Al Featherston has written another great article over at Go Duke. This one focuses on Coach K and the 2008 Olympic Games.  The Olympic Team will be announced on Monday and their first game is on August 10th against host China.

Mike DeCourcy has another solid article up at the Sporting News where he talks of the popularity surrounding Team USA Basketball.  In this article he mentions the fact that Duke target Kenny Boynton Jr. will compete for the U-18/19 team.

 Kenny Boynton dunks in Cameron

"Next month, as the Olympians are preparing for their assault on Beijing, the United States will field a team in the U-18 FIBA Americas Championship, a qualifier for the U-19 World Championship scheduled in 2009. Many elite high school prospects, including scoring machine Kenny Boynton of Miami and burgeoning New York legend Lance Stephenson, have committed to trying out for the 12-man squad that will travel to Argentina. Those making the team will miss out on most of the big shoe camps and tournaments on the July recruiting circuit." - DeCourcy

Here is an article that suggests Coach K is pushing the right buttons for Team USA. 

Behind 31 points from LeBron James, the USA dismantled Argentina 118 - 81 to win the Gold Medal.  Carmelo Anthony grabbed eight rebounds and Kobe Bryant dished out eight assists including a highlight reel behind the back pass.  Here is a game recap from USA Basketball.

The USA and Argentina qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Team USA has advanced to the FIBA Americas 2007 Championship Game with a 135 - 91 victory over Puerto Rico.  The United States shot a sizzling 69.6% from the field.  Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points, Dwight Howard grabbed six rebounds, and LeBron James dished out nine assists to lead the United States.

Argentina defeated Brazil 91 - 80 in the other semi-final to earn a rematch with the United States.  Team USA previously defeated Argentina 91 - 76 during second round play.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 as the USA defeated Argentina 91 - 76.  Second round play is complete and the USA is the only undefeated team at 7 - 0.  Next up is Puerto Rico in the semi-finals.  The other semi-final matchup is Argentina versus Brazil.

The LA Times has an article posted about Coach Krzyzewski and Kobe.

LeBron James scored 21 points, Deron Williams dished out seven assists, and Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire hauled down eight rebounds each as Team USA rolled over Puerto Rico 117 - 78.  The victory guarantees the U.S. a berth in the semi-finals.  Next up is Uruguay.  More links:

LA Times: Another easy victory for the U.S.

LA Times: Bryant scores bigger as a leader with U.S.

ESPN: U.S. gets payback on Puerto Rico, sits one win from Beijing

Chicago Tribune: U.S. earns FIBA Americas berth

 

Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points as the USA defeated Mexico 127 - 100 in second round play at the FIBA Americas 2007 Championship.  The United States pushed out to a 45 - 23 first quarter lead, but Mexico, coached by Nolan Richardson, wouldn't disappear and outscored the USA in the second quarter to cut the lead to 65 - 51 at the half.  More links:

LA Times: Mexico is a test, but U.S. prevails

USA Basketball: USA Rides First Quarter Surge Past Mexico

ESPN: Anthony, Team USA continue to shine in win over Mexico

Sports Illustrated: Mexico puts up fight, but U.S. pulls away for victory

Sporting News: After close 1st half, Team USA pulls away

 

Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James scored 21 points each as the USA defeated Brazil 113 - 76 in preliminary round play at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas, NV.  Anthony also grabbed 10 rebounds; and James, Jason Kidd, and Deron Williams all dished out five assists.  Brazil's top scorer, Leandro Barbosa, was held to four points.  Kobe Bryant spearheaded the USA's defensive effort.  The USA remains undefeated at 4 - 0, while Brazil drops to 3 - 1.  More links:

Sporting News: Stars shine as U.S. beats Brazil

Sports Illustrated: Team USA clinches group with 113 - 76 rout of Brazil

ESPN: Bryant's defense locks down Barbosa as U.S. stays perfect at TOA

USA Basketball: Defense And Balanced Scoring Leads USA Past Brazil

Team USA improved to 3 - 0 in the FIBA Americas 2007 Championship with a 113 - 63 victory over Canada.  Carmelo Anthony shot 75% from the field and scored 25 points to lead all scorers.  Seven USA players scored in double digits.  LeBron James was the leading rebounder with eight, while Deron Williams dished out six assists in only 13 minutes of action.

Next up is Brazil tomorrow evening at 9 p.m. EDT.  Brazil is the team most likely to challenge the USA in this championship.  Brazil is currently 2 - 0 with a game against the Virgin Islands this afternoon.

Michael Redd and Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points each as the USA cruised to an easy victory over the Virgin Islands.  The team shot 59.7% from the field.

Sports Illustrated

The Sporting News

Here is an excellent read from Gene Wojociechowski where he talks of  how Coach K wants to put the dream back in team.

The USA shot 54.7% from the field with seven players scoring in double digits in a 112 - 69 drubbing of Venezuela on opening day of the FIBA Americas 2007 Championship in Las Vegas, NV.  Michael Redd and Carmelo Anthony were the leading scorers with 17 points.  Dwight Howard grabbed eight rebounds.  Next up is the Virgin Islands Thursday night at 11 p.m. EDT. 

