JOR - Wright and the nearly men

PHILADELPHIA (FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament) - Rasheim Wright was in the heat of battle just one month ago, playing his heart out and trying to do something that no one believed he and Jordan could do.

Nobody thought the national team from Amman had a chance of upsetting two-time defending champions Iran in the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Asia Championship, but they did.

No Chinese contemplated the notion that Wright and Jordan could upset their team in the gold-medal game and earn a trip to the Olympics.

They almost did.

Jordan, who avenged a Preliminary Round defeat to the Philippines by whipping them in the last four, came within a made jump shot in the waning seconds of shocking Yi Jianlian and his teammates and earning a trip to the London Games.

First Wright, who had a game-high 26 points, missed from the right corner and then Sam Daghlas was off target at the buzzer.

China won 70-69.

Wright, the naturalized guard from America, is now back home in Philadelphia playing that last eight seconds over and over again, in his mind.

"They forced me to take a three from the corner with six seconds left," he says to FIBA.com.

"The way they played the last shot, it was the only shot I had.

"I missed, Sam got the rebound but he missed a floater."

Wright, who turned 30 on July 21, now thinks, "What if?"

"We lost to China by one in China," he says.

"We gave them two free-throws near the end on a bad call - there was no way they should have called that kind of foul.

"But the Chinese people were scared. They knew if they didn't get that free-throw, we were going to win. They were nervous in there (Wuhan Arena)."

Yi was the player fouled and he missed the first of two free-throws but sank the second for the one-point lead that proved to be enough.

As it was, the shot that Wright missed from the right corner near the death wasn't a bad one.

He got an open look but the ball bounced off the front of the rim.

A mad scramble ensued before Daghlas came out with the ball and missed the final shot from several feet on the left baseline.

"If I could do it all over again, I'd probably try to drag it back out and take the last shot completely," Wright says.

"If I had made that shot, history would have been changed.

"Their coach (Bob Donewald) would have been fired. He would have been gone.

"No one would have expected us to beat them so they would have fired him for sure."

In the overall context of his career, Wright admits the game was special - even in defeat.

"That was one of the best games I've ever played in," he says.

Never lose faith

What Jordan proved by pushing China to the very end is that the business end of the tournament is what matters.

If a team isn't turning on all cylinders, as Jordan were not, there is no cause to panic.

In the Preliminary Round, they suffered defeats to Japan (92-87), the Philippines (72-64) and China (93-60).

The turning point came when Jordan, coached by Tab Baldwin, shocked Iran 88-84 in the Quarter-Finals.

When asked about the expectations of the people back in Jordan before the event, Wright says they were low.

"I think so," he says.

"We weren't supposed to beat Iran and when we did, it was like, 'Wow!'

"Jordan played sub-par in the first round but we were an inexperienced team.

"Everybody else has been playing together for like four or five years, while we just came together at the right time."

Fear of elimination was the big difference for the change in form.

"I just figured in the Preliminary Round games, that's exactly what they were, Preliminary Round," Wright says.

"But when the games came that you had to win or go out, that's when we were able to turn it up a notch.

"We didn't want to lose and go home, or play for sixteenth place or something like that."

Mario Palma had coached the team before but this time it was Baldwin, who led Lebanon at last year's FIBA World Championship.

In 2002, he steered New Zealand to a surprise fourth-place finish at the World Championship in Indianapolis.

Was he good for Jordan?

"I think he did what he had to do," Wright says.

"He got us used to playing a certain system.

"I think he did a great job with the time that he had with us."

Now what?

While the majority of the players in that Final have joined their clubs, Wright has not.

He is, surprisingly for a player who has been one of the most explosive scorers in international basketball the past three years, without a team.

Wright is biding his time back home in Philadelphia.

"I'm chilling right now," he says.

"I'm just waiting for something.

"From anywhere.

"I thought I had an impressive run at the Asian Championship and I'm just waiting on someone to take a chance on me."

Wright reached double-figures in points in every game and led Jordan in scoring with an average of 19.2 points per contest.

His average of 1.6 steals was tied for sixth best in the competition.

"I can score," he says, "but on defense, I can also guard the best player."

Wright is uncertain about next summer.

By finishing runners-up, the country has earned a place in the 12-team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament where three spots for the London Games will be up for grabs.

Wright doesn't know if he'll be there.

"I have no idea," he says.

"I don't know what's up with the federation.

"I haven't talked to Jordan since I left. I don't know.

"Possibly, it depends if the team is strong. It depends on who comes back.

"Some players might look at it and think we won't have a chance."

On the other hand, Wright says Jordan have the potential to put a stronger team on the floor.

"We were missing some guys," he said.

"That meant we had some people playing out of position.

"We could have had an even better team."

FIBA