2016 Olympic BB Team Roster

[Big Pappa]

I think Andrew Wiggins is a mortal lock -- for team Canada!

sage

My bad. Good catch.

[crote]

Names I heard thrown out during the telecast: Doc Rivers (he sounded really excited about the opportunity during the postgame discussion with Dan Patrick), Doug Collins (damn the Soviets), Gregg Poppovich. Any others? Reasons why any of those guys stand out? Roy Williams? How do you say 'dadgumit' in Portugese? So many questions

Why not John Calipari?

Beyond his NCAA credentials, Calipari has experience coaching both in the NBA and internationally (with the Dominican Republic's national team this past season). Not unlike Coach K, he has credibility with NBA players (Lebron is a fan, for example) and has an effusive personality that would be an asset. Also like Coach K, he's a college coach, meaning he wouldn't bring the same baggage than an NBA guy would bring.

Just as significant, he is great at getting talent to play together. I would argue that there is a strong similarity between what he has done with his recent one-and-done heavy rosters and what the national team coach has to do. In both cases, your job is to get extremely talented, extremely proud people to give up their egos and buy into a system where they must accept a smaller role for the good of the team. In both cases, you also have to build a true team in a relatively short period of time.

I think he'd be a very solid choice.

[dcdevil2009]

yeah, I'd say; he's 17 now, but should be on his way to a very good NBA career by 2016, judging by current evaluations.

By the way, if I understand the story correctly, Kyrie Irving nearly went to the Australian national team this past cycle, and was talked out of it by Coach K (looking ahead to a good chance Kyrie can be key for future USA teams).
Yet another Coach K legacy to the national team.

We might need it, especially if Calipari keeps recruiting against Team America. If Kyrie would have lost his USA eligibility by playing with the Australian senior national team, didn't that class of '15 kid give up his eligibility to play in the USA program by playing with Calipari and the Dominican team in Olympic qualifying? He's never himself been caught cheating, but Calipari sure seems to be surrounded by eligibility issues wherever he goes.

[NSDukeFan]

Why not John Calipari?

Beyond his NCAA credentials, Calipari has experience coaching both in the NBA and internationally (with the Dominican Republic's national team this past season). Not unlike Coach K, he has credibility with NBA players (Lebron is a fan, for example) and has an effusive personality that would be an asset. Also like Coach K, he's a college coach, meaning he wouldn't bring the same baggage than an NBA guy would bring.

Just as significant, he is great at getting talent to play together. I would argue that there is a strong similarity between what he has done with his recent one-and-done heavy rosters and what the national team coach has to do. In both cases, your job is to get extremely talented, extremely proud people to give up their egos and buy into a system where they must accept a smaller role for the good of the team. In both cases, you also have to build a true team in a relatively short period of time.

I think he'd be a very solid choice.

Not sure this is the reputation USA basketball is looking for

[crote]

Not sure this is the reputation USA basketball is looking for

Do you really think the average American sports fan knows or cares about Calipari's reputation for recruiting impropriety? I'm not talking about hardcore college basketball fans, but about the much wider audience of people who will tune in to watch games in Rio just because it's the Olympics. I seriously, seriously doubt it would be an issue for most people (present company excluded). And that's triply true of international fans.

[Billy Dat]

Do you really think the average American sports fan knows or cares about Calipari's reputation for recruiting impropriety? I'm not talking about hardcore college basketball fans, but about the much wider audience of people who will tune in to watch games in Rio just because it's the Olympics. I seriously, seriously doubt it would be an issue for most people (present company excluded). And that's triply true of international fans.

I think Cal would be an interesting choice, he and Pitino clearly want it or else they would never have done FIBA coaching stints. Here's an interesting HBR article about the selection process Colangelo went through. I had heard that Dean Smith was a big supporter of K getting the job and this article supports that:

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/08/pick...lead_bask.html

"At one point during the debate, Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith of UNC—soft-spoken off the court—voiced "loud support" for Mike Krzyzewski, better known as Coach K, head coach of Duke University. As Colangelo told this story, he couldn't resist the opportunity to set me straight, "You're from Louisville and you think that the Louisville/Kentucky game is a big deal and a big rivalry. But that's nothing compared to the rivalry when UNC plays Duke. They play for blood. So when Coach Smith told us that no one will connect with and motivate the players like Coach K, the whole crowd was silent. That was a big moment for all of us." "

The four most important characteristics the "committee" decided were the most important included; integrity, passion, transparency, and empathy.