More Links:

CNNSI

The Sporting News

The Salt Lake Tribune

Following six days of training in Las Vegas, Nev., USA Basketball announced its official 12-man roster that will represent the United States in the Aug. 22 - Sept. 2 FIBA Americas Championship 2007 - Continue -

Having covered recruiting and Blue Devil basketball for several years, one of the things I have mentioned on message boards was that Kobe might have been a Dukie.

There were always a few doubters, but this article from Duke's official web site solidifies the claim -

Friday was day three of practice for the USA Senior National Team in Las Vegas.  Here is an article from GoDuke.  USA Basketball has a Tyson Chandler interview and a photo gallery posted.

USA Basketball announced today a comprehensive television broadcast plan for the USA Men’s Senior National Team and the FIBA Americas Championship 2007. Included in the plans, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic will show live all of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team’s games through the semifinals; NBA TV will televise 40 FIBA Americas Championship 2007 games; and Fox Sports Net will present 12 games, including the Sept. 2 gold and bronze medal games. - Continue -

Coach K -

- What's the feeling as you prepare to open training camp?

We're real excited, and we appreciate the contributions of the Select Team. With those guys coming in for a week, basically one of the things we are trying to do is develop a program where everybody feels they are a part of this program. If you're an American player, you should feel like you're a part of USA Basketball. That certainly hasn't been the case for a very long time, and I'm not sure if that's ever been the case. That's what we are trying to get across and this select team is a big step towards that.

- Do you see any parallels between this group and the 1992 Select Team?

I think this team will help us even more. With that (1992) team, Chuck Daly orchestrated some things to make them help us–he's a pretty smart guy. But these guys are men. Those guys were really good, but they were still young. This group more closely approximates what we are going to see in competition.

- How difficult will it be to trim the Senior National roster from 14 players to 12?

The selection process will be difficult because whomever you do not select still deserves to be on this team. We wouldn't have a guy on the Senior National Team roster if he didn't deserve to be on the team, however, you can only pick twelve. Some of the selection process will depend on what kind of shape they're in; some of it will depend on combinations. Maybe somebody fits a little bit better right now than they would next year, but it's not a done deal. If a guy is not selected (for the 2007 USA team), it doesn't mean he's eliminated. We're happy to have a good, tough process. That means we have a lot of people who are making the sacrifices to come here. It's a great thing, really.

Featuring 15 of the 17 members who participated in the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team's July mini-camp, and adding one player to the Senior National Team program, 16 players, including Nick Collison, are slated to assemble for the USA Senior National Team's Aug.15-21 training in Las Vegas, Nevada.   ...   MORE >>

Shane Battier pulls out of Team USA Camp

ESPN answers some burning questions about Team USA

The Sporting News

USA U19 Women won the World Championship with a 99 - 57 victory over Sweden.  Jasmine Thomas scored 13 points and collected four rebounds in the game.  Krystal Thomas contributed four points and four rebounds.  The tournament was held in Bratislava, Slovakia.

The USA U19 Women have advanced to the Championship Game of the World Championships with a 69 - 46 victory over Spain.  USA will face Sweden for the Championship.  Sweden defeated Serbia 85 - 75.

The USA U19 Women advanced to the semi-finals, of the World Championships, with a 85-66 victory over the Czech Republic.  Jasmine Thomas contributed 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists to the victory.  Krystal Thomas chipped in 6 points and 9 rebounds.  The USA will face the winner of the Australia - Spain game.

Jasmine Thomas hit a key 3-pointer in a hard fought game as the USA U19 women defeated Spain 74-66.

Krystal Thomas scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the USA U19 Women crushed South Korea 113-69 in preliminary round play in the World Championships being played in Bratislava, Slovakia.  Jasmine Thomas contributed 10 points and four rebounds.  Here is the game recap and box score.

The USA faces Spain in their next game.

The USA Pan Am Team opened the competition with a loss to Uruguay.  The USA made only 3 of 21 3-point attempts, while Uruguay was successful on 7 of 23 attempts.

Riding a huge fourth quarter scoring explosion as a team and a 27-point individual scoring effort by Matee Ajavon (Rutgers / Newark, N.J.), the USA Women’s Pan American Games Team (5-0) outscored host Brazil (4-1) 30-13 in the game’s final quarter to record a 79-66 win and capture the Pan American Games gold medal Tuesday evening in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The victory kept the U.S. team’s slate a perfect 5-0 and earned the Americans the gold medal, the United States’ first gold medal in Pan American Games competition since 1987.   ...   more

Serbia won the U19 World Championship with a 74-69 victory over the USA.  Serbia outrebounded the USA 34-32, while the USA shot just 28.5% (6-21) from behind the 3-point arc.  Serbia led by as much as 19 points and held of a furious USA comeback attempt.

Down two points at halftime, the USA Women’s U19 World Championship Team opened the third quarter with an impressive 18-2 run that carried the Americans past host Spain, 79-71, in Sunday’s final exhibition contest in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Canary Islands...continue

Deon Thompson's double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds paced the USA to a 78-75 victory over France.  The USA will face Serbia in the Gold Medal Game.  Here is the game recap.