If we play the right way, and play with the right sportsmanship, we can show people who we are. To me, representing your country is an unbelievable honour, but also an unbelievable responsibility."
Allen IVERSON (USA) - guard
On the attention paid to his team:
"I don’t think it’s right for the focus to be completely on us. Everybody has their own talent and there are so many other events. In 1992, all the focus was on the Dream Team because there had never been a team like that before. But I think the whole Olympics is full of great events. I am looking forward to seeing some boxing and track."
On the international game:
"The Europeans play the game the way it’s supposed to be played. Their teams don't rely on athletic ability so much. They play with their minds, like I remember John STOCKTON and Karl MALONE playing. I think the international game is great for kids, too, because they learn to play defense and to play as a team, the way the game is supposed to be played."
Timothy DUNCAN (USA) - forward/centre
On his team's preparedness:
"We're all here for one reason only. We all understand it, we know what it is and we're all concentrating on doing it.
"We're taking one game at a time and we're not going to worry about expectations."
Carmelo ANTHONY (USA) - forward
On the pressure for gold:
"What I have to say is that if we do not win gold, then we should start looking for houses in Greece because I don't think we are going to be welcomed back."
On learning the international game during recent exhibition tour:
"It is a fun game without so many rules as the NBA and it has certainly taken enormous steps forward. It has been a learning experience for us to play these five games on European soil."
Lebron JAMES (USA) - guard
On the other favourites in the Olympic tournament:
"I consider Lithuania and Argentina the most dangerous teams." On being his team's youngest player:
"I am a young player doing a lot of things, not just at the Olympics. I was the youngest player in the NBA, I was the youngest rookie of the year. I've been the youngest all my life, so this is not a pressure situation for me. I play basketball, that's what I do."
Richard JEFFERSON (USA) - forward
On expectations:
"It's not a story if we win. Can anybody can tell me if there's another team that will be seen as an embarrassment if they don't get the gold?"
On arriving at the Olympics after an exhibition tour:
"The last 18 days have been long. We've been virtually solitary. The places we've been have been really secluded. This will be the first time we get to interact with other people."
Carlos BOOZER (USA) - forward
On what to expect from the fans:
"We have a lot of recognisable faces. There is no telling how the crowd will react to us. If the crowd isn't on our side, maybe we can win them over like we did in Turkey."
www.athens2004.com/en/LatestNews/newslist?oid=96117e1bff85ef00VgnVCM4000002b130c0aRCRD~
NOT watching? Um, I've got too much emotional investment in the Lith B-ball team not to....
This thing
should/could be a good anti-dote to the USA-centrism which so darn many far-ej-ners accuse us of...
..tho then there's Phil...he sees no use to ANY sport... ;D