[dball]

Why not John Calipari?

Beyond his NCAA credentials, Calipari has experience coaching both in the NBA and internationally (with the Dominican Republic's national team this past season).

Couldn't those things you mention be seen as negatives as well?

He was an unsuccessful NBA coach and rumors were rampant he wants back in the league (though lower rumbling now that KY won the title).

He coached a foreign country in the Olympics.

His perception as a cheater probably could negatively influence the selection committee as well.

[Bluedog]

Couldn't those things you mention be seen as negatives as well?

He was an unsuccessful NBA coach and rumors were rampant he wants back in the league (though lower rumbling now that KY won the title).

He coached a foreign country in the Olympics.

His perception as a cheater probably could negatively influence the selection committee as well.

They didn't quite make it that far.

[ChillinDuke]

Do you really think the average American sports fan knows or cares about Calipari's reputation for recruiting impropriety? I'm not talking about hardcore college basketball fans, but about the much wider audience of people who will tune in to watch games in Rio just because it's the Olympics. I seriously, seriously doubt it would be an issue for most people (present company excluded). And that's triply true of international fans.

No, I don't. But why give them the chance to know/care?

The Olympics is about global competition in good sportsmanship. Sending out a coach that has questions regarding his integrity is not in keeping with this message, especially as possibly the most visible coach the USA sends to the Olympics. Plus, it's begging to be talked about. In the absence of other equally (if not more) qualified coaches, then sure. But that's not the case here.

- Chillin

[crote]

Couldn't those things you mention be seen as negatives as well?

He was an unsuccessful NBA coach and rumors were rampant he wants back in the league (though lower rumbling now that KY won the title).

He coached a foreign country in the Olympics.

His perception as a cheater probably could negatively influence the selection committee as well.

I don't think being fired as an NBA coach is a huge issue. The list of talented coaches who for whatever reason never really got things going in the NBA is long. It's just the nature of the league. Doc was a .500 coach at Orlando before he was fired, and wasn't much better in Boston until Garnett and Allen fell into his lap. Pitino is another unsuccessful college-to-pros guy. Both are mentioned as candidates worthy of consideration (as they should be).

I think it's a real stretch to cast his experience with the Dominican team as a negative. If you did, you'd be punishing someone for taking advantage of an opportunity to gain experience because of some cockamamie notion of national loyalty. Coaching for another country's national team is so common, it's ignorant and provincial to act like that's some great sin. It's not like he turned down the Team USA job for the Dominican gig.

His reputation might work against him, but if I was on the committee it wouldn't bother me. If I'm picking an NBA or Olympic coach, I don't really care if someone has violated amateurism rules that have no relevance outside of the idiosyncratic world of the NCAA.

[g-money]

I don't think being fired as an NBA coach is a huge issue. The list of talented coaches who for whatever reason never really got things going in the NBA is long. It's just the nature of the league. Doc was a .500 coach at Orlando before he was fired, and wasn't much better in Boston until Garnett and Allen fell into his lap. Pitino is another unsuccessful college-to-pros guy. Both are mentioned as candidates worthy of consideration (as they should be).

I think it's a real stretch to cast his experience with the Dominican team as a negative. If you did, you'd be punishing someone for taking advantage of an opportunity to gain experience because of some cockamamie notion of national loyalty. Coaching for another country's national team is so common, it's ignorant and provincial to act like that's some great sin. It's not like he turned down the Team USA job for the Dominican gig.

His reputation might work against him, but if I was on the committee it wouldn't bother me. If I'm picking an NBA or Olympic coach, I don't really care if someone has violated amateurism rules that have no relevance outside of the idiosyncratic world of the NCAA.

My vote for coach of the 2016 team would be Doc Rivers. He, along with Coach K, is one of the few coaches on the planet that could get 12 NBA superstars to play within the team concept.

He might have to retire from the Celtics to ease players' concerns about a conflict of interest, though.

Sorry if this post represents a thread hijack.

[BD80]

As to Calipari, and maybe Pitino as well, I think there may be a bit of jealousy/animosity from elements of the US basketball "community." To some extent, Coach K was above that (maybe not with the press). Consider the assistant coaches that signed on to work "under" Coach K: McMillan and Dantonio, both highly respected NBA coaches (at least as of the time they signed on) as well as Boeheim - who had a resume comparable to Calipari or Pitino.

