Talk your ish, Jerry.
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo won’t make any apologies for his squad blowing out the competition—the executive says other countries should “get their act together” and compete with the Americans.
Team USA struggled a bit (and faced criticism) on their way to their latest Gold Medal, but in the end, they proved that they remain the best in the world at this basketball business.
Per USA Today:
Not long after Team USA won Olympic gold for the third consecutive time, downing Serbia 96-66 on Sunday at Carioca Arena I to finish 8-0 in these Games, the program’s managing director threw down the gauntlet on the rest of the basketball world. […] When asked by an international reporter about the margin of victory in the finale, Jerry Colangelo — the former NBA executive and owner who rehabilitated the national program in 2005 — made it quite clear that he wasn’t about to apologize for the one-sided outcome.
“I’m all for raising the bar for global basketball,” he began. “The more interest in basketball on all levels, I’m for. I’m a lifer in the game. I love the game. Basketball is the No. 2 sport in the world, (but) we just need to see these other countries get their acts together and become more competitive. […] I’d love to see that. Everyone would love to see that. I’m not going to be making excuses for anyone about our (dominance). Someone said to me (after the game), one of the officials said to me, ‘You know next time you play, you ought to play with four.’ And I said, ‘No, maybe the other teams better get their act together and compete.’”
“We’ve been helping in basketball around the world for 50 years,” Colangelo said. “We’ve taught the world the game. We’ve taught their coaches, players — look at the number of (international) players in the NBA, look at the number of international players in college today, in the states. So we’re all for that. I want to see the level raised.”
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