Team USA Should Make Sure Oden Is in Beijing

As the United States national team holds scrimmages in preparation to set a roster for the Tournament of the Americas next month in Las Vegas, I'm encouraged on some counts and discouraged on others. But as long as fans keep expectations within reason, the upcoming tournament should be another step forward for the national team.

I'm encouraged by the relaxed business-as-usual tone to the team building. Yes, Team USA has won only one gold medal in World Championship and Olympic competition in the last 10 years, but their performance last year at the World Championships marked a considerable step up from the 2002 World Championship team and the Athens Olympic team, both of whom were repeatedly humbled by superior foreign teams. Last year's squad won eight of nine games, with the only defeat coming at the hands of a Greek team that shot the lights out in the semifinal round.

Yet I'm somewhat discouraged by the comments of Team USA Managing Director Jerry Colangelo about center Greg Oden's chances of playing on the Olympic team. The Portland Trail Blazers' rookie center currently projects to be the best center to hit the NBA in many years. However, worn down from both an immense amount of draft-related travel and an impending tonsillectomy, he bowed out of Summer League after only two games. To further his recovery and ensure his readiness for Trail Blazer training camp in September, Oden declined his invitation to join Team USA in Vegas this summer. Colangelo said that it would be difficult for someone who has missed consecutive competitions to be chosen for the Olympic team.

Yeah, right. I could see the tough talk if Oden were a small forward or shooting guard, of which the team has many, or if the rookie was taking time off to shop for luxury cars and a house in Portland. First of all, the team is relatively weak on pivot defenders. Tyson Chandler of the New Orleans Hornets is the only big-time shot blocker currently in the mix at the scrimmages and although his offense has improved, opponents will be able to play defense fiveon-four when Chandler is on the floor. At the State Farm USA Basketball Challenge last week in Las Vegas, (essentially a glorified scrimmage with a paid attendance of 15,000) there were only four blocked shots in the game, two by Chandler and two by LeBron James.

Shot blocking will be crucial to the American team. No matter how much is stressed about building a roster with lots of "glue" players like Shane Battier who don't fill in the stat sheet but excel at little things and play solid defense, the U.S. is still an all-star pickup team and will likely struggle at things like defending the pick and roll (a persistent problem a the World Championships last year). Having a shot blocker as the last line of defense at the rim will be crucial to Team USA's success. Oden blocked 105 shots in 925 minutes last season with Ohio State. Do the math on that and you'll see why Portland fans have had a smile stuck on their faces since wining the lottery. Oden's defensive skills are more valuable than having another superstar wing player like Kobe Bryant; they are what the national team needs to return to the gold-medal stand at the Olympics.

It's not as if Bryant's presence hurts, though. He's a vital addition especially in light of Dwyane Wade's absence due to off-season shoulder surgery. Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski have an attractive task ahead in choosing a roster from the guards Chauncey Billups, Kirk Hinrich, Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, and Bryant; forwards Michael Redd, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Tayshaun Prince, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Mike Miller, and Battier, and centers Amare Stoudemire and Chandler.

While I don't think any international competition can be taken for granted anymore, this Olympic qualifier should be a slam dunk for the Americans. Argentina is already guaranteed a spot in Beijing in 2008, so most of their top players will sit this one out. Also, although the Brazilians have played increasingly well in international competition, they shouldn't be able to match Team USA's firepower.

The key however, will be to manage expectations. The days of Dream Team walkovers are gone — long gone in fact. Basketball is a team game and a quintet of unknowns from some country not known for hoops will still pose a dangerous threat to a lineup with hundreds of millions of dollars in shoe cont racts if those unknowns play solid defense and shoot the rock well. That's the real lesson, not some failing in national character, to be learned from the recent struggles of the national basketball team. The 2006 edition of Team USA went a long way toward getting America back on the gold-medal stand, and no matter what happens next month in Vegas, as long as Oden is in the mix for Beijing, then more progress will be made next summer.

mjohnson@nysun.com