Putting the 'team' in Team USA

The United States of America is going to start taking international basketball tournaments seriously.

That's the clear message being sent by USA Basketball — after the embarrassment of just bringing home the bronze from the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece and a sixth-place finish in the FIBA World Championships in 2002 despite using NBA stars in both events.

Now, instead of just sending over a bunch of stars willing to give up a few weeks of their off-season, the USA will develop a "team" — like other countries do. Phoenix Suns executive Jerry Colangelo was put in charge of selecting a pool of players and he asked for a three-year commitment from each of the 23 men that were named last Sunday to the 2006-08 USA Men's Senior National Team.

"Looking at the results of USA Basketball over the last couple of competitions, it was pretty evident that a group of all-stars, although they could possibly win, find it difficult to do so when teams from around the world, who play together as long as they do, play the game the way it needs to be played on an international basis," Colangelo said in a media teleconference after the announcement. "So we set out to add players who fit job descriptions. We wanted a team not of individual stars but of athleticism, shooters, role players, distributors, all of the components that make a good team. Basketball is ultimately a team game."

While the three-year commitment scared off some stars like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal, in the end it will ensure that the team will, in fact, be able to play team basketball — and even some defense — instead of just being a bunch of individuals. In addition, Shaq has an "open invitation," according to Colangelo, to join the team at a later date if he so chooses.

The biggest name left off the list who really wanted to be there was Allen Iverson, the 76ers guard who was Team USA's leading scorer in Greece. Colangelo said the team needed distributors from the point guard position, not scorers, so Iverson didn't fit in.

Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be the head coach. He'll be assisted by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni and Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillian.