August 15, 200620 yr If you want to see the result of today's game against South Korea.... SEOUL, South Korea ? (AP) ? After a dominating win over South Korea, LeBron James and his teammates are in the right mind-set for the world championships. In a game that was decided in the first 10 minutes, James scored 23 points Tuesday to lead the United States to an emphatic 116-63 win over South Korea in a tuneup game for the world championships. "We were a little sluggish at first and I was able to pick up my energy level and the guys followed,'' James said. "We got better as the game went on and took care of business.'' With the win, the Americans improved to 5-0 in exhibition games leading up to the worlds, which begin later this week in Japan. U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said he was pleased with the progress the team has made since its first exhibition game against Puerto Rico on Aug 3, a game the Americans won by a score of 114-69. "We're proud of our team,'' said Krzyzewski. "We had two good games here in Korea and it's exciting the way we've played to get ready.'' Dwyane Wade and Elton Brand scored 16 points each and the United States also got a strong game from Carmelo Anthony, who scored 13. The Americans took control early, led by James. The Cleveland Cavaliers star hit a 3-pointer two minutes in, and then gave the United States an early 9-2 lead with an easy layup. Late in the first period, James' two-handed dunk made it 13-5 and the Americans finished the first quarter with a comfortable 22-13 lead. Wade gave the U.S. a 20-point lead midway through the second period when he broke through the Korean defense and finished with a two-handed jam. James, who had 19 points in the first half, stole the ball at center court and went in all alone for a dunk with 3:49 left in the second period as the U.S. widened its lead to 62-35 at the break. Despite the one-sided score, there was no letting up for James. In the third period, Wade made an alley-oop lob to James who saluted the crowd after yet another dunk made it 73-38. The U.S. took an 86-52 lead into the final period when Krzyzewski took the 6-foot-8 forward out. When introduced, the U.S. players got a huge ovation from the South Korean fans. Tuesday was a national holiday to mark the 61st anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula. Anthony, Shane Battier, Brand, Kirk Hinrich and Wade started for the U.S. team. After a visit to a U.S. military base Wednesday, the team will head to Sapporo, Japan, for its opening game of the championships on Saturday against Puerto Rico. The United States finished sixth at the worlds in 2002 and third in 1998. The last time the Americans won the tournament was 1994. In previous tournaments, the United States was criticized for not playing as a team. James doesn't see that as a problem with this team. "I didn't play for the team in 2002,'' James said. "I played on the Olympic team in 2004 and we didn't have the right mind-set. This team has the right mind-set to get the job done.'' The U.S. still must cut one of its players before the world championships. The roster was reduced to 13 when Gilbert Arenas strained his groin during practice Monday and was unable to compete for a spot on the 12-player roster. "We have to get down to 12 players before the worlds and that will be a tough decision,'' Krzyzewski said. yeah,it was brutal
August 15, 200620 yr Arenas is a decent loss. From what I've read it looks like Bowen will be the last man cut to get the roster down to 12. not really. arenas wasnt doing anything for this team, and shooting 20 some odd percent from the field. he was probably getting cut anyway. It leaves the team with only 2 point guards now. thats all they really need. arenas isnt really a point anyway. if you need a guy to fill in at point in the pinch you can always turn to wade. As much as I love Gilbert's game and shenanigans, I agree we can live without him. Sure it leaves us with just two pure points, them being Kirk Hinrich and Chris Paul, but if they need to go any deeper you could see sets involving Dwyane Wade at the point and even players like Joe Johnson and LeBron are probably capable of running the offense just as well.
August 17, 200620 yr SEOUL, South Korea -- Bruce Bowen was the final player cut from the U.S. basketball team, which begins play in the World Championships in Japan on Saturday. The final 12-man roster was announced Wednesday by USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski and included Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. When Bowen, who plays for San Antonio and is one of the top defensive players in the league, was selected to be part of the national team roster, Colangelo and Krzyzewski singled him out as the type of role player the U.S. squad had been lacking in recent poor international showings. But Bowen scored just four points while playing four of the five tuneup games and had been outplayed by Battier, another defensive-minded small forward who made the cut. After Gilbert Arenas dropped out with a strained groin earlier in the week, that all but assured a spot for Chicago's Hinrich because the team needed another point guard behind rookie of the year Paul. Bowen and Arenas remain part of the national team program and are still in the pool of players who will compete for spot on the 2008 Olympic team. "This has been a great process. It's difficult especially when you get down to the end because you get so attached to the last members of the team. Gilbert and Bruce are every bit a part of this team as the 12 others guys. It's just we can only go forward with 12," Krzyzewski said. The average age of the 12 U.S. players is 24? years old, with the 30-year-old Miller the oldest member of the team. Howard, at 20, is the youngest. LINK
August 17, 200620 yr Author I'm so happy Hinrich made it through all the cuts.. him and Paul are going to be great for this team with their unselfish type of play.
August 18, 200620 yr I'm so happy Hinrich made it through all the cuts.. him and Paul are going to be great for this team with their unselfish type of play. I couldn't agree more. This assures us that 48 minutes a game, we'll have an unselfish, pass-first play maker on the court. And the great thing is that there are several other ballhanders that could provide PG minutes should the need arise (James, Wade most notably)
August 19, 200620 yr Complete schedule and TV schedule: http://usabasketball.com/seniormen/2006/06_mwc_schedule.html
August 19, 200620 yr Anyone else pumped not just for International Basketball, but at the time it's on? I loved when the World Cup in 02 was in god awful hours like this.
August 19, 200620 yr I'm not too excited for the 6:30 AM games, I'll tell you that. I'll catch the elimination games at that hour, but not the preliminary round. I do remember enjoying that World Cup, though. It was summer...I rarely had anything to do, and the games were on at midnight, 2:30 AM, and 5:00 AM, or something like that. I watched a lot of those midnight and 2:30 games.
August 19, 200620 yr Tonight's game is at 1 AM, but the four other games in the prelim round are at 6:30 AM.
August 19, 200620 yr NBA TV rebroadcasts them Saturday Aftertoon, so you can just catch them then, and try to avoid the results.
August 19, 200620 yr Nice steal by Flash. Howard with some big ups there. Wade taking awful shots. Howard has a huge frame.
August 19, 200620 yr The US should be able to get better shots. We're losing at the end of one quarter.
August 19, 200620 yr PR leading 24-23 after 1. Come on boys! They are taking some pretty bad shots. The US is getting their asses handed to them. Coach K needs to stay with a consistent lineup for at least 6 or 7 minutes.
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