LeBron James: Handballer, High Jumper, Gymnast?

If you’ve been paying any attention to handball, you probably know that America is terrible. That probably shouldn’t surprise you; if you’re like me, you barely knew about the sport before the Olympics started. But if you actually watch the sport, it immediately becomes clear that America should dominate. It involves a lot of running, throwing, dribbling, passing and everything else that America loves and is really good at. What’s even more surprising is the fact that the USSR won more gold medals in the event than anyone else. At the very least, you would think that Richard Nixon would feel that national security was being threatened and personally handpick his own team.

(fnt-usa.org)

Anyway, while I was watching the sport the other day, I couldn’t stop thinking about how great the U.S. basketball team would fair at the sport. It wouldn’t even be hard — they would probably only need three or four practices to learn the game and be great at it. LeBron James seems to be specifically tailor made for this game, but that’s mostly because he is such an insane athlete, and you could put him in almost any Olympic event and he could compete. So just for fun, I decided to speculate on how LeBron and the rest of Team USA would compete in other events.

Beach Volleyball

This is a sport where tall guys with long wingspans can excel. The movements aren’t that dissimilar to basketball so it wouldn’t take long to pick up. While watching the American men play volleyball, I couldn’t help but think that Anthony Davis would completely dominate the game. Don’t get me wrong: the thought of having The 'Brow represent America like a foreign diplomat scares me, but shot blockers are really important in the game. Miraculously, while I was writing this piece, I found a video which might prove my theory right, if someone would teach Kevin Durant the rules.

Swimming

Again, this is a sport where long wingspans can give athletes a huge advantage. I don’t know how good Team USA is at swimming, but I think they could pick it up with time. The only exception would be James Harden, whose beard would cause way to much drag in the pool.

100m Dash

I doubt LeBron could ever medal, but if there was a heavyweight division (and who wouldn’t want to see 250 lb. guys racing each other?) I would expect him to take the gold.

High Jump

Again, he might not be one of the best in the world, but if you add a heavyweight division (which might be even more entertaining than big guys running), I expect another gold for LBJ.

Gymnastics

This would take LeBron a lot longer to train for than the rest of the competitions, but if he wanted to, I doubt anyone could stop him. He’s a great jumper, which would help on the floor routine, and has great upper body strength for the rings.


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Don't Confuse Team USA's Great Performance with Running Up the Score

Team USA was accused of running up the score in a 156-73 win against Nigeria (Bleacher Report)

Lopsided was an understatement.

It was domination, a clinic or whatever colorful phrase you wish to call it.

The USA basketball team defeated Nigeria 156-73 in the fourth game of pool play, which some called unsportsmanlike. Team USA was accused of running up the score, embarrassing their opponent. When the U.S. began to run away from Argentina, ultimately winning 126-97 in the final game of pool play, Argentina showed their anger in the form of cheap fouls.

This topic is popular mainly in high school and college sports. Overmatched teams getting overrun until the final whistle saves them from the torture.

But in the Olympics?

These are the world’s best athletes who have earned the rights to be there. For some it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and for a lucky few, they will return with multiple chances for gold.

The Olympics ask for the best of the athletes competing. This competition isn’t for those who don’t give their full effort. Olympic and world records hang over athletes like pinatas, waiting to be broken. With the 156-73 stomping of Nigeria, Team USA broke the Olympic record for points in a game, win margin, 3-point shots made in a game and, individually, Carmelo Anthony scored the most points in an Olympic game by an American. Yes, it was a night to forget for Nigeria, but isn’t that the kind of performance we want to see from Team USA?

This wasn’t running up the score. It was a just a good game where every player was on. Team USA wasn’t running a full-court press, trying to steal every pass and get easy fast-break points. They were shooting 3s and long 2-point shots, which were supposed to be lower-percentage shots, but they just happened to go in. Was Anthony Davis just not supposed to dunk when he was on the receiving end of multiple wide-open alley-oops? Was Anthony supposed to aim his open 3s at side of the backboard? The Americans shot 71 percent from the field and 63 percent from 3-point range. It was just their night.  

Michael Phelps doesn’t slow down from world-record pace just because the swimmer in second is 50m behind. Usain Bolt doesn’t care how far back his fellow racers are, and has even been known to turn around before the finish line to taunt his competition. That’s what we love. We love watching great athletes do great things.

The opposite end of the topic includes the news of the Olympic badminton scandal, where teams were losing on purpose to get a better seeding. Kids are taught to do their best and try their hardest, and it is disappointing to the fans and opposing team to know a team won only because the competition blew the game on purpose. So couldn’t this be worse? Should we be worried about a team breaking an Olympic record when teams are showing much less sportsmanship and class by throwing matches?

I understand the Olympics continue to push sportsmanship and integrity in the sporting events, which it should. But sportsmanship wasn’t in question with Team USA. Maybe the USA was running up the score if Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant would have played the entire game, but LeBron and Kobe played just 11 minutes a piece, a no starter played more than Chris Paul's 22 minutes.

