USA - For Colangelo, retirement is a fast break

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Jerry Colangelo starts every morning with a battle.

When he leaves home for the office, his car wants to turn left. That would send him to the US Airways Center office he left in June rather than the right turn he needs to get to his new Arizona Biltmore area office.

Even as he nears a 69th birthday Nov. 20, Colangelo is heading in a new direction. He came to Phoenix to build the Suns in 1968 as the youngest general manager in pro-sports history, a tenure for which he will be honored today. advertisement

After a 350-guest dinner dotted with former players Saturday, Colangelo will be inducted at halftime of tonight's Suns game into the arena Ring of Honor that he founded.

In heart and title, Colangelo remains chairman of the Suns. However, his influence has dissipated into a consulting role since his ownership group agreed to sell the team for $401 million (half of which was assumed debt) in 2004 to a group led by Robert Sarver. The final payment was made in June, but Colangelo's career already had branched out.

Colangelo works out of an investment office with partners David Eaton (whom he met when he arrived in Phoenix) and Mel Schultz (whom he met more than 20 years ago). They were also his partners when he controlled the Suns and Diamondbacks and now collaborate on various business interests. They focus on selling land to builders and developing retail for Douglas Ranch and Trillium West, which cover 40,000 acres west of the White Tank Mountains.

"I needed a place to show up every morning," Colangelo joked.

He is frequently asked, "What do you do now that you are retired?" He barely has stopped working, logging more than 200 flight hours last year, sitting on charitable and sports boards and becoming more prominent in basketball than ever.

Building a national team

In April 2005, a year after his Basketball Hall of Fame induction, he was tabbed to restore glory and dignity to USA Basketball as managing director of the senior men's national team.

A job once executed by a committee of 10 people was entrusted to Colangelo with autonomy to form a new blueprint.

"I thought I knew some things before working with Jerry," said Sean Ford, USA Basketball's assistant executive director. "I didn't really know anything compared to what he knows."

There was no quick fix in the works, as shown when his first team debuted at last year's World Championship and took a stunning loss in the semifinals to Greece. They knew the system needed an overhaul as they watched the U.S. lose games - and respect - in international play.

The job would need to be done in a first-class manner and with a true national team rather than a hastily assembled all-star collection. Dealing with funding cuts by the U.S. Olympic Committee, Colangelo had to become a salesman in a job that pays him nothing.

"I think they (the USOC) think the NBA will turn around and write a check (to USA Basketball)," Colangelo said. "That's truly unfortunate, and I think it's unfair."

The program needed funding for its women's and juniors programs as well, hitting a chord with Colangelo because Colangelo wants to help change the nation's polluted youth basketball structure. Between new sponsors and expanding deals with old sponsors, USA Basketball's fundraising has more than doubled with the $25 million to $28 million brought in since his arrival.

"I didn't want a budget to drive what we could do and couldn't do," Colangelo said.


Changing the culture

The first of the expensive changes he wanted to make was holding a meeting in 2004, when he brought in a jaw-dropping collection of former Olympic coaches and players such as Dean Smith, Chuck Daly, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Jerry West for a summit in which possible coaches and players were considered for this new era.

As he met with each of his picks in person, the players and coaches were asked to give three-year program commitments, including summer minicamps, with an aim on building up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In turn, Colangelo made it a first-class operation with everything from stays at the Wynn Las Vegas to tailored team clothes to thinking ahead to have player haircuts set up in China.

"He covered all bases and needs," said national team member Deron Williams, a Utah Jazz guard. "It makes it a lot easier when you're just worrying about basketball. That's what we needed. USA Basketball has been down. It's our time. It's time to get USA Basketball back on top."

Despite the loss to Greece, the team has drawn rave reviews. The game's top names - Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony - are committed and have key components such as a pass-first point guard in Jason Kidd and specialists such as sharpshooter Michael Redd.

"I think Colangelo has been great - not good, great," ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said. "For somebody to step forward and put a plan in place and take the responsibility of putting USA Basketball on his shoulders is an extraordinary thing. Right now, USA Basketball has a plan, a structure and a program to it.

"The one thing that people seemed to miss on last year when they took bronze in the World Championship is the team had no more time (to practice) than any other team we put out there. That's not the test. The test comes next summer. They performed well. They lost one game when Greece shot 60 percent. There wasn't a whole lot of bitching and moaning afterward and finger-pointing, which there has been on prior teams. Everybody's on the same page. They've got commitment out of players."

The culture changed, and insiders all point to the respect players give him for his good ear, proactive effort, organization, experience and passion.

"He eyeballs the players and says, 'My word is my word, and we're going to get this done,' " Ford said.

Entering the ring

Jim Tooley, USA Basketball's executive director since 1993, knows what an "enormous undertaking" Colangelo had because Tooley has done much of the same work in prior years.

"He brought back pride, dignity and excitement," Tooley said. "He's been a great ambassador for us because we were looked upon not so favorably in the international basketball community."

Suns coach Mike D'Antoni saw Colangelo's influence firsthand the past two summers, when he also volunteered to serve as the team's assistant coach for minicamps and tournament play.

"His persona puts everybody at ease, like, 'OK, now we're doing it the right way,' " D'Antoni said. "He has that magnetism. Once you talk to him, you think, 'This guy is strong and is going to do what he says.' He exudes that and shows it every day."

He represents Olympic rings, wants an NBA championship ring as badly as ever and is about to go into a Ring of Honor. If this is retirement, it has a nice ring to it.

"When I was 28, I was called a boy wonder," Colangelo said. "A few days later, I woke up and I was 40. A week later, I was 60. That's how fast it goes. I've enjoyed every minute of it. I'd do it over the same way."