Tokyo Olympics Basketball (July 25 - Aug. 7)

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

“Team USA men’s basketball players frustrated with head coach Gregg Popovich”

https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/team-u...regg-popovich/

That's not good.

Is there a corresponding article saying Pop is frustrated that the players managed to shoot 38% from the field?

[Steven43]

That's not good.

Is there a corresponding article saying Pop is frustrated that the players managed to shoot 38% from the field?

Classic. 😂

Why look inward and potentially shoulder a good portion of the blame when you can find a convenient scapegoat?

[Steven43]

Kyrie Irving seems to think a head coach is relatively unimportant, while some (maybe all?) of the members of Team USA appear to think just the opposite.

When a team is winning it’s the players who made it happen; when losing it’s the head coach.

[1991 duke law]

Kyrie Irving seems to think a head coach is relatively unimportant, while some (maybe all?) of the members of Team USA appear to think just the opposite.

When a team is winning it’s the players who made it happen; when losing it’s the head coach.

Good point. I have little doubt that a head coach is important. He may not be able to make garbage into gold, and he may not turn gold into garbage – but there is a lot in the middle. And the head coach can move it either way.

[Steven43]

Good point. I have little doubt that a head coach is important. He may not be able to make garbage into gold, and he may not turn gold into garbage – but there is a lot in the middle. And the head coach can move it either way.

Yes, of course. But ultimately it’s the responsibility of the players to perform on the court.

[Bay Area Duke Fan]

“Team USA men’s basketball players frustrated with head coach Gregg Popovich”

https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/team-u...regg-popovich/

Why don't the players shut up about this and just win the games? Publicly blaming their coach is a very bad look for the NBA professionals who played and lost to France. Leave the coach bashing to the fans!

[uh_no]

Why don't the players shut up about this and just win the games? Publicly blaming their coach is a very bad look for the NBA professionals who played and lost to France. Leave the coach bashing to the fans!

it's the post. assign your own truth value to the article. Is there any actual cited quotes from players? It could very well be the players talking about how they are still working with pop on how to get the sets to fit their strengths.

Maybe it's not...as I generally think little of the coachability of many NBA players...but I would also take that article with a grain of salt.

[arnie]

“Team USA men’s basketball players frustrated with head coach Gregg Popovich”

https://nypost.com/2021/07/27/team-u...regg-popovich/

Call me crazy, but don’t think the article would have even been written if K we’re coach. Of course would have been no need to since he wouldn’t have list two exhibitions and 1st round game😀.

[Steven43]

Call me crazy, but don’t think the article would have even been written if K we’re coach. Of course would have been no need to since he wouldn’t have list two exhibitions and 1st round game😀.

Well, that’s fine conjecture, but ultimately unprovable. And really, to what end is such conjecture? I don’t understand the point of it.

Are you hoping Coach K comes back to coach the Olympic team in 2024? I just don’t see where this type of speculation — about how Coach K would supposedly have done were he the current head coach of Team USA — could possibly be going.

Maybe I’m the dummy who is cluelessly missing the larger point. I’m not ruling that out, mind you. 😉

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Well, that’s fine conjecture, but ultimately unprovable. And really, to what end is such conjecture? I don’t understand the point of it.

Are you hoping Coach K comes back to coach the Olympic team in 2024? I just don’t see where this type of speculation — about how Coach K would supposedly have done were he the current head coach of Team USA — could possibly be going.

Maybe I’m the dummy who is cluelessly missing the larger point. I’m not ruling that out, mind you. 😉

Folks have some rose-tinted glasses regarding K and his abilities, I get that.

I'm not sure that K would have had much more success than Pop this year, given all the various complications and challenges.

[ice-9]

Well, that’s fine conjecture, but ultimately unprovable. And really, to what end is such conjecture? I don’t understand the point of it.

Are you hoping Coach K comes back to coach the Olympic team in 2024? I just don’t see where this type of speculation — about how Coach K would supposedly have done were he the current head coach of Team USA — could possibly be going.

Maybe I’m the dummy who is cluelessly missing the larger point. I’m not ruling that out, mind you. 😉

This is Duke Basketball Report, so I'm surprised you're surprised to read people putting K in a favorable light compared to Pop.

Second, there is good reason to beyond fandom and that is their simple wins and losses. There are track records and they mean something despite the different circumstances.

Third, while I'm sure K would also have struggled if he was coaching instead of Pop this year, we can speculate that K's strengths of motivation and adapting to the players are more ideal for a Team USA context. It's not like Pop only started coaching Team USA this year.

Fourth, this team has so much talent compared to other countries there's no excuse for losing other than poor performance, whatever you want to blame (players, coach, Colangelo, refs, covid, bad sushi).

