Team USA is pretty brutal to watch. In every game, we have a huge talent advantage at every position. However, the players haven't played together much. It comes down to talent vs team. Our offense is iso plays with the occasional pick and roll.

Would we do better if we just send the national champs? Much less talent but a team who can play together...

Also, coach K is a great coach- no doubt. However, is it possible he is over rated? His Duke teams are always loaded with McDonalds All Americans. Huge talent advantage, just like Team USA. He was won a few titles, but do you think other coaches would have a similar/better resume with the same talent? I realize a big part of college coaching is recruiting. I also know he is a very good coach, but he is consider a god by some.

He's won "a few" titles.

Just more than all but 1 men's coach in history.

He has won 5 titles. Tip my cap to him. Great coach. With that said, how many times in the last 25 years has he had the most talent in the nation? 10? 15? One measure of a coach is being able to beat teams that have superior talent.

I recall Mack Brown would play 2-3 games max per year against a team with half his talent or more. Fantastic recruiter. Not fantastic coach in my opinion. Probably a good coach, but needed all the talent (which he had for sure).

Duke is usually in the top echelon of talent, but they are usually not the most talented. Just watching his college teams on the court they appear well coached. Smart offense, hustling defense.

IMO the Olympic team struggles are on the players treating it like an all star game.

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IMO the Olympic team struggles are on the players treating it like an all star game.

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I think we all underestimate the power of cohesion and chemistry. For most of the countries participating at FIBA World and the Olympics, those players have been playing together for a long time. The NBA is not the end all be all for most international players, but to be a part of their country's team is a possibility.

For the US, our players are more motivated by winning an NBA Championship than a FIBA World Championship or possibly an Olympic gold medal so naturally you're gonna see some players withdraw due to wear and tear on their bodies or fear of injury. Getting players to commit to more than just getting together to win a gold medal or world championship was the goal of Team USA when Jerry Colangelo took over. It worked when Kobe, Lebron, Carmelo, D-Wade, and Chris Paul were on the team, but the inconsistency in the roster is rearing it's head once again.

I don't know that there is really a long term fix just because for basketball an NBA Championship is a more prestigious accomplishment. And we certainly can't roll out with an college team either, because those other countries would out execute us to death.

I wasn't particularly fond of the roster for this Olympics either. I'm not a huge fan of DeMarcus Cousins and not sure what he brought to the table. He was okay, but very prone to fouling and he definitely couldn't keep up on defense. Jimmy Butler/Harrison Barnes/DeMar Rozan/Paul George are all basically the same player. They're scorers and not defenders and the same could be said for Kyrie Ivring and Kyle Lowry.

I hope the committee saw what an asset it was to have a true role player in DeAndre. He never tried to do more than what he normally does and his style of play and persona is exactly what this team needed. We don't need a bunch of guys who can put the ball in the hoop, we need set up guys. Guys that can drive and think assist before shooting and play smart defense. Our point guards had quite a bit of trouble staying with guards like Patty Mills and Delladova (sp?).

And I will say that moving forward, I have no doubt that we will continue dominating the world with Coach Pop being the next coach up. I just hope that the committee gives him the freedom to construct his own team how he sees fit.

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Jimmy Butler/Harrison Barnes/DeMar Rozan/Paul George are all basically the same player. They're scorers and not defenders

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Don't even put Demar or Harrison Barnes in the same sentence as PG13 and Jimmy Butler

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And Khris Middleton should have been on the team over Harrison Barnes.

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This. But unfortunately people think Harrison Barnes is good for some reason.

For those with a mild interest in FIBA/Olympics.

Two years ago, international basketball governing body FIBA switched up how nations reached the World Cup and Olympics. Instead of qualifying through summertime tournaments, there would be three soccer-style windows in November, February, and June/July for round-robin qualification games.

So that really dampens NBA players interest.
Now EuroLeague expanded its competition. It just released the 2017-18 schedule, and there are no windows for international qualifiers.