After the debacles of the 2002 Worlds and especially the 2004 Olympic Games, the American federation had given full latitude to Jerry Colangelo and his new coach, Mike Krzyzewski, to bring Team USA back to the top.
The idea was then to find continuity by asking for a commitment over several years to the stars. Thus, to be able to participate in the 2008 Olympics, you had to commit to playing the 2006 World Cup, and to working with the team between the two competitions. A strategy that had worked… at first.
Because 7th place at the 2019 World Cup illustrated the current limits of the scheme, even if Team USA still managed to win the Tokyo Olympics last year.
For Grant Hill, the new boss of the American federation, and Steve Kerr, the new coach, the idea is to find a middle ground between this system which is a little too rigid and the previous one, which was too messy, where Team USA was content to select 12 players to take them to international competition, without any collective experience.
“There’s the idea that we should demand or expect a two-year commitment from guys, but I’m not sure that’s working now”explains Grant Hill. “People’s willingness and commitment to give back-to-back years to Team USA has changed, so we have to be able to adapt. »
The Hall of Famer is therefore ready to return to a certain continuity if it allows him to bring back the superstars (Stephen Curry?) for the big deadlines. But isn’t this the risk of returning to the situation of 2004?
“There is huge interest from players who have been on this team before, from players who have already won gold medals over the past few cycles, and then obviously young players who want to be part of this team. this team “explains Grant Hill to reassure. “I am convinced that we will succeed in getting the job done. There may not be guys who commit to two years like in previous cycles, but I still think we can still be very successful. »
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