More specifically, I think the "community" will require a coach that can perform at the highest level: the NBA. Calipari's "dribble drive" offense would be swallowed whole by International-level contact permitted, the bigger, more physical guards and zone defenses.

Pitino has more coaching ability, but I still don't think you can compare him to Doc or Pop.

In my mind, the best coaching candidate would be the one who other coaches would jump at the chance to work under as assistant coaches. Frankly, I think only Popovich fits that description.

[tommy]

I think it's a real stretch to cast his experience with the Dominican team as a negative. If you did, you'd be punishing someone for taking advantage of an opportunity to gain experience because of some cockamamie notion of national loyalty. Coaching for another country's national team is so common, it's ignorant and provincial to act like that's some great sin. It's not like he turned down the Team USA job for the Dominican gig.

I think there are a lot of folks in this country who share that notion of national loyalty -- you don't work against your own country -- and would be offended by your terming of it as "cockamamie." In fact, I'm one of them.

For another, can you imagine any scenario in which Mike Krzyzewski would coach a real game against a team representing the United States of America? I can't.

His reputation might work against him, but if I was on the committee it wouldn't bother me. If I'm picking an NBA or Olympic coach, I don't really care if someone has violated amateurism rules that have no relevance outside of the idiosyncratic world of the NCAA.

It would bother me a lot. If I'm picking a coach to represent this nation, a nation in which we strive to follow the rules and reward others who follow the rules, I would only be interested in a coach who has followed the rules in his professional (and for that matter, personal) life, regardless of whether I personally agree with all of those rules.

[crote]

I think there are a lot of folks in this country who share that notion of national loyalty -- you don't work against your own country -- and would be offended by your terming of it as "cockamamie." In fact, I'm one of them.

For another, can you imagine any scenario in which Mike Krzyzewski would coach a real game against a team representing the United States of America? I can't.

Is Chris Finch "disloyal" for coaching the GB basketball team? How about Nolan Richardson, who coaches the Mexican men's basketball team, or Pitino, who agreed to coach the Puerto Ricans? Have Jurgen Klinsmann and Pia Sundhage betrayed Germany and Sweden, respectively, by coaching our national soccer teams? Is Fabio Capello a bad Italian for having the temerity to coach the English and now Russian national teams?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I guess we just have a fundamentally different view of reality. Coaching is a different animal entirely than playing when it comes to international sports. Coaching and training are international affairs, with athletes often training under coaches from different countries. And, honestly, is coaching the Dominican Republic-the Dominican Republic-really working against one's own country? Really? "We might have had a shot against those Dominicans if it weren't for that turncoat Calipari!" It might be one thing if he was coaching the Soviets in '72, but that's not exactly the situation we have here.

All other things being equal, I'd rather have the guy who has working experience with the international game than the one who purposefully eschewed that experience out of a wrongheaded sense of loyalty. But that's just me.

Put another way, did Johnny Dawkins betray Duke when he left to coach at Stanford? Or were we happy that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to gain valuable experience in case one day he comes home to coach at Duke? If Dawkins does become the next coach, would that be somehow tainted because he spent time outside of the Duke family?

[ChillinDuke]

Is Chris Finch "disloyal" for coaching the GB basketball team? How about Nolan Richardson, who coaches the Mexican men's basketball team, or Pitino, who agreed to coach the Puerto Ricans? Have Jurgen Klinsmann and Pia Sundhage betrayed Germany and Sweden, respectively, by coaching our national soccer teams? Is Fabio Capello a bad Italian for having the temerity to coach the English and now Russian national teams?

I don't think anyone has been claiming it as derisive as this.

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I guess we just have a fundamentally different view of reality. Coaching is a different animal entirely than playing when it comes to international sports. Coaching and training are international affairs, with athletes often training under coaches from different countries. And, honestly, is coaching the Dominican Republic-the Dominican Republic-really working against one's own country? Really? "We might have had a shot against those Dominicans if it weren't for that turncoat Calipari!" It might be one thing if he was coaching the Soviets in '72, but that's not exactly the situation we have here.

Nor as satirical as this.

All other things being equal, I'd rather have the guy who has working experience with the international game than the one who purposefully eschewed that experience out of a wrongheaded sense of loyalty. But that's just me.

