3-ON-3 HOOPS IN SUMMER OLYMPICS?

3-on-3 hoops action in
the Singapore YOG.

FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann is not discounting the possibility of including the 3-on-3 basketball event in future Summer Olympic Games. The success of the half-court game in the ongoing Youth Olympic Games in Singapore might trigger the demand to consider it for the Olympiad. The fast-pace tempo and physicality of the game impresses Baumann most, according to the Edmonton Sun.

“Yes, absolutely. It would never replace the basic basketball, it is different. It is a tournament on its own. It is not a side tournament or an auxiliary event... it is a whole discipline on its own. It couldn’t have gone any better, we are the hottest ticket in town.

“Everyone likes to come here because it is fun. All the guys from the (other) national Olympic committees have come here because they want to see their team. Too cheer, its half an hour, its fast. We wanted a fast-paced game, a physical game, a players game. We didn’t want it to be a coaches game and we wanted to make it attractive.

“You are levelling off the differences between the countries so you no longer need a deep bench of players, so it open the game to small nations. The U.S. will always be able to have 12 players of the same quality which India would not be able to have. But India can have three, four or five players who can play three-on-three and they will be at the same level as the U.S.”

GREAT NBA GUARD IN THE MAKING

Euro Wonder Boy Ricky
Rubio in file photo.

Team USA had taken a close look at European “Wonder Boy” Ricky Rubio during their exhibition game against Spain. No less than coach Mike Krzyzewski was impressed with the over-all improvement of Rubio since he last saw him during the Beijing Olympics. The American mentor believes that the 6-3 Barcelona sensation has the making of a great NBA guard, according to Sports Illustrated.

“He's gotten bigger and he plays outstanding defense, and because he's a pass-first guard - he's going to be liked by everybody who plays with him. He's improved his shooting and he's not afraid.”

ORANGE PLAY

Team USA quarterback Chauncey
Billups is closely guarded by Spain's
Sergio Llull.

Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said the “orange” play of assistant coach Jim Boeheim during their final timeout preserved the one-point exhibition win by the Americans over Spain yesterday, according to ESPN.com. The play calls for a man-to-man defense but immediately shifts to a 2-3 zone once the ball is inbounded. Spain missed two potential game winners in the dying seconds of the game as Kevin Durant amazingly came out to block the shots.

“In the timeout, Jim Boeheim said 'Let's go orange.' We call it 'Orange' out of respect for Jim. He said he doesn't have any buildings named after him in Syracuse, so we named the zone after him. And I agreed with him, but it was his suggestion.”

BECOMING AN OFFENSIVE FORCE

Andre Iguodala of Team
USA in action.

Andre Iguodala thinks adjusting to the international game is a big challenge but admits he needs to do more in the offensive end for Team USA, according to Philadelphia Daily News. Iguodala said  he is satisfied with his defensive game but feels he can further help the cause of the Nationals if he could be more of an offensive force. That would give the Americans more scoring options aside from hitman Kevin Durant and penetrating guard Derrick Rose.

“[Last] night we played great. Derrick Rose was clutch, Kevin Durant played tremendous on both ends. We need to work on communicating a little bit better, but that takes time. For me, defensively, I feel I'm where I need to be; offensively, I need to find my spots. There's so many great guys on this team that you have a tendency to stand around and watch at times.”

Video: FIBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY

MORALE BOOSTER

Team USA swingman Andre Iguodala
tries to out maneuver Spain defender
Rudy Fernandez.

Kevin Durant excelled on both ends as Team USA scored a thrilling 86-85 exhibition win over the 2009 Euro Champions Spain in La Caja Magica in Madrid. Durant, who scored 25 points, rejected the game winning attempts of Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernandez in the dying seconds to preserve the hard-earned victory. USA Basketball team director Jerry Colangelo said the win was a big morale and confidence booster for the Americans as they look forward of winning it all in the FIBA World Championships in Turkey set to start this coming Saturday, according to ESPN. With back-to-back victories over Lithuania and Spain in tune-up games, Team USA is slowly but surely starting to jell as a unit.  

“I think we led for all but about 10 seconds. There was a little adversity, some interesting calls, but we got by all that. To beat a very good team like Spain on their home court is a great confidence builder, and you have to keep that in perspective. But a lot of things were positive today -- the energy, the athleticism, the veterans were leaders, and Durant was Durant, the guy we've been waiting to see.”

DANGEROUS COURT

Russell Westbrook of Team
USA in fierce battle with a
Lithuanian defender.

For Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the “La Caja Magica” or Magic Box in Madrid is not magical at all, according to ChicagoBreakingSports.com. Derrick Rose and Kevin Love were hurt during the final minutes of a tune-up game against Lithuania, which the Americans won, 77-61. Rose was poked in the eye during a fastbreak play while Love hit his head on the floor after an offensive foul by a Lithuanian. Krzyzewski did not like the idea of putting various logos on the court which causes the floor to be dangerously slippery. The Americans were scheduled to play two exhibition games in Madrid.

