AI wants to play for USA

JSM · by **JSM** on Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:59 pm

ESPN: Allen Iverson wants to be a part of the U.S. basketball team for the 2006 world championships and 2008 Olympics, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said.

Colangelo met with Iverson on Wednesday before the Philadelphia 76ers played the Phoenix Suns.

"He wants to win a gold medal," said Colangelo, the chairman and CEO of the Suns. "He said that very clearly. He said if asked, he would be honored."

Colangelo, solely in charge of developing the pool of players invited to the team's training camp, plans to meet later this week with Shaquille O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Tim Duncan. The Suns host the Miami Heat on Friday night and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Colangelo said he had never spoken at length with Iverson and wondered how the talk would go.

"He looked me right in the eye and said it would be an honor for him," Colangelo said. "It was a very positive experience."

Iverson was co-captain and the leading scorer on the U.S. team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Colangelo has made it clear that the U.S. team would not be a collection of superstars hastily put together. Instead, he wants a group, including role players, that would make a three-year commitment to participate in the camps and form a cohesive team for the worlds this year in Japan and the Olympics in Beijing.

Colangelo said he planned to announce the first batch of players for the camp by the NBA's All-Star break in mid-February.

Colangelo indicated that the Suns could have two players invited -- Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire. Colangelo called Marion "the most underrated player in the league." He also said that Stoudemire, out for at least four months following knee surgery, agreed to make the three-year commitment "about 30 seconds" into their conversation.

JSM · by **JSM** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:00 am

So, what are we looking at right now?

Amare
Marion
Kobe
AI/Redd
Arenas

That's a good start.

FabFourLakers · by **FabFourLakers** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:07 am

jus goes to show you how dedicated allen iverson really is...hes already been to the olympics....he doesnt hafta go....but i'd really like to see Kobe andd Iverson in the olympics...i wish KG, Duncan and guys like that wouldd step up too...id like to see Lebron in there too...Elton Brand should also be there...

SOAD · by **SOAD** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:20 am

2006 world championships?

MarkMadsen · by **MarkMadsen** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:23 am

you sure about that AI? Theirs gonna be a bunch of practices. :mhihi:

eNlight · by **eNlight** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:36 am

MarkMadsen wrote:you sure about that AI? Theirs gonna be a bunch of practices.

allen iverson and kobe in the back, sean in SF and amare, but i would like to see dwight howard, that boy can rebound like a beast.

extreme · by **extreme** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:45 am

GOLD GOLD

High IQ · by **High IQ** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:41 am

eNlight wrote:
MarkMadsen wrote:you sure about that AI? Theirs gonna be a bunch of practices.

allen iverson and kobe in the back, sean in SF and amare, but i would like to see dwight howard, that boy can rebound like a beast.

who is sean? :man3:

KB24 · by **KB24** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 7:44 am

High IQ wrote:
eNlight wrote:
MarkMadsen wrote:you sure about that AI? Theirs gonna be a bunch of practices.

allen iverson and kobe in the back, sean in SF and amare, but i would like to see dwight howard, that boy can rebound like a beast.

who is sean?

LeSean James :mhihi:

bumrusherer · by **bumrusherer** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 10:11 am

jsm0331 wrote:So, what are we looking at right now?

Amare
Marion
Kobe
AI/Redd
Arenas

That's a good start.

good start?

thats a poor start..its just the same as always...a bunch of scorers.

they need some role players...guys with no egos. Kirk Hinrich for example.

High IQ · by **High IQ** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:04 pm

KB8@CL wrote:
High IQ wrote:
eNlight wrote:
MarkMadsen wrote:you sure about that AI? Theirs gonna be a bunch of practices.

allen iverson and kobe in the back, sean in SF and amare, but i would like to see dwight howard, that boy can rebound like a beast.

who is sean?

LeSean James

JSM · by **JSM** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:16 pm

bumrusherer wrote:
jsm0331 wrote:So, what are we looking at right now?

Amare
Marion
Kobe
AI/Redd
Arenas

That's a good start.

good start?

thats a poor start..its just the same as always...a bunch of scorers.

they need some role players...guys with no egos. Kirk Hinrich for example.