Taken together, you are going to get a lot of takes that place K in a more favorable light compared to Pop.

If you haven't been so doggedly determined to defend Pop we might not have had much of a conversation here on DBR, so I'm glad you have been. But it's a minority opinion on DBR for a reason.

Maybe it would be different on Spurs Basketball Report.

[Steven43]

This is Duke Basketball Report, so I'm surprised you're surprised to read people putting K in a favorable light compared to Pop.

Second, there is good reason to beyond fandom and that is their simple wins and losses. There are track records and they mean something despite the different circumstances.

Third, while I'm sure K would also have struggled if he was coaching instead of Pop this year, we can speculate that K's strengths of motivation and adapting to the players are more ideal for a Team USA context. It's not like Pop only started coaching Team USA this year.

Fourth, this team has so much talent compared to other countries there's no excuse for losing other than poor performance, whatever you want to blame (players, coach, Colangelo, refs, covid, bad sushi).

Taken together, you are going to get a lot of takes that place K in a more favorable light compared to Pop.

If you haven't been so doggedly determined to defend Pop we might not have had much of a conversation here on DBR, so I'm glad you have been. But it's a minority opinion on DBR for a reason.

Maybe it would be different on Spurs Basketball Report.

First of all, it does not necessarily follow that the loudest voices or the greatest number of responses are proof of anything in particular. But even if they are, I have no quarrel with it.

And for the record, I never said I was surprised that quite a few DBR denizens are lauding K over Popovich. It’s not the least bit surprising, frankly.

Honestly, I’m not very much concerned about Olympic basketball. There’s just nothing else (besides the other Olympic events) going on. And I don’t count regular season MLB.

Anyway, carry on good sir! 😊

[SilkyJ]

Well, that’s fine conjecture, but ultimately unprovable. And really, to what end is such conjecture? I don’t understand the point of it.

Are you hoping Coach K comes back to coach the Olympic team in 2024? I just don’t see where this type of speculation — about how Coach K would supposedly have done were he the current head coach of Team USA — could possibly be going.

Maybe I’m the dummy who is cluelessly missing the larger point. I’m not ruling that out, mind you. ��

It’s a basketball board so we conjecture about all kinds of things. We’ll never know if Lebron’s Heat teams would have beaten Jordan’s Bulls, but we’ll talk about it til the end of time…its also the off season, so we’ll stretch even further to find things to talk about. But this topic isn’t a stretch. Comparing one coach to the previous coach is pretty stock stuff for a fan forum.

Folks have some rose-tinted glasses regarding K and his abilities, I get that.

I'm not sure that K would have had much more success than Pop this year, given all the various complications and challenges.

K’s 99% win % across half a dozen or so teams and a decade of competition (and by definition a variety of circumstances) would indicate otherwise. But yes, its conjecture and we’ll never know.

[Steven43]

It’s a basketball board so we conjecture about all kinds of things. We’ll never know if Lebron’s Heat teams would have beaten Jordan’s Bulls, but we’ll talk about it til the end of time…its also the off season, so we’ll stretch even further to find things to talk about. But this topic isn’t a stretch. Comparing one coach to the previous coach is pretty stock stuff for a fan forum.

Under normal circumstances comparing a Team USA basketball coach to his immediate predecessor would not necessarily be a big stretch. But after the incalculable catastrophe that has happened to the world over the past 18 months that type of comparison is simply unfair and could not possibly yield useful and credible results.

The circumstances leading up to this Olympic games were possibly the most disruptive worldwide as anything that has occurred since WWII. To not factor this into what we are now seeing with Team USA seems shortsighted. That’s all I’m trying to say, really.

I think circumstances leading up to this Olympics were so much more challenging than anything Coach K and everyone associated with Team USA in 2006-2016 had to deal with. Due to the pandemic the world is just different now. Maybe by the time the Olympics of 2024 come some sense of normalcy will have returned. Maybe.

[hustleplays]

It’s a basketball board so we conjecture about all kinds of things. We’ll never know if Lebron’s Heat teams would have beaten Jordan’s Bulls, but we’ll talk about it til the end of time…its also the off season, so we’ll stretch even further to find things to talk about. But this topic isn’t a stretch. Comparing one coach to the previous coach is pretty stock stuff for a fan forum.


K’s 99% win % across half a dozen or so teams and a decade of competition (and by definition a variety of circumstances) would indicate otherwise. But yes, its conjecture and we’ll never know.

I know that we cannot know how well Coach K would have done this year. The team composition might have been different and he might have used his team differently. As for me, I am impressed by Coach K's stats over the years, as SilkyJ notes. That is a huge body of work with many specific challenges successfully met by Coach K, his staff and his players.

