WASHINGTON D.C.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jacob Schwartz is a freelance writer and broadcaster from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Despite a cognitive disability, he continues to report, broadcast and write on high school, college and major-league sports.
In Day 1 of the USA Men's Olympic Basketball camp held at DC Armory in our nation’s capital, the 12-man team scrimmaged each other twice.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Olympic torch relay is on its epic journey to London. Keep track of where it is on the road to the gamesHERE.
The first mock game went for 10 minutes and the final one was an eight-minute scrimmage. That eight-minute scrimmage featured the starters playing the reserves, with the white (starters) defeating the reserves (blue) 26-23. The team also ran drills and did conditioning work in their preparation for the London games.
The highlight of the day was welcoming military members from all different posts to take part in a shootout challenge. There were over 3,100 troops and family members in attendance and all appeared to enjoy themselves. Jay Bilas, the former Duke great, emceed the event which also featured talks from legendary Georgetown coach John Thompson, Sr., and US Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Afterward I spoke with Basketball Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams. Wilkens, who was a Team USA assistant coach on the original "Dream Team", addressed the recent Kobe Bryant comments, "The 1992 Dream Team was a very talented basketball team that had great players. But these players are just as great as the ones we had in ‘92. They should if not win a gold at least compete for the gold.
"As coaches we have make sure we have the best talent on and off the floor and we want them to serve well as ball players and ambassadors as most of these players are."
Westbrook, the NBA All-Star point guard for the Thunder said, "My goal is to win a gold medal again. I won before and I plan to win again, and even though we didn't win the NBA title, I plan to win one very soon."
When I spoke to Williams, who recently signed a 5-year, $98-million dollar deal with the Nets, he was most excited about being surrounded by the members of the military, as his uncle is currently serving in the Army. As for his new team he said, "I am really looking forward to be playing with the Nets, moving to Brooklyn, and bringing in Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez. I feel we have what it takes to win the East and maybe compete for an NBA title."
The team continues practice on Sunday, and the Olympic Games begin on Sunday, July 27
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