Well, considering not even half of the roster is set, I would say that's a good start. You can have as many role players as you want, but without fire power, you have no chance of winning. Jerry did a good job of trying to get the big stars that he wanted first. Those are the players that it will be tougher to bring in.

And I think this first 6 brings a lot to the table.
-Vet. Leadership (Kobe, AI)
-Athleticism (all 6)
-Shooter (Redd)
-Defense (Kobe, Marion, Arenas)
-Passing (Arenas, AI)
-Rebounding (Marion)
-Up-Tempo Team (Amare, Marion, Kobe, AI, Arenas)
-Pick Pockets (Arenas, AI)

Yeah, they have obvious weaknesses and roles that need to be filled by solid role players, but I think they have done a great job of selections thus far.

I think next they need to lock in Dwight Howard (he and Amare would be a great front court duo).

Colangelo said he's meeting with Shaq, Timmy, and Wade soon. I think we will see Wade commit to the team, but I don't see the other two playing on the team.

JSM · by **JSM** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:17 pm

High IQ wrote:
eNlight wrote:
MarkMadsen wrote:you sure about that AI? Theirs gonna be a bunch of practices.

allen iverson and kobe in the back, sean in SF and amare, but i would like to see dwight howard, that boy can rebound like a beast.

who is sean?

Shawn Marion

bumrusherer · by **bumrusherer** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:34 pm

wade...Kobe...Iverson..Lebron..Arenas all on the same team.

i have a bad feeling about that. Damn, i forgot about T-Mac. Or wont he get an invite?

mojoballer · by **mojoballer** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 12:51 pm

Personally,
I would've rather seen TMAC over Redd. Arguably same shooting skills (IMO, TMAC is the better shooter), but TMAC has the better all-around game.

If AI does get the invite and he and Arenas are our two PG's, I think we really need to find a pass first point.

Unlike a lot people here, I'm not too impressed with Hinrich. I would actually rather see Chris Paul than Hinrich. With 3 more years experience before the Olympics, he'll be a monster.

Don't see Wade getting a spot either. He'd be the 3rd/4th PG or SG? Doesn't shoot well enough to be a shooter off the bench and we'd already have two combo guards in AI and Arenas.

slimjim · by **slimjim** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:20 pm

I'd rather the champ of that year participate in the olympics

but there would be problems because

1/2 of the spurs roster is not american HAHAHA :man10:

MarkMadsen · by **MarkMadsen** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:28 pm

tmac keeps turning down invitations. same goes for ray allen.

High IQ · by **High IQ** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:30 pm

someone mentioned Shaq? whaaaat? he will be too old and heavy for Olympics. :disagree:

The Nugget · by **The Nugget** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:32 pm

Dumb question: So, when do these games start? :man3:

MarkMadsen · by **MarkMadsen** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:49 pm

The Nugget wrote:Dumb question: So, when do these games start?

the world championship is this summer in japan. the olympics start in summer 08 in bejing china. kobe is gonna be one busy guy. atleast we get to watch him the summer.

Showtime.Revival.05 · by **Showtime.Revival.05** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:51 pm

itd be interesting, to say the least, if shaq were to be on the team

nameant · by **nameant** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 1:59 pm

bumrusherer wrote:
jsm0331 wrote:So, what are we looking at right now?

Amare
Marion
Kobe
AI/Redd
Arenas

That's a good start.

good start?

thats a poor start..its just the same as always...a bunch of scorers.

they need some role players...guys with no egos. Kirk Hinrich for example.

exactly. i was surprised arenas was picked. no doubt he is good..but we dont need anymore scoring. kirk is a jkidd type PG. he can do it all. most importantly..he can DEFEND. he better be on that team.

JSM · by **JSM** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:34 pm

The Nugget wrote:Dumb question: So, when do these games start?

Date: July-Aug. (exact dates TBD)
Event: Men's Senior National Team Training (Men)
Location: TBD

Date: Aug. 19-Sept. 3
Event: FIBA World Championship (Men)
Location: Saitama, Japan

High IQ · by **High IQ** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:39 pm

world championship is also in 2008? :man3:

JSM · by **JSM** on Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:45 pm

High IQ wrote:world championship is also in 2008?

No. The Olympic Games are in 08.

AI wants to play for USA

AI wants to play for USA

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