Sunday, September 10, 2000

Slam dunk for U.S. in basketball? Probably

By Seattle Times staff and The Associated Press

Nobody really believes the U.S. men's and women's basketball teams will win anything less than gold at the Sydney Games. With all that talent, it's a lock, right?

Probably.

"There's always a chance. That's why they throw up the ball," said Rudy Tomjanovich, the men's coach who will take what some believe to be a structurally flawed team to Sydney.

This is not a gargantuan U.S. men's team, nor an especially veteran one. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant of the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers won't be there, nor will past Olympian stalwarts Karl Malone and David Robinson. Two of the best American players, Grant Hill and Tim Duncan, have pulled out because of injuries.

The roster has six guards (Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Steve Smith, Tim Hardaway, Allan Houston, Ray Allen), two small forwards (Vince Carter, Shareef Abdur-Rahim), three power forwards (Vin Baker, Kevin Garnett, Antonio McDyess) and just one center, Alonzo Mourning, who is a good 2 1/2 inches shy of 7 feet.

"Our strength is going to be quickness and athleticism," Tomjanovich said.

Australia fields a veteran team that includes sharpshooters Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal; 7-footers Luc Longley, Paul Rogers and Chris Antsey; and 6-9 Mark Bradtke - all of whom have NBA experience. China has three capable big men in 7-footer Wang Zhi-Zhi, 7-4 Yao Ming and 6-11 Menk Bater.

The U.S. team is grouped in the easier of the two preliminary-round brackets with China, France, Italy, Lithuania and New Zealand. The other bracket includes Angola, Australia, Canada, Russia, Spain and Yugoslavia.

The U.S. team enters the tournament with records of 101-2 in Olympic play and 60-0 in qualifying, World Championship and Olympic games played with NBA players on the roster.

"My feeling is we'll be criticized if we don't win by more than 20 points a game," said Mourning, who will leave the team for several days toward the end of the opening round to return to Miami for the birth of his daughter.

The biggest challenger facing the U.S. women is Australia.

The United States team had the crowds helping it to the gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games, drawing throngs of more than 30,000 to the Georgia Dome.

The Australians took all that in while winning the bronze. Now it's their turn.

Along with being at home, Australia has talent. Michelle Griffiths and Michele Timms both played for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this year. Timms had surgery on her left knee in July but is expected to be ready in Sydney.

Rachel Sporn also is back from the '96 team, and Australia has a rising star in 20-year-old Lauren Jackson, a 6-foot-6 center who could be the first pick in the WNBA draft next spring.

"Being at home is really going to help them," U.S. guard Katie Smith said. "Not that they need a lot of help. They have a phenomenal team. They're bidding for the gold themselves. "

The U.S. and Australia are in different groups for preliminary play, so the two can meet only once - in the medal round.

The U.S. team beat Australia three times last September, but that Australian squad then didn't have Griffiths, Sporn and another key player, Sandy Brondello.

Russia, second to the U.S. at the 1998 world championships, and Cuba should be the toughest opponents for the Americans in pool play. Brazil, the 1996 silver medalist, will be Australia's main challenger.

"People have to understand there's a parity in the women's game internationally," Coach Nell Fortner said. "It's much different than in the men's game. It's much more even."

Most of the U.S. team members have been playing basketball steadily for more than a year. They played the 1999 WNBA season, trained with the U.S. team from September through March, went to their WNBA training camps in May, then played another full season.

The U.S. women have size inside with 6-5 Lisa Leslie, 6-7 Kara Wolters, 6-3 Yolanda Griffith and 6-2 Natalie Williams. DeLisha Milton and McCray are relentless defenders, Chamique Holdsclaw brings athleticism and a pull-up jumper, Smith and Ruthie Bolton-Holifield supply outside shooting, and Dawn Staley is a whiz with the ball.

Teresa Edwards will be playing in her fifth Olympics, at age 36, and the team got a huge lift when Sheryl Swoopes, the WNBA's leading scorer and MVP this season, agreed to play after declining an earlier invitation.

Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company