Are you an ardent basketball fan without lunch plans Wednesday? If so, head to the Pepsi Center to listen to Jerry Colangelo.
The USA Basketball men’s national team’s managing director and the CEO of the Phoenix Suns will give a keynote speech to local business leaders and hoops fans at The Ridgeline Restaurant for $30 (www.sportsmarketingnetwork.com).
Typically, I don’t do question-and-answer sessions in my Sunday column, but with Colangelo it had to be done because of his frank and intriguing words.
Marc Spears: What do you recall from USA’s lone world championship loss last summer to Greece?
Jerry Colangelo: I remember when we lost that game we were all heartbroken because we wanted to run the table. It was one game. … It was one pick-and-roll sequence that tore out our hearts. And I believe we can beat them 99 out of 100 times. But the stars were aligned and it was a great tragedy. And they beat us. We are going to be even more resilient and more focused going forward.
I remember talking to guys in the locker room: “Don’t forget how this feels because we don’t want to have this feeling again.” We go 14-1 and you leave with a sour taste because you lost the one game, but I know we accomplished a lot. And I’m proud of what we did accomplish.
MS: The FIBA Americas Championship, an Olympic qualifying tournament, will be in Las Vegas next summer. Would USA Basketball have participated if the tourney stayed in Venezuela?
JC: Technically, if we wanted to go to the Olympics we would have had to go to the trials wherever they had been. The prospect of going to Venezuela was not a good one. And I say that because of the anti-American sentiment that is there. Good fortune was, they didn’t pay their entry fee. That opened the door for other bidders (in) Chile, Puerto Rico and the United States. I’m very thankful we won that competition, because I would much rather be in Las Vegas than anywhere else.
MS: How tough will it be to determine USA’s active roster next summer?
JC: When you throw in just the guys that weren’t able to participate for one reason or another – Lamar Odom, who had a great shot of being on the team last summer because of his versatility, Kobe (Bryant), Michael Redd, Paul Pierce, Amare (Stoudemire), Shawn Marion, Chauncey (Billups) and (Ohio State’s) Greg Oden – OK, that’s a pretty good start, right? We said these people are going to have an opportunity here.
Whenever we start camp, let’s assume it’s around the 10th or 12th of August, because the competition begins on the 22nd and it runs through Sept. 2, we’ll probably bring in those players a few days before we start the actual workouts.
We think that’s what we’re going to do, but we have to assimilate all of them. I think it’s conceivable, and I’m going back to what I said from day one, we wanted the continuity and the core players to be involved with the world championships and Olympics. But there will be some changes. It will be a difficult task to get ourselves down to our 12-man roster….We were very young. Just the addition of Kobe, Chauncey or both, I don’t even think the Greek game would have turned out as it did.
MS: Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O’Neal said he is considering joining the team next year. Will he be there?
JC: No, he won’t be there. He was asked and there was no interest at the time. And remember, I was looking for individuals that were going to make a three-year commitment. There’s no pass. You can’t show up late for the dance. And that’s just a general statement. I also said we had the flexibility of adding or deleting because we kind of set up our own infrastructure. But I want to be consistent with commitments I made to all the players.
MS: Will there be any additions?
JC: There could be. I just want to leave the door open. Jason Kidd has gone public that he definitely wants to play. And you’re telling me (about) Jermaine O’Neal. I’ve received a couple calls from agents representing two other players, and at this stage we’re not even talking personnel…. It’s a little early. But if someone has a bust-out year, I have the flexibility of giving them an invitation.
MS: Nuggets and ex-USA coach George Karl has said USA is better off with an NBA coach rather than a college coach like Mike Krzyzewski. What do you think of that comment?
JC: We have some outstanding NBA coaches. At the time and place when I was asked to take on the assignment, I chose to go on the way I did. Number one, I didn’t want any coach to have any personal NBA agenda. It’s a little different when an NBA coach of a team is coaching NBA players (for USA). You can say there is a lot of good and maybe some negatives. For what I was trying to accomplish, that’s what I chose to do.
But I also had the feedback from a lot of NBA former Olympic coaches and players when I met in Chicago before that process even began. And the two guys that received the most support were Coach K and (San Antonio’s Gregg) Popovich. And Pop was not overly thrilled when I called him just because of NBA burnout or maybe even international burnout. He’d been around on a number of occasions. He didn’t show great enthusiasm. He really didn’t. And that’s OK. But that was my call. I’ll stand by it.
MS: Washington and USA guard Gilbert Arenas have been critical of Coach K, as have some players, privately. What are your thoughts on that?
JC: I sat in on every meeting, every practice. I was totally absorbed in the whole situation. He learned a lot. I think he’ll do things a little bit differently as we go forward. But there is very little I would criticize him for.
MS: Will Coach K definitely be back coaching USA in 2007?
JC: Absolutely, 100 percent, because that’s who he is. When I make a commitment, I’m in. So is Coach K.
MS: What do you think about Miami Heat coach Pat Riley’s and (Dwyane) Wade’s concerns about Wade being fatigued from the world championships and Wade possibly not being involved next summer?
JC: I don’t think it was Dwyane. I think it was the Heat. And there’s a difference. Whatever was said was said right after the competition was over. And guys came back and training camp was about to begin, so on and so forth. I think training camp was about to begin, and time has a way of healing. You could say when a team executive makes statements, that’s kind of selfish. Let the individual make the decision about what he is going to do.
The bottom line is it really won’t matter to me. I don’t believe there will be any exodus. I don’t believe anyone will drop off. But if something happens to one of our guys, be it an injury or change of heart, we’re going to adjust….All I can say to you is when I ask for commitment, my word is my bond. That’s what I’m expecting from the guys that committed to me.
MS: What does Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony mean to USA Basketball?
JC: He means an awful lot. I thought he had a terrific summer. Knowing how he was just fighting for an opportunity to be on the team as much as he wanted to be, he established himself as one of the true leaders on the team. And he was probably our most consistent player and one of the toughest guys we had.
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-954-1098 or mspears@denverpost.com. He can be heard talking NBA with Hall of Famer Dan Issel on ESPN 560 AM on Thursdays at 4 p.m.
