The US roster pool has lost injured guards Derrick Rose and Chauncey Billups and forwards Dwight Howard and LaMarcus Aldridge but the talent still available has Krzyzewski upbeat that he can repeat the gold medal success from Beijing.
Keep that in mind in regard to the upcoming roster shuffling. The American’s most formidable competition in London is expected to be Spain, its roster built on strength and size, the one place the U.S. team seems to lack the same kind of depth. With Westbrook, Chris Paul and Deron Williams already in the U.S. player pool, Colangelo and his staff do not have to add another point guard, necessarily, to replace Rose. They could choose to go big inside, or add another interchangeable player who can man multiple positions.
"We believe we can have a terrific team with the guys we have right now," Krzyzewski, who said this would be his last turn directing the national team, told a news conference at the US Olympic Committee’s media summit in Dallas. "We believe we can have a special team."
Krzyzewski and USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo feel the labor dispute between NBA team owners and players that led to the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season had complicated things for this Olympic go-round.
"This has been an unusual year in the NBA with injuries, with the shortened season, condensed season, extended season that has led to back-to-back-to-back games early on," Colangelo said. "Whether injuries were due from that condensed schedule we don’t know."
While such luminaries as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook give a formidable look to the prospective US roster, the team applied for and was given a 19-day extension by the US Olympic Committee (USOC) on Monday for finalizing its 12-man Olympic roster.
The US team had already been allowed by the USOC to add NBA Sixth Man award winner James Harden and top US college player Anthony Davis of Kentucky, to its pool to bring the once 20-strong list back up to 18 finalists.
One is the N.B.A. season itself, which was condensed and shortened because of the lockout and could extend to June 26, past the original USA Basketball roster deadline. If, say, Miami met Oklahoma City in the finals, certain and potential Olympians such as James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden would play right up until the national team’s training camp. Bosh has already struggled with injuries in the playoffs and could miss the remainder of the Heat’s conference semifinal series against Indiana with a strained abdominal muscle. Others could decide it’s too much basketball in too short of time.
Beyond that, under Colangelo and Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the national team has built its roster on flexibility, shifting someone like James into the role of primary distributor and using someone like Carmelo Anthony at power forward instead of small. This allowed Team U.S.A. to play the kind of defense, intense and swarming, that won it the gold medal in Beijing in 2008.
Regardless, a difficult pool of potential opponents will be waiting for the Americans in London. Team U.S.A. drew Argentina, France and Tunisia in Group A, along with two teams that will be added from a last-chance tournament in July.
"I think this is the last time," he told reporters. "I hope we can win the gold medal."
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Monday he will continue in his role until the next Olympics to promote continuity.
Because of injuries to NBA players, USA Basketball requested extra time to name its team. The team now will be named on July 7. The previous deadline was June 18. James Harden and Anthony Davishave been added to the pool of players from which the team will be chosen.me to name its team
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