OT:TEAM USA

BassMaster · Post #1 » by **BassMaster** » Mon Jun 2, 2008 5:50 pm

Team USA is going to be very busy this summer. I wish them all of the best.

I hope that Dwight is going to get the time to work on his game (free throws).
Here is the article plus it shows they are going to be playing a lot of games before Beijing

http://www.suathletics.com/News/basketb ... th=mbasket

Post #2 » by **craig01** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 7:15 pm

Howard is better off not playing.

He'd be better served spending his summers in Pete Newell's camp instead.

JMO

MagicFan149 · Post #3 » by **MagicFan149** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 7:20 pm

^ i dont know about that craig.... you dont feel that having the opportunity to play with the best in the world helps him develop more than newells camp?? and i dont know if its a skills thing that he gaines from playing with team usa but its actually a mental thing that he learns from kobe lebron cp3 and the rest of them... he learns what it takes mentally to become a dominant player...

Magic.City.23. · Post #4 » by **Magic.City.23.** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 7:34 pm

craig01 wrote:Howard is better off not playing.

He'd be better served spending his summers in Pete Newell's camp instead.

JMO

He is better off going to some little camp then playing in the World Olympics?? Wow, some people actually are crazy.

MagicFan149 · Post #5 » by **MagicFan149** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 7:38 pm

Magic.City.23. wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

He is better off going to some little camp then playing in the World Olympics?? Wow, some people actually are crazy.

what i think that craig is saying at the camp he could work on specific things like foot work and passing out of double teams and ft's.... it would be a lot more one on one and big man specific training... with team usa dwight is not the 1st option so they are not going to spend weeks working on his post offense.... which in reality is what we need him to work on... but i think he needs to equally work on his mental toughness also which is what playing with team usa helps... both would have thier positives but at this point in his career and the state of usa basketball i think he would be better served on team usa

sportsrock37 · Post #6 » by **sportsrock37** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 7:41 pm

He will help learn how guys like Kobe lead a team on top of playing with the best players in the world.

BassMaster · Post #7 » by **BassMaster** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 9:23 pm

sportsrock37 wrote:He will help learn how guys like Kobe lead a team on top of playing with the best players in the world.

But will he learn how to improve shooting his free throws while under pressure and will he learn to handle the double teams where he has either turned the ball over or gotten aggressive and ended up picking up a foul. Since he is only 22 this will not be his last chance to go for the gold.
So what is more important improving his own game which helps his team as in the Magic and also helps him the next time the US battle for the gold.

Post #8 » by **craig01** » Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:02 pm

Magic.City.23. wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

He is better off going to some little camp then playing in the World Olympics?? Wow, some people actually are crazy.

In Howard's case, absolutely.

The areas of improvement necessary will not happen if he spends most of the summer playing in international games, with most of his competition succumbing to non competitiveness.

Check out the Pete Newell camp before you label someone carelessly. A couple of summers there would benefit Howard immeasurably.

BTW- it is not regarded as a little camp, but rather as the most revered "big man" camp that there is. Ask Bill Walton.

macdalejax · Post #9 » by **macdalejax** » Wed Jun 4, 2008 12:16 am

Come on guys, this is the Olympics we're talking about. The honor of playing for the gold and representing your entire nation and it only comes around every 4 years. People spend their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete in the Olympics and we are taking it for granted. Its an honor to be on this team. As far as this summer goes, it is more important than the NBA or the Orlando Magic. Big Man Camp is a great thing and certainly something he needs but it would be crazy for him to sacrifice this prestigious opportunity for it.

Post #10 » by **craig01** » Wed Jun 4, 2008 2:47 am

Agreed, the Olympics is important to many.

And even basketball has reached an Olympic level that is sometimes interesting.

But, IMO, Howard would have been better served in the long run by having his game refined in the summer, rather than playing games as largely a second thought on the team that he is playing on.

I think that Howard should and would be farther along if he had skipped the summer theatrics.

There will be plenty more Olympics to compete in, but he can only begin to develop once.

So why keep delaying it?