All You Can Be

I’m not exactly sure what this video (courtesy of USA Basketball) is supposed to be. It’s part documentary, part propaganda film, part highlight reel, and part bare-bones press conference coverage. Still, Mike Krzyzewski’s emphasis on continuity needs to be heard. K’s appraisal of the natural advantages afforded other national teams is more significant than most NBA fans realize. Whereas previous incarnations of Team USA were able to overwhelm opponents with their talent (and sometimes their preparation), this year’s team will hardly be so overtly dominant.

Kevin Durant aside, Team USA lacks the elite talent necessary to walk over their more formidable opponents. That makes chemistry and familiarity more important than ever, both for the Americans and every other team in contention. If Team USA can’t gel on both sides of the ball before the elimination rounds begin, they’ll be extremely vulnerable against squads like Spain, Brazil, Greece, and Argentina. Continuity was the goal of Krzyzewski’s USA Basketball endeavor, but this year’s crop speaks to the program’s failure in that regard. Krzyzewski and Colangelo’s vision never involved walking into the FIBA World Championships with a slew of odd-fitting parts boasting a minimal amount of international experience, but circumstance trumped commitment, and the Americans will have to make do.

EDIT, 8/12: Trez Kerbz had a chance to interview Krzyzewski for Ball Don’t Lie, and this particular quote from K ties into a familiar theme:

TK: How do you prepare differently in college and when you’re over in Turkey playing a ton of games in just a few weeks?

MK: The biggest difference is that we’re not a team yet. You know, when I’m preparing my Duke team, we have a lot more time that by the time we play in the NCAA tournament, we’ve had a lot of time. Here, we’ve just had our fifth practice. At our first one, somebody asked me last week when I was at an event, they said, “how long has your team been put together?” I said, “four days.” So that’s not a lot of time. Where as, some of the other countries have this continuity with guys playing together all the time. That’s the biggest obstacle we face, is the continuity that another country might have with their unit.