I watched the Rupp game on TV, and the Yum! Center game in person. I interviewed the coaches and the players. I’ve even got some video I hope to post later, but there were a few items I noticed in both games that I’d like to share for those of you who can’t believe a team who has trouble making the Olympics could beat a team of professional all-stars… twice.
First of all, let’s not take anything away from the Dominican team – they were money from pretty much anywhere on the court. Yes, Edgar Sosa is obnoxious. Yes Al Horford is obnoxious. It’s a shame the three best players on that team had to be from Louisville and Florida (#1 being Francisco Garcia), but it is what it is. They are quality ballers and Cal has asked Big Blue Nation to support these boys – so I’m going to do what I can to support them.
Second, the intangibles in this game were a lot to overcome. The rules are a little different, the ball is a little smaller, the court is a little different. The Pros had virtually no practice time together (15 minutes), while the Dominicans had been together for weeks. The Pros had not been conditioning since the NBA season ended, the Dominicans had a couple of weeks. And the officiating was abysmal. At first I thought it was just me, but even Denny Crum and Joe B. Hall had issue with it.
Again, I don’t want to take anything away from the Dominican team – I hope they win Silver in the Olympics (I’ll always root for team USA first). And I believe they can, they are very talented and have the best coach in the world leading them. But I have a few requests for next time. Give the pros a little more advance notice. Let them have time to practice together and get a couple of set plays. Let them have time to get in shape. Allow them to get acclimated to the differences between American basketball and FIBA basketball. And get some unbiased refs. Then you’ll have a more competitive game, and a happier Big Blue Nation.
But it was REALLY cool seeing all those UK legends together playing on the same court.
