Different approach pays off with gold

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As he flew home from the Athens Olympics in 2004, USA Basketball executive director Jim Tooley was not looking forward to the mountain of e-mails he knew was waiting for him.

The trip had been a disaster. Not only had the USA failed to win the gold medal for the first time since 1988, but it had played poorly in the process. The messages in USA Basketball's in-box only reinforced what Tooley already knew: Change was in order.

"The team's performance was very sobering," Tooley said. "We got knocked down a peg, and people cared. That had an impact on us. We knew we had to get the ship righted."

While USA Basketball won't face its first major test until next month at the FIBA World Championship in Japan, the organization's renewed commitment paid off last week in San Antonio in the Americas Under-18 Championship for Men.

With a team that emphasized substance over style, the USA rolled to the gold medal with victories of 47, 24, 26 and, in Sunday's final against Argentina, 22 points.

"This team was assembled the way it was for a reason, and it showed," said forward Kyle Singler, one of the top prospects in the Class of 2007. "We love to play hard, and we love to play basketball. You didn't see that from the guys at the Olympics."

While acknowledging it's easier to mesh teenagers than NBA millionaires, Tooley is confident about the senior team.

"We're off to a good start with our new approach," Tooley said.

Moving away from the organization's Dream Team roots, team director Jerry Colangelo has tried to model the latest group after an actual roster.

While peppered with stars — Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, to name a few — the pool of 23 players also features role players like Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier.

In an effort to foster the continuity enjoyed by other international teams, all 23 players and the four-man coaching staff headed by Duke's Mike Krzyzewski are signed to three-year agreements.

Tooley said his biggest concern after the 2004 Olympics was that players, after the resulting criticism, no longer would want to play international basketball.

But Kobe Bryant actively lobbied for a roster spot. James, Wade and Lamar Odom, all of whom played in Athens, were eager to return.

Tooley said Bowen called not long after the Spurs were eliminated from the playoffs to request a set of international balls so he could get used to the different paneling.

Milwaukee guard Michael Redd went to even greater lengths to emphasize his interest. Coming off a late-night drive to meet with Colangelo, Redd asked to use the bathroom in Colangelo's hotel room. He emerged in a suit.

"The interest has been tremendous," Tooley said. "Sometimes you have to take a step back to take a few forward. I think everybody's excited to see where we're at."