Bryan Colangelo visits House of Basketball

MIES - Basketball and building successful programs is in the blood of the Colangelo family. Both father, Jerry, and son, Bryan, have demonstrated that in the NBA where on multiple occasions each was named as the Executive of the Year.

Both have an appreciation for international basketball.

Jerry Colangelo has, since 2005, put his heart, soul and business nous into making USA Basketball's senior men's team a huge success and a source of pride for the players, coaches and the country as a whole.

Bryan Colangelo signed numerous players from overseas first as the General Manager of the Phoenix Suns and later in the same role with the Toronto Raptors. His teams were very competitive and much of that was owed to the players born outside the United States, or players that had honed their skills on the hardwood in other countries.

Bryan visited FIBA at the House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland on Tuesday and recalled his early days with the Raptors.

I got an opportunity to take a really bad team and make it better and interestingly, the players that made the biggest impact for us that first year were probably (Jorge) Garbajosa from Spain - he was just terrific - and (American) Anthony Parker, who had played and made a reputation for himself as a player at Maccabi Tel Aviv. People viewed him as an international player more so than an American player. - Colangelo

Bryan Colangelo always felt that overseas players brought something different to teams in the NBA. There have been numerous success stories, including three of the most famous: Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France), Pau Gasol (Spain) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina).

A number of guys have worked out really well. They're really good basketball players. They know the systems. That's something you find with the international players. - Colangelo

The overseas players helped drive home the message that basketball is a team game.

"They were used to playing in a system as opposed to just being an individual and that was one of the problems that became an issue in the States - too many individuals and not enough team basketball," Colangelo said. "And now you see what's happening say at Golden State. There are individuals but they're playing as a team and that's the key."

The Golden State Warriors, a team that has USA national team stars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala, and Australia center Andrew Bogut, won the NBA title last season and have reeled off 23 consecutive wins to start 2015-16 campaign. The San Antonio Spurs were hailed for their commitment to team play two seasons ago when they won their fifth NBA title and they had numerous international players.

"San Antonio's the obvious example, historically, Gregg Popovich and RC Buford do a great job with that," Colangelo said, "and also, look at the international concept there. It's woven into the players' mindset, their personality, their understanding of the game of basketball so to me, it makes perfect sense and now, the talent and the athleticism is matching and rivaling the NBA players from the States so you get actually a more complete player when you draft (an international)."

Colangelo says there is a problem that has arisen when it comes to adding players from overseas.

"Unfortunately, we've picked clean too many young players and we're getting them now where they are not fully developed basketball wise, or physically," he said. "There are expectations on them and sometimes those expectations don't pan out.

"(But) It is definitely something that when you get a player that's been trained and seasoned in the game of basketball in Europe and now that the athleticism, the entire mindset of the European player coming over, it's a nice fit for where the game has gone in the NBA."

Colangelo has fond memories of working with international players. When he was the Suns GM 11 years ago, he made Yuta Tabuse Japan's first NBA player.

He (Yuta Tabuse) had more of a media following and entourage than any player I've ever seen. At every practice, there were 10 (Japanese) reporters that were just there for Yuta Tabuse. They were there tracking training camp, tracking every day practices. - Colangelo

Colangelo laughed and said: "Eventually when he left, we had a little more space in our media room. It was a trail blazing move, at least for Japan."

He is full of admiration when it comes to the mindset and success his father has brought to USA Basketball. The Americans have captured gold at the last two Olympic Games and finished first at the last two FIBA Basketball World Cups.

"When my father was in position to take it over and change the approach of putting the team together, what he did was change the culture, the thinking for the program and it's an ongoing commitment now with the younger players that are part of this process, that are keeping a development system, if you will, and having them graduate to the senior team," Colangelo said.

Many an aspiring senior team player took part in the USA Basketball Showcase this summer and will have all have an opportunity to play at a FIBA Basketball World Cup or Olympics in the future. Colangelo has also had involvement in USA Basketball but that was before the arrival of his father.

He parted company with the Raptors after the 2012-13 campaign.

"I'm in a little bit of a period of freelance," he said. "I'm doing some consulting and various things for various projects. I'm waiting for the next opportunity but looking for a couple of things to play out in the (NBA) owners venue, putting a group together that unfortunately came in second place in bidding for the Atlanta Hawks. We're out continuing to look for an opportunity to try and acquire a team. That's on the horizon, potentially. Just staying close to the game."

As for being on the old continent, he said: "I'm traveling around Europe to watch some practices, see some games and visit with coaches and management people, staying close and keeping on top of the draft prospects and making sure when that next opportunity comes, you're ready to go."

FIBA