USA Basketball: Inside the Numbers

Coach Corey — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:03:10 GMT

The team is full of athleticism, creativity, speed and power, but, as with previous iterations of the U.S. Men's Basketball team, they have weaknesses in their defense and perimeter shooting, with only three players considered reliable defenders -- Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul and Tayshaun Prince, and only three players considered sharp shooters -- Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and Michael Redd. If their defense falters, they'll try to outrun and outscore opponents to win games.

Team USA by the numbers:

1 -- They only have one center: Dwight Howard

2 -- Their average height is two meters

3 -- There are three MVPs on this team: 2006 NBA Finals MVP Dwyane Wade, 2007-2008 Regular Season MVP Kobe Bryant and 2008 All-Star Game MVP LeBron James

5 -- Five players have Olympic experience: Jason Kidd in 2000; Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade in 2004.

10 -- There are ten All-Star players in this team. Only Tayshaun Prince and Deron Williams have not been All-Stars

26 -- The team's average age is 26, 2.4 years older than the U.S. Men's Basketball team in Athens

35 -- Jason Kidd is the eldest player on the team at 35 years old

44 -- The U.S. Men's Basketball team is 44-0 with Jason Kidd on the roster, including an 8-0 sweep at the Sydney Olympics

USA Basketball: "The Redeem Team?"

Coach Corey — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:06:25 GMT

The original Dream Team, the U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, was a phenomenon on and off the court. It mattered not that it dominated the Olympic competition, beating its eight opponents by an average of 44 points. What was important was that the Dream Team, the first U.S. Olympic team to include NBA stars, gave fans a glimpse of basketball at its finest, and an entire world responded.

Many consider it the greatest team ever assembled and wow what a team it was. Start with three of the game's all-time greats: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Add the irrepressible Charles Barkley for a little spice, as well as seven more NBA All-Stars: centers David Robinson and Patrick Ewing, power forward Karl Malone, swingmen Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin and Clyde Drexler and point guard John Stockton. Complete the roster with Christian Laettner, the best college player of 1991-92 and a future NBA All-Star.

Top 10 Highlights from the original Dream Team of 1992 in Barcelona

This year's team has been dubbed: The Redeem Team...

The U.S. men's basketball team was named June 23 and consists of NBA players in the USA Basketball program. Changes can be made after June 23, but only due to injury. Team USA qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. It defeated defending Olympic champion Argentina in the final.

“We want to show the world that we can play the game the right way and play as a team,” said Jason Kidd, who is 44-0 on the international stage. “I think that’s what the international teams have started to understand to play as a team and win as a team. If we can get to that level, and we showed that last summer, we can be as good as anyone in the world.”

Team USA will try to redeem themselves in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing after a bronze medal finish in the 2004 Athens Games. The team is headlined by the usual NBA All-Stars, but this year's team is headed by Duke's Coach K with a team first approach. The 2008 Roster includes:

Carmelo Anthony

Carlos Boozer

Chris Bosh

Kobe Bryant

Dwight Howard

LeBron James

Jason Kidd

Chris Paul

Tayshaun Prince

Michael Redd

Dwyane Wade

Deron Williams

How do you think this years team will do in Beijing or compare to the original Dream Team?

Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwayne Wade and the rest of Team USA discuss expectations in Beijing.(NYPost.com)

Blog Posts From Active.com 2008 Olympics Tagged With u_s_basketball

USA Basketball: Inside the Numbers

USA Basketball: "The Redeem Team?"