Why wouldn’t this team want to break an Olympic record when given the chance, not knowing if that opportunity will again become available? Team USA wasn’t taunting or keeping starters in the game. The USA didn’t pressure on defense or try to draw fouls. They simply made shots, which they should not be faulted for.

Team USA just happened to have a great game where every shot was going in. Let’s not blame them for this as if it is a bad thing, because I know viewers around the world enjoyed watching the performance, and instead appreciate the spectacle that no other team in Olympic history has accomplished.


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Keep an Eye on Alexey Shved in the Olympics

Stateside, Alexey Shved is not yet a known quantity, but the Russian guard has averaged 15 points, 9.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds through two contests in this year's Olympic games, posting 16 points and 13 assists as his national team dominated Great Britain 95-65.

Alexey Shved cannot bother with your defense. (iamagm.com)

It is a small sample size, but something NBA fans would be wise to note. Shved is making the move from CSKA Moscow, Russia's premier basketball club, to the Minnesota Timberwolves when NBA action begins this fall.

At 6’6”, Shved has optimal height to play at either guard spot, though Ricky Rubio (assuming he fully recovers from the torn ACL he suffered last season) is entrenched as the Wolves’ starting point guard. That actually plays to the team’s advantage, since Shved plays mostly as a shooting guard, an unsettled position for the team in recent years. After shipping Wesley Johnson to thedesert, Minnesota is left with Malcolm Lee and the recently acquired, maybe-never-retired Brandon Roy to compete for the position.

A Washington Post profile mentioned general manager David Kahn’s intent to ease the 23 year old into NBA action, meaning Shved will learn from the bench. But Lee is not a starting-caliber player and head coach Rick Adelman will have to carefully manage Roy’s minutes due to his knee issues. So the possibility exists that Shved could make his way into the starting lineup in 2012-2013, much as Rubio began last season as a backup.

With starter’s minutes in Euroleague and CSKA play last season, Shved averaged 10.7 points and 3.1 assists per contest. With the T-Wolves, he’ll need to manage his turnovers (1.7 per game) and, ideally, make better shot selection from long range (40.6 percent from three) to earn the number of touches he’s seen in other leagues.

His weight could be another issue, with the WaPo profile pegging him at a rail-thin 160 pounds, while past measurements have put him in the 190-pound range.

That is the purpose of a simple entrance to pro basketball in America, though. Having gone undrafted two years ago, Shved improved his stock by patiently playing in his home country and showing up big in international contests. He is now set to join a playoff hopeful and could make sizable contributions for the Timberwolves. First, though, Shved is going to make all the noise he can for Russia in the Olympics.


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NBA, Players Need To Put Greed Aside And Stay With Olympics

(ibtimes.com)

By far the most popular athletes on the most popular team in the 2012 Olympics may not be back in four years.


It would be another example of greed and money ruling sports, and it would be a shame.


Pride has been restored to the USA Olympic Basketball team, where the game’s biggest superstars now care about winning gold again and are so dominant the task looks relatively easy. But Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wonders why the NBA is letting the Olympics make a huge profit while using its athletes. Instead, Cuban suggested making Team USA a 23-and-under club again for the Olympics, while the NBA makes more money forming a “World Cup”-caliber tournament with their best players representing the U.S.


Cuban’s idea is based on the notion that this new “Basketball World Cup” will be wildly successful, because, after all, this is about money. Soccer’s World Cup is much more popular than Olympic soccer, but it also is a sport much older and established than basketball, with the most fans worldwide. This wouldn’t happen with a basketball tournament overnight. It would take years before the tournament built up enough viewership and credibility to make it worthwhile, even with the world’s greatest player. Plus, it would probably be a tournament held every four years, yet you wouldn’t want to compete in Olympic or soccer’s World Cup years, when the audience already has a love affair on TV.


Just look at the 2010 FIBA World Championships. Team USA consisted of NBA giants* Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala and so on, yet that worldwide basketball tournament is miles behind the coverage and attention of Olympic basketball this year. I haven’t heard players pass on the chance for an Olympic gold medal to rest and possibly win a FIBA World Championship trophy. It just doesn’t compare.


Having Team USA comprised of NBA stars is good for the Olympics and it is good for the sport. As I mentioned in a previous column on the Dream Team, having the best players at the Olympics can only strengthen the game internationally as more people watch how great the sport can be.


You already have the spotlight on the world’s biggest sporting stage, so why leave? For a little more cash? The NBA already has a stigma as being a greedy league, so instead take one month of every four years to put pride in your country and your sport ahead of your love of money.

* Giants now, not necessarily then. 


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NBA's 2012-13 Schedule Released Thursday

Dwight Howard prefers Jameer Nelson to the Magic's 2012-13 point guard. (Zach McCann/Orlando Sentinel)

The NBA released a schedule for the 2012-2013 season on Thursday. A full schedule; not a 66-game imposter. Old rivalries will continue to simmer, new jerseys (not New Jersey; that no longer exists in the NBA) will be donned, and new storylines will overtake Orlando's Dwightmare (eventually).

