Allen Iverson Walking Funny...
because he just got the shaft.
I spent the last two weeks watching the Olympics. I’ve found that it’s fairly easy to distinguish between those who actually care (Apollo Ohno, Lindsay Kildow, Maureen Brunt) and those who are there for the fame or cash or whatever (Bode Miller, Lindsey Jacobellis). I think that most of us gravitate towards those “pure” Olympians; the ones who care about representing their country and understand that a gold medal means something more than a potential payday.
Now, according to ESPN.com, the Great Mike Krzyzewski has decided that Allen Iverson is not the type of player that he wants to have on Team USA. Now, I don’t know how well Iverson fits into an Olympic-style of play. I do know, however, that back in 2004 he was one of two players on the court that gave a damn and gave their country maximum effort. He was also one of the few superstars that actually made good on his commitment to Team USA while so many others backed out at the last moment (including several Pistons and Shaq).
AI has let it be known to just about everyone that he wants to go back and be part of the team that wins a gold for his country. He’s now been told that he won’t even get to “try out” for the team.
So much for the Olympic spirit. More to come on this after the 25-man roster comes out on Sunday.
posted by Iconoclast @ 9:57 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I'm trying to decide whether this is good or bad. By no means is this official yet, so it's possible that AI will get the call after all.
I think the problem is that here in the A.O. (After Owens) era, I seem to by default be putting the Philadelphia attitude into him. I mean, his numbers say he should be on the team, no question. After all, he was also on the cocky U.S. team from 2004 (which, as much as I hate to admit, I rooted against due to their air of superiority; OK fine I like underdogs!)
After this news report, I would be surprised if he doesn't get offered a spot on the team after all, to cover team USA's behind.
C4,
I understand why someone would say that if you were on the 2004 team that only won a bronze then you can't play in 2008. My problem is that AI wasn't the reason that team lost. It was the poor play of guys like Carlos Boozer, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, and several others. Don't also forget that having Larry Brown coach a game where the three-ball is so important would be as wise as having me run an AA meeting.
Additionally, if there was a bright spot to that team, it was the passion and energy that AI and, amazingly enough, Lamar Odom gave the team.
As for the possibility of the USOC correcting their mistake, I don't think that it's likely. Coach Krzeqswski is a Larry Brown-type guy and no doubt has some vague notion of what his team looks like. I just think, that regardless of whether or no they take him to the games, AI has earned the right to at least "try out."
Let's clarify one thing right away, nothing about T.O. contained the Philadelphia attitude or anything else From Philly for that matter. Where as Iverson embodies everything Philadelphia is about. He is the ultimate underdog, he gives you blood and guts for 46 minutes every single night. Also this isn't the same A.I. of 7 years ago, he's grown up a lot, however doesn't get his due because of his attitude upon first coming into the league. This guy has never thrown a ball at a fan, never gone into the stands and beaten people up, yet people view him as having an indignant attitude. Iverson not only deserves to be on the team he deserves the captain. The fault of the 2004 campaign lies at the feet of those who constructed the team to have 6 6'7'' slash and dunk players. You need to build an ACTUAL team and it starts with A.I.
TUW,
I agree with your assessment. I've spoken before about the "engines" that drive teams, especially in basketball. If you want further info on this subject (especially from the social aspects, including paternalism) check out the Sports & Law link on the main page.
I haven't said it, but you're right in saying that Iverson should be the team captain. For what it's worth, I'd also name Ben Wallace as the Co-Captain.
I promise that there will be much more on this topic. Keep posting though.
Those are some really good points; I haven't strongly followed the NBA in the past 7 years (at least), so that would explain why I was stuck on the old AI. After looking at his stats, I agree with you; he deserves to be on the team. Although he scores, he's dishing a lot (7-8 assist per game, to not mention how many other plays I'm sure he's set up), and he hasn't come out yet and said that this is "*@#(#"; that's something that some other players would've immediately been whining about.
I hope that they give him one of those three college spots now that I'm thinking about it.
C4,
Nice work looking up his stats (I knew he was sitting on like 30ish ppg and 7ish assists per game, but didn't check). Something else that I forgot to mention is that anytime that he has any talent semblance of talent around him, he passes more. With the Sixers, if there is anybody who's "hot", he's passing to him. Unfortunately, it's not like you can rely on Samuel Dalembert to get hot every night.
I should have also called attention to his exception play in the 2004 All-Star Game where he spent the entire night working to get Michael Jordan MVP honors.
Great point on the college players taking up roster spots. This is the dumbest part of the new plan. Especially since it's not 3 college players, it's two college kids and ONE HIGH SCHOOL PLAYER!?!?! This is the dumbest idea since someone decided to draft Shawn Bradley.
I'm sure that you can tell that I'm still pretty riled up about this one.
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