LeBron will be there. Team LeBron, actually. Heck, one of the media outlets covering the NBA playoffs was LeBronJames.com.
D-Wade will be there, and he’ll be stylin’, no doubt. Brand Wade with the slick fedora.
Team Hinrich? Brand Kirk?
“My clothes?” Kirk Hinrich stifled a laugh.
The Bulls guard, who recently was added to the USA Basketball national team that will compete in the world championships next month in Japan, is “probably the worst-dressed guy in the league,” he said.
A Hinrich outfit?
“Probably jeans, a T-shirt, gym shoes and a baseball cap,” he said.
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Maybe Hinrich doesn’t become a national endorser or a Q-rating king by being part of the U.S. effort to reclaim its international basketball prestige. But when USA Basketball opens its training camp Wednesday in Las Vegas for what it’s calling its first national team, Hinrich figures to be a key figure in the U.S. strategy to strike gold in the 2008 Olympics.
“He’s one of the really fine players in the NBA,” USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “Kirk can really play defense. He’s one of the better defenders in the league on and off the ball. Secondly, he can knock down a long shot. Third, he’s a guy other guys really like to play with.
“He’s the kind of player who if he took two shots in a game he’s fine, or if he needs to take 10 or 12 shots. He just wants to win.”
This is not to say the United States is going to win a gold medal this summer or in 2008 just because Hinrich is playing for the U.S. team, though team director Jerry Colangelo, in discussing the makeup of the team after the disappointing 2004 Olympics, said Hinrich was among those most strongly recommended for the three-year commitment.
The 2004 Olympic team was 5-3 and won a bronze medal. The problem: There weren’t enough egos left at the door and there wasn’t enough sweat left on the floor. It was a dysfunctional team; top scorers Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury weren’t invited to join this time. Their relationship with Larry Brown’s coaching staff was so poor it was suggested the two guards be sent home before the team departed for Athens.
And by the time the team landed in Greece, it was mostly a passive, disinterested group.
The U.S. team was second in scoring at 88.1 points per game, but ninth in points allowed at 83.5. The great U.S. athletes were 10th in field-goal defense, allowing 48.1 percent shooting, and 12th in three-point defense at 44.1 percent. Meanwhile, those same great talents were 10th in three-point shooting (31.4 percent) and seventh in overall shooting.
So when Krzyzewski was named coach, his priorities were defense, teamwork and chemistry. Krzyzewski was an assistant for the 1992 Dream Team, and he saw cooperation among some of the biggest stars in the game’s history. They also played defense, even though the international teams were overmatched back then.
Initially, 20 players will participate this summer, with Kobe Bryant, Michael Redd, Chauncey Billups, Lamar Odom, Paul Pierce and perhaps Amare Stoudemire on the team but unable to participate because of injuries or personal reasons. Fifteen players will travel overseas after an exhibition Aug. 3 in Las Vegas, and a final group of 12 will play in the world championships.
All 20 will be back under consideration for the 2008 Olympic team in Beijing.
“This is USA basketball,” Krzyzewski said in a conference call with reporters. “This is a team that has to share the ball and share responsibility. It’s good to look at everyone as a role player. In 1992 they had Michael [Jordan] in his prime, but other great players played a role. They all played defense and were unselfish.”
That’s why a player like Hinrich was so important to the current team. He defends, he can make a three-pointer, he runs a team and he shares the ball. And, getting ready for international referees, he’s accustomed to not getting foul calls.
It’s one reason Colangelo went back to Hinrich after Hinrich initially declined to participate, though Hinrich is not yet guaranteed a place among the final 12 for this summer.
“I’m really looking forward to this,” he said before leaving for Las Vegas without an entourage . . . without anyone or anything, really, but his bag of T-shirts.
“I’m trying to make more of a name for myself and earn more respect around the league and the country,” Hinrich said. “This helps me and the Bulls organization. You’ll have me and you’ll have Noce (Andres Nocioni) playing for Argentina. It helps put the franchise on the map again, and getting a chance to represent your country is an honor, something you don’t know if you’ll ever have a chance to do. I’m excited to play with this group, to play for Coach K.
“Hopefully,” he added with a laugh, “we can play Argentina and Noce and see why opponents hate him so much.”
Argentina is the defending Olympic gold medalist and features a tough, unselfish team that’s committed and unified.
“From 1992 until last July,” Hinrich said, “everyone thought the U.S. was invincible. There will be pressure and it’s a challenge, but I’m excited about getting a chance to help put U.S. basketball back on top.”
He also could make a statement about the Bulls and where the franchise is going.
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