As someone who follows Coach K closely, because I'm a Duke basketball fan and also a leadership development guy, I sometimes get frustrated with his X's & O's, use of his bench, his griping about his young, smallish players getting "knocked back," etc. [I'm stopping there, mods!] but these are small potatoes complaints compared to the man's genius at motivating players and creating team spirit and cohesion.

I have inserted a video clip from Blue Planet featuring former players, including his Olympics players, talking about their experience with Coach K, what he continues to mean to them. I've watched this clip numerous times and each time I am struck by how utterly honest and authentic he is with his players, how he builds a rock solid foundation of trust. How he has this knack for connecting with individual players and bringing out their best -- even in NBA players. How his players know that Coach K genuinely cares for them and about them, as human beings not just as players. This is his foundation for bringing out the best in college and NBA players.

I don't present this video as an answer to the debate as to whether Coach K would have done better. We just don't know. But I share the video as food for thought. Coach K might have done better, and, if so, this video helps us understand why he might have. I also offer this video because it brings me joy to see what a great leader can mean to so many people, how he can bring out the best in so many of us. I hope that you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/wTmILdzOxYw

[camion]

Under normal circumstances comparing a Team USA basketball coach to his immediate predecessor would not necessarily be a big stretch. But after the incalculable catastrophe that has happened to the world over the past 18 months that type of comparison is simply unfair and could not possibly yield useful and credible results.

The circumstances leading up to this Olympic games were possibly the most disruptive worldwide as anything that has occurred since WWII. To not factor this into what we are now seeing with Team USA seems shortsighted. That’s all I’m trying to say, really.

I think circumstances leading up to this Olympics were so much more challenging than anything Coach K and everyone associated with Team USA in 2006-2016 had to deal with. Due to the pandemic the world is just different now. Maybe by the time the Olympics of 2024 come some sense of normalcy will have returned. Maybe.

I would agree that the circumstances have been extraordinary, but the USA isn’t the only country to endure extraordinary circumstances. Do you have any thoughts on why the US team would be more seriously affected than teams from other countries?

[gep]

Under normal circumstances comparing a Team USA basketball coach to his immediate predecessor would not necessarily be a big stretch. But after the incalculable catastrophe that has happened to the world over the past 18 months that type of comparison is simply unfair and could not possibly yield useful and credible results.

The circumstances leading up to this Olympic games were possibly the most disruptive worldwide as anything that has occurred since WWII. To not factor this into what we are now seeing with Team USA seems shortsighted. That’s all I’m trying to say, really.

I think circumstances leading up to this Olympics were so much more challenging than anything Coach K and everyone associated with Team USA in 2006-2016 had to deal with. Due to the pandemic the world is just different now. Maybe by the time the Olympics of 2024 come some sense of normalcy will have returned. Maybe.

And... he had to deal with this at Duke last season... and he did have challenges. And not making the NCAAT... that has got to emphasize the challenges from COVID-19.

[Steven43]

I would agree that the circumstances have been extraordinary, but the USA isn’t the only country to endure extraordinary circumstances. Do you have any thoughts on why the US team would be more seriously affected than teams from other countries?

To be clear I did not say the US team has been more seriously affected than other teams. I would think all of the teams have been similarly affected. To that end I am confident that much like Team USA, many of the other national teams are currently considered by their countrymen and sports journalists to be underperforming relative to what they were thought to have been and/or to how they performed in 2016. And some are doing better than perhaps they were expected to do. There’s not necessarily any particular rhyme or reason to it.

At the end of the day there’s only one gold medal, one winner. Every other country will have lost. Perhaps it will turn out to be the case that the gold medal-winning team will have been the one who had the most experience together prior to the pandemic and who weathered said pandemic — and the resultant adversity that came with it — just a bit better than did all the others. Maybe we’ll have more answers when it’s all said and done. Maybe we won’t.

[Steven43]

And... he had to deal with this at Duke last season... and he did have challenges. And not making the NCAAT... that has got to emphasize the challenges from COVID-19.

Good point. I don’t think it was a coincidence that last year was almost certainly Coach K’s most challenging season ever. The pandemic has just wreaked havoc with everything, though not necessarily in a predictable fashion.

[Steven43]

I don't present this video as an answer to the debate as to whether Coach K would have done better. We just don't know. But I share the video as food for thought. Coach K might have done better, and, if so, this video helps us understand why he might have. I also offer this video because it brings me joy to see what a great leader can mean to so many people, how he can bring out the best in so many of us. I hope that you enjoy it.

https://youtu.be/wTmILdzOxYw

That video gave me chills. Thank you for posting it. 👍🏻

I only wish there had been some video of Coach Scheyer presenting some of his thoughts. Oh, and do you know which player was speaking at the end?