Basketball
Coach K hopes fans will continue to cheer for Team USA in Olympics
Reuters
MANCHESTER, England – Mike Krzyzewski, coach of gold medal favourites the United States, received a warm welcome from British sports fans in Manchester on Thursday and hopes that will continue all the way to the Olympic Games in London next week.
The US begin the defence of their Olympic title on July 29 with a pool game against France and, judging by the response of a sell-out 17,000 crowd that attended their 118-78 victory over Great Britain at the MEN Arena, his team can expect the backing of many home supporters.
“We love Great Britain, we’re brothers and I think the fans here are really appreciative of outstanding basketball,” said Krzyzewski.
“The one thing about Great Britain is you appreciate someone who is really good in their sport. There is an etiquette there, a respect, that transcends all sports in Great Britain.
“If an opponent is that good, you acknowledge that and our guys really played hard tonight. It was just a really good night for basketball in Great Britain.”
After an unconvincing victory against Brazil in their last outing on Sunday, the Americans were at their clinical best, a fact appreciated by the Manchester crowd as well as point guard Deron Williams who, along with team mate Carmelo Anthony, top scored for the USA with 19 points.
“I thought it was a great game for us,” said Williams, a point guard with the Brooklyn Nets. “We’re using these warm-up games to find our rhythm, some chemistry. We’ve only been together a certain amount of time.
“If we don’t come to play, if we’re not ready, we can be beat, Spain is one of them, Brazil is one of them, Argentina are one of them and we’re playing all three teams in warm-up games so hopefully that will help us. We realize we have some flaws in our game and we have to sew them up.”
GB coach Chris Finch was unhappy with his team’s second half collapse and blamed mental lapses for a heavy defeat but he also believes the USA are not guaranteed gold medalists.
“Every game has to be played out, every possession has to be played out,” said Finch. “Of course they can be beaten. There are a lot of quality players, a lot of experienced teams in the field.
“The Americans shot the ball extremely well and they have to continue to do so. They’re the best team in the tournament, no doubt, but there are a lot of teams could beat them on any given day.”
Krzyzewski, however, had words of consolation for his beaten rival, claiming that he had seen enough from GB to suggest they can be a factor at the Olympics, particularly with NBA All Star Luol Deng showing his form with a game-high 25 points against the US.
“I think GB has a chance to do some damage in the Olympics,” he said.
“I think they’re tough, they’re well coached and Luol is a great player and what he’s done for this country and his commitment to this programme is sensational.”