Put another way, did Johnny Dawkins betray Duke when he left to coach at Stanford? Or were we happy that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to gain valuable experience in case one day he comes home to coach at Duke? If Dawkins does become the next coach, would that be somehow tainted because he spent time outside of the Duke family?

I think the point is, you choose the best man for the job. In the presence of many equally qualified people (coaching-wise), you can move on to other qualifications such as integrity, loyalty, etc. In the United States of America, in basketball, we simply have many qualified people for the job. People on this board have already mentioned at least 6 coaches who would be worthy of coaching Team USA. They may have different styles, but they are certainly all qualified (at least in my eyes). So why choose the guy with possible ethics and "loyalty" questions?

- Chillin

[COYS]

Is Chris Finch "disloyal" for coaching the GB basketball team? How about Nolan Richardson, who coaches the Mexican men's basketball team, or Pitino, who agreed to coach the Puerto Ricans? Have Jurgen Klinsmann and Pia Sundhage betrayed Germany and Sweden, respectively, by coaching our national soccer teams? Is Fabio Capello a bad Italian for having the temerity to coach the English and now Russian national teams?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then I guess we just have a fundamentally different view of reality. Coaching is a different animal entirely than playing when it comes to international sports. Coaching and training are international affairs, with athletes often training under coaches from different countries. And, honestly, is coaching the Dominican Republic-the Dominican Republic-really working against one's own country? Really? "We might have had a shot against those Dominicans if it weren't for that turncoat Calipari!" It might be one thing if he was coaching the Soviets in '72, but that's not exactly the situation we have here.

All other things being equal, I'd rather have the guy who has working experience with the international game than the one who purposefully eschewed that experience out of a wrongheaded sense of loyalty. But that's just me.

Put another way, did Johnny Dawkins betray Duke when he left to coach at Stanford? Or were we happy that he was taking advantage of an opportunity to gain valuable experience in case one day he comes home to coach at Duke? If Dawkins does become the next coach, would that be somehow tainted because he spent time outside of the Duke family?

I think this is an accurate post in terms of how coaching for a different country is perceived by most international basketball/soccer/Olympic sports programs. Bob Bradley was recently let go as coach of the US Men's Soccer Team and now coaches for Egypt, so there's an example of a coach on the opposite end who did his work and when he was let go by the USMNT, he went for another high quality coaching gig.

I don't think Cal coaching the Dominican Republic or Pitino coaching PR is intrinsically bad or disloyal. It certainly doesn't fall into the category of "shady" or "unethical" in anyway. That being said, I don't think it is necessarily a positive, either, especially considering Cal has quite a bit of baggage in other areas, most of which everyone here already knows about. Indeed, if he actively recruited Karl Towns for the Dominican Team, and there is plenty of speculation that there is some truth to this, THAT might raise a few questions for USA basketball. So while there is no intrinsic disloyalty associated with coaching another country's national team, how you conduct yourself while you are the coach of that team can be taken into account. With Karl Towns, Cal may have managed to earn a questioning glance or two from USA basketball, which would be legitimate in determining whether or not he'd be a good fit as the head coach of USA basketball.

[JasonEvans]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

I would think Doc, who has made noise about retiring from the Celtics for a while, could be a good choice, perhaps starting after the 2014 NBA season. Phil Jackson is another one who would make a lot of sense. Recently retired Jerry Sloan would be a good choice, though I doubt Deron Williams could be on the team if Sloan was the coach. We'd be crazy not to consider Popovich too.

There are some college names that could make sense as well, guys who are late in their careers and might welcome this as a way to slowly leave the game. Jim Boeheim is the most obvious of these. I suppose Jim Calhoun could be a consideration as well, though his rep for low ethics probably rules him out.

-Jason "I would toss out Bo Ryan, who I respect tremendously as a coach, but I don't think he is well-known enough for it to fly" Evans

[COYS]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

I would think Doc, who has made noise about retiring from the Celtics for a while, could be a good choice, perhaps starting after the 2014 NBA season. Phil Jackson is another one who would make a lot of sense. Recently retired Jerry Sloan would be a good choice, though I doubt Deron Williams could be on the team if Sloan was the coach. We'd be crazy not to consider Popovich too.

There are some college names that could make sense as well, guys who are late in their careers and might welcome this as a way to slowly leave the game. Jim Boeheim is the most obvious of these. I suppose Jim Calhoun could be a consideration as well, though his rep for low ethics probably rules him out.

