Coach K's nightmare comes to life
I was just about ready to declare USA Basketball back on track when ...
Did I miss something - or did we almost lose to Brazil?
I don't get this - not at all.
We have the best players in the best league on the planet playing on one team - with supposedly the best coach since Red Auerbach in charge of the substitutions.
So ... why can't we beat teams made up of players who are subs in the NBA or stars in secondary and tertiary leagues in their home countries and elsewhere?
Another question - why don't we have a center on this team?
(No, Brad Miller doesn't count - he might be seven feet tall, but he shoots threes and can't defend the post.)
Yet another question - we're relying on Kirk Heinrich to shoot threes for us?
I hate to say this out loud - but yes, we're going to miss not having J.J. Redick on this team.
(Not to worry - there are plenty of Dukies to go around - though you have to figure that Shane Battier isn't going to last much longer. I saw him try to flop the other night against Puerto Rico, but the international refs are already on to him - they called him for a block.)
On a tangentially related note, I'm beginning to wonder whether we should still call the NBA champs "world champs" - I mean, it seems pretty obvious why this would come to mind, doesn't it?
- Chris Graham