As usual, the Christmas Day docket is must-watch material, and opening night will feel like seeing an old friend who moved to warmer climates. Plenty of people have already analyzed the schedule, and Eric Freeman highlighted 10 under-the-radar games that should be fun to watch. Get your fill of reading "vs." and "at" while you can because Association-branded basketball returns in 94 days.


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Dream Team vs. 2012 - Dream Team's Existence What Matters

2012 Olympic team vs. '92 Dream Team (Chicagonow.com)

The wait is over for the 2012 Olympic games, and no storyline out of the USA camp has been bigger than that of the USA basketball team.

It’s not because they’ve really been questioned by an opponent so far, but because this year happens to mark the 20th anniversary of a certain other USA basketball team that changed the way the Americans approached the Olympics.

It seems like a never-ending topic; who is better, the 2012 squad or the 1992 Dream Team? But caution; the 2012 team hasn’t won anything yet, and unless they bring home the gold medal, this debate is pointless.

The Dream Team - which will always be in reference to ‘92 - was made up of veteran players, many of whom had already put up hall-of-fame careers. The youngest player on the team (minus the one college player, Christian Laettner) was Scottie Pippen at the fresh age of 26, while five players were over 30 and four more were pushing it at 29. The 2012 squad includes much younger talent, with Kobe Bryant the only player over 30. It’s easy to assume there are several future HOFers in this group, but right now they are still writing their futures. This team could still be better in the future.

The competition also has to be considered. International basketball has grown substantially over the past 20 years. From 1992-2012, the number of foreign-born players who are playing in the NBA has tripled. While the Americans are still the outright favorite to win gold, the playing field is much more difficult than it was 20 years ago. The rest of the world is accepting and loving basketball, and the world talent continues to rise. This is not to say the Dream Team would have struggled playing against current world teams, but teams such as Spain and Argentina are much better than they were two decades ago.

The truth is it’s not important which team is better. What is important and what makes the Dream Team so special is 1992 marked a turning point in basketball around the world. The idea that the game’s best players should replace collegiate athletes and play on one of the world’s greatest stages was monumental. This had to affect how the world viewed the game, as international fans watched all-time greats put on a show of pure mastery. They saw basketball at its most elite, and then it just so happened that more international players worked their way to the NBA.

Without the Dream Team, the 2012 team wouldn’t exist. Players would still want their summers to relax and recover, looking at the Olympics as an obligation instead of an honor. Collegiate players would still compete well, but the game’s best would be watching from couches. The Dream Team wasn’t just about winning gold, it was competitors and rivals coming together, and putting differences aside, to take pride in America.

So while you watch the USA throughout the Olympics, remember that it doesn’t matter if the Dream Team is better. Just be glad the Dream Team happened. 


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Andrew Wiggins is a Youngster to Know

Andrew Wiggins sees something he likes. (Sholten Singer/Huntington Herald-Dispatch)

There’s no way to nail down whether or not a marvelous college basketball career will translate into a productive professional term. Adam Morrison – he of numerous award nominations and wins during his time at Gonzaga – is proof enough of that. Sure, he coasted through two title runs with the Los Angeles Lakers, but Morrison just finished toiling in summer league and, in all likelihood, will not play a minute in the NBA this upcoming season – significant or not.

Likewise, college recruiters lack a definitive deductive method to find the next Naismith or Wooden Award winner. But considering the summer that Andrew Wiggins is having, it’s worth knowing his name, at least.

The latest addition to the class of 2014 representative’s ledger is a strong showing at Nike’s Peach Jam. Facing some of the toughest prep-level competitors in the country, Wiggins averaged 8.9 rebounds and 21.9 points on 47.8 percent shooting while leading his AAU team, CIA Bounce, to a second-place finish.

In the tournament championship, Wiggins outkicked his averaged and went off for 28 points with 13 rebounds. If the numbers alone aren’t impressive, the Canadian small forward – who plays school ball for West Virginia’s Huntington Prep – did the work against Julius Randle, the No. 2 ranked player in the class of 2013. At 6’8”, 235 lbs, Randle has half an inch and 35 pounds on Wiggins. His size wasn’t an advantage on either end of the floor, as Wiggins also bothered him defensively.

Basketball runs in the Wiggins family. Andrew’s father, Mitch, logged six years in the NBA and has gone on record saying Andrew can’t hold court with his older brothers (Mitch Wiggins, Jr. played at Hillsborough Community College and Nick Wiggins will be a Wichita State Shocker this fall, after two solid years at Wabash Valley (Ill.) College).

Sibling rivalry and paternal direction certainly have places in Andrew Wiggins’ story. ESPN has the rising junior pegged as the No. 1 player in his class, and Jeff Borzello of CBS Sports already has Andrew slated to be the top overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Still, he's entering his third year of high school and has more to learn. His foul on a three-point shooter with 1.9 seconds left essentially lost his team the Peach Jam title.

He’s quick, athletic, and hyped – but with so much uncertainty, a couple highlight reels are all Andrew Wiggins has to his name right now.


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