-Jason "I would toss out Bo Ryan, who I respect tremendously as a coach, but I don't think he is well-known enough for it to fly" Evans

I think this is a great idea, personally. I think it would help preserve continuity but it would also allow USA to do things like schedule the occasional friendly even during non-international summers, and things like that to keep the team fresh. This is the way things are done in soccer. There are obvious scheduling issues with the NBA season, preseason, and offseason, but if the players buy-in, it could be a great way to keep the team strong while simultaneously keeping international basketball in the public eye. Heck, if the NBA really wanted to cash in on some of the international basketball money, they could make the All Star break a day or two longer and include one day of international games, since plenty of foreign players already play in the NBA.

[dcdevil2009]

I think it would be interesting for USA Basketball to hire someone to be a full time coach, not just a summer gig like K has done. I am not saying the team would need coaching year-round, but this could be someone who could be a constant face of the USA program and could be doing scouting and "recruiting" of players into the program all the time.

Isn't this kind of what Jerry Colangelo already does as head of USA hoops? Having a full-time general manager/president to provide continuity, while using a part-time coach with significant control over personnel, seems to allow the national team to have the best coaching when it matters, while still maintaining a program in the non-tournament summers. I'm not suggesting that the team wouldn't benefit from having a full-time coach, but I'm not sure that the resources would be there to make it worthwhile. You'd be looking at a four-year contract for someone with enough respect as a coach to get 12 of America's best basketball players to listen to him in any given year. I'm sure you wouldn't have to pay him as much as Doc is making annually with the Celtics or K with Duke, but a top coach would probably command about $2 million a year if it were a year-round position. There's also the issue of a good coach not being a great GM. By having a part-time coach who handles all of the coaching duties and a full-time GM who handles everything else, with joint responsibility over recruiting and personnel decisions, the US is able to maximize its resources and have people who are among the best at both jobs.

There's also the problem with the national team coach spending too much time away from actually coaching. Since a lot of the benefits, such as scouting and recruiting, can be delegated (similarly to what K has done with Duke's recruiting during FIBA summers), I think it would be better to have a coach who is spending his time off from FIBA ball coaching. In other words, I'd prefer the benefits of having a national team coach who has coached 40-100 games per year at the college/professional level in addition to his summer work with the national team over the benefits of a retired coach who only coaches FIBA games plus a 5-10 friendlies/exhibitions per year.

[sagegrouse]

Isn't this kind of what Jerry Colangelo already does as head of USA hoops? Having a full-time general manager/president to provide continuity, while using a part-time coach with significant control over personnel, seems to allow the national team to have the best coaching when it matters, while still maintaining a program in the non-tournament summers. I'm not suggesting that the team wouldn't benefit from having a full-time coach, but I'm not sure that the resources would be there to make it worthwhile. You'd be looking at a four-year contract for someone with enough respect as a coach to get 12 of America's best basketball players to listen to him in any given year. I'm sure you wouldn't have to pay him as much as Doc is making annually with the Celtics or K with Duke, but a top coach would probably command about $2 million a year if it were a year-round position. There's also the issue of a good coach not being a great GM. By having a part-time coach who handles all of the coaching duties and a full-time GM who handles everything else, with joint responsibility over recruiting and personnel decisions, the US is able to maximize its resources and have people who are among the best at both jobs.

.

Sorry, guys! I believe the US would NOT benefit from having a full-time coach. First, there's not enough to do for a high-energy, high-accomplishment individual. Second, there's not enough money ($3-5 mil or so per year) to attract the very best. And, third, if somehow you overcame the first two hurdles and got Doc Rivers on a full-time gig, what would he do? He can only deal with a national team in uniform for about six weeks out of the year, and the premier players probably only in Olympic years. Every conversation he would have with a Lebron or KD outside that window would be colored by the concerns of the player that, "This guy wants more of my time than I can give him because I have a full-time job, and he doesn't."

You get Coach K for relatively little money, and he is even busier than the players, so they are all making time sacrifices for Team USA.

Who's next? I dunno but K was hired because (a) he was a great coach and (b) he had the management and leadership abilities to build a sustainable and winning Team USA. The other concerns -- patriotism and being a class act are also important -- but would serve as a disqualifying factor.

In the college ranks, I would guess Izzo and Calipari would be candidates. I think the pugnacious Calhoun would be in the wrong milieu. In the pro ranks, Pop, Collins, or Rivers may be good -- I don't know them well enough.

sagegrouse