“Any court where you just put those logos on, those are dangerous. It gets real slippery for the players and tonight the floor was very slippery and that's a concern. But that's not why we shot poorly.”

SEVERE BLOW

Ian Mahinmi will miss
the first 2 games of
France in FIBA
World meet.

Team France’s campaign in the FIBA World Basketball Championships in Turkey suffered a severe blow with just a few days to go before the opening of the quadrennial meet. Power forward Ian Mahinmi fractured his middle-finger in the left hand that will sideline him for ten days and will likely miss the first two games against Spain and Lebanon, according to FIBA.com. France National coach Vincent Collet said he remains hopeful that Mahinmi will suit up for the team’s third game, a crucial one against Canada.

“Ian, who had had good performances recently, endured a stop that could be prejudicial in his final selection for the World Championship. I decided to keep him in the group as he could return for the crucial third game against Canada in Turkey.

“I will announce as I had stated before the final 12 players for the World Championship on Tuesday evening after the tournament in Villeurbanne.”

ANOINTED CHAMPS

Miami Heat returnee
Eddie House

With all the media-hype surrounding the Miami Heat, guard Eddie House calls the team, the “Anointed Champions”, according to AzCentral.com. When asked to compare his stint with the Boston Celtics during their championship run in 2008 and his return to the rejuvenated Heat, House said that playing for the latter is going to be even bigger and he is overly excited with the opportunity to play with the new “Three Kings”.

“I compare it to the year I went to Boston when the Big 3 got together in 2007. But this is going to be even bigger. This is going to be Boston on steroids.

“I'm extremely excited about this opportunity. In Boston, everybody was after us every single night. We were playing hard-fought games every night. This is going to be even crazier. We're anointed champs from the beginning, and we're not the champions.”

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - TEAM USA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - IVORY COAST

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - SPAIN

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - GREECE

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - LITHUANIA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - TURKEY

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - SERBIA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - IRAN

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - BRAZIL

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - CHINA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - SLOVENIA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - PUERTO RICO

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - CROATIA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - GERMANY

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - AUSTRALIA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - ARGENTINA

Video: FIBA WORLD PRIMER - RUSSIA

THE DEAN CONCURS

Quinito Henson (left) with Kobe Bryant
of the LA Lakers in file photo.

My video and article about Team Greece drew a reaction from no other than leading basketball TV analyst and PhilStar columnist Quinito Henson. “The Dean” agrees that Greece, with no NBA player in its lineup, would be the darkhorse contender in the coming FIBA World Basketball Championships scheduled to tip-off on Saturday in Istanbul, Turkey. Henson also mentioned that recent Manila visitor, Miami Heat Fil-Am head coach Erik Spoelstra said that the new “Three Kings” (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) might all possibly play together once again for Team USA to defend the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics.
      

“Hi Boyet, I consider Greece to be the darkhorse contender with lots of international experience and no NBA player---that may be an advantage or disadvantage. Check out my recent column on the World Championships. By the way, coach Spo said the US public has little interest in the World Championships and predicted Wade,Bosh and LeBron will be back on the Olympic team in London.”

Video: HIGHLIGHTS OF TEAM USA TUNE-UP GAME WIN OVER SPAIN, 86-85

Video: COACH ERIC MUSSELMAN TALKS ABOUT HIS BLOG

Newly-named Reno Bighorns (NBA D-League) head coach Eric Musselman is my favorite American hoops mentor. The former head coach of the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings once maintained a popular blogsite, “Eric Musselman’s Basketball Notebook” which I followed religiously everyday until he stopped posting on March 20, 2009, due to his job as TV analyst for the NBA D-League and later on, as head coach of the Dominican Republic National Team. It’s great to see him back into coaching again.

STRONGER, BIGGER AND BETTER

LaMarcus Aldridge of the Portland
Trail Blazers goes for a skyhook over
Rasheed Wallace in file photo.

Rip City fans has something big to look forward to next season as Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach and former Talk N Text (PBA) head coach Bill Bayno gave an update on the preparations and summer workouts being done by the Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge in Dallas. With the help of a Dallas Cowboys trainer, Bayno said Aldridge has become bigger, stronger and better as the latter gets ready for the training camp which starts in October, according to OregonLive.com.

Bill Bayno

“He's working. He's wearing me out to be quite honest with you. 

He hired a personal trainer, a guy that works with a couple of the (Dallas) Cowboys. He's really gotten stronger; and he's done that on his own. I think he's probably up to 260, 262 (pounds). Considerably stronger and bigger, but hasn't lost any quickness. One of the things we've been working on is improving his first step. I can't say enough good things about him. He's taking it; I'm literally beating him up. He's probably doing 100 possessions a day once we get through, where I'm just forcing him baseline, forcing him middle, forcing him to his left hand, and just really cracking him with the pads and working on getting and-ones, and just continuing to be good at creating that contact and finishing with contact.”