Additional Quotes >> USA 116, Australia 85

Aug. 20, 2008 - Beijing, China

USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski (Duke University)
On the game:
It was an honor to play Brian's (Goorjian) team.  I thought they've been the most difficult team for us to defend.   Their offense is so well-conceived for their personnel.  The future is extremely bright (for Australia).  In college, we are able to develop a program and I think what's Brian has done is develop a great program with the Australian team.  They're a force to be reckoned with.  We had to play really well in order to win.  They caused us a lot of problems and I'm glad my Duke team doesn't play St. Mary's next year.  (Patrick Mills) is a great guard.  He'll be an NBA guard and I'm very, very impressed and we're ecstatic because we know we beat an outstanding team, who I think was playing their best basketball right now.  So, it was a heck of a game for us.

Can you talk about how LeBron has stepped up to be the leader of this team?
I don't think he's the only leader.  I think behind the scenes, Jason has been an outstanding leader and so has Kobe.  But, LeBron's personality comes up and that started, I thought, after we lost to Greece in 2006 and we played Argentina.  He actually played point guard for us that game.

That started the process and I'm sure a lot with Cleveland and also with our own national team last summer, he just emerged.  I think he has great leadership potential, and I think that will make him a better player. Because if you're a leader, you have to be doing all the things you're telling people to do.  I'm proud of him.  I'm really pleased with where he's at.

(unable to understand question):
I'd rather learn by winning.  I would say this … in the last three years as being the US National Coach, I've learned from every coach that I've coached against.  There are outstanding coaches in the international game and outstanding players.  I'm 61 years old and I've learned a lot from being the national coach and Greece and Argentina play the game as well as anybody.  I can learn from both of them as I've learned tonight from Brian. I just assumed he's your national coach for the next 80 years unless you're making a big mistake there.  You learn from everybody.

On Kobe's performance tonight:
He had a great performance and he came up when we needed it the most. right at the start of the second half … it was such a possession by possession game … we were lucky that Deron hit that shot right at the end of the first half.  The first half was possession by possession and then all of sudden, we had five or six possessions where we had three's and they were unable to score and you get a 20-something point lead in a game that was not a 20-point game … Such a close game … and it gave us separation.

It caused us also to change our defense; we just tried to take away 3's and with Bosh in there, we were able to do a little bit of that.  But, Kobe helped give us that separation.

On Australia's Patrick Mills:
He played really well against the last game … really tape doesn't do him justice.  He looks good on tape … we should fast forward it … he really has great quickness.  I love him defensively; I'm sure Brian does too.  I've been a defensive coach my whole life and there aren't very many people who stay with a guard " like right on him " when he has the ball " and if he's beaten, he doesn't retreat; he continues to play the play.  He's got to be an extremely tough-minded kid.  As good as he is offensively, I think he's got a chance to be a great defender.  I think the kid has got a big time future, to be quite frank with you.

Did you sense your guards are impressed with Mills?
No question.  He's an impressive player.  He's got great quickness and great strength.  What else can I say … he can shoot, he's tough-minded … he's so competitive.  I mean the kid's going to be an NBA player … there is no question about it.   What a great thing to build your future on.  What
Brian's saying, (Australia) has so many good young players.  (Brad) Newley is good … he's got such bounce to his game.  And obviously (Andrew) Bogut is one of the better players in the NBA.  They have a good young group to go with some crafty veterans.  This is a very good Australian team.  I feel like we beat a really good basketball team tonight.  We had to play really well in order to do it.

Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
On the USA's next opponent:
Whoever's in our way, we're going to try to knock them off. Whether it's Argentina or Greece, whoever it is.

How do teams prepare to play you, certainly trash talking isn't a good way to go about it?
I can't give nobody advice as to how to beat us.

But trash talking isn't the way to go?
They can talk trash, we talk trash, too. But to a certain extent. I'll trash talk by putting the ball in the basket and stopping them on the defensive end.

Australia played you tough for the first half. In your exhibition game you said you were simply trying to work on some stuff for Beijing and it was an 11-point game:
I don't think we really had any excuses. Yeah, we said that but I don't really like using excuses. They hung in there, they played us really well in the exhibition game. Tonight in the first half they were hanging in there, they were running their offense kind of fluid. In the second half we really picked it up though.

About Kobe getting hot in the third quarter:
When one of us gets it going were going to find him, but a guy like that who can score at will, one of the best scorers in the word, If he gets it going, keep going to him, on this team we're going to keep going to him and that's what we did tonight.

About Kobe picking it up a little more tonight:
Tonight was one of them games, similar to Spain, he really wanted this game and he came out from the get go. His shot wasn't falling until the third quarter, in the locker room we told him to keep shooting and that's what he did and it started clicking for him.

Preference on who you play next?
It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter who we play at this moment, we have to beat one of them.

You've been in the semifinals in 2006 (World Championship) and 2004 (Olympics) in the semifinals, how will it be different?
Our team is different. ..like you said, we have been in this position before and we aren't going to let down this time.

Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz)
These games are supposed to get tougher as you go along, but it doesn't look like it:
They are. Australia was great. They played us tough, they played us very physical. They're a great match up for us. D-Will hits the shot at the half, we had the momentum and we ran away with it. We played defense without gambling, without going for steals. We got every rebound, we outrebounded them by 30-something boards. We do those kinds of things, we can play against anybody.

Would you like to play Argentina because of what happened in 2004?
We all want Argentina. We all want revenge on that game. That's the game that we want to have. I think they want to see us, too. I don't think they're going to back away from us. If it does happen, great, but I'm not overlooking Greece by any means. Greece is a very good team. If they win tonight we'll see them on Thursday. Whoever we play, they're just in our path for the gold medal.

What's the mood in the locker room?
Exciting. We're so excited because we're so hungry. We're playing great basketball, don't get me wrong, but we haven't achieved our goal yet. We're hungry to get that gold medal. A lot of teams that have our success could be complacent. We're not that way. Before the game we're excited, we're getting each other pumped up and ready to play. After the game we say hey, we've got a big game coming up, let's get ready to play. We're going to come out on Thursday and be ready for them.

On going inside to Dwight Howard to get the Australian big men into foul trouble:
Oh yeah, we tried to go Dwight early. Dwight did a great job of finishing, putting the ball in the rim, getting two quick ones on (Andrew) Bogut, then they brought in new guys and we did a good job of getting to the hole. We've got LeBron, D-Wade, even Melo was driving the ball, going straight to the basket. For us, that's key to our style. We can shoot threes all day long, there's not too many people who can stay in front of us. Then when Kobe got hot in the second half, that was something to see. He just started taking the game over like he does.

On Deron Williams' shot at the end of the first half:
That gave us some momentum. They played us very tough in the first half, D-Will came by and hit that shot to end the half. From the second half on we carried that momentum through the rest of the game.

Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
On defense:
We're just trying to play solid defense.  We just have to keep guys in front of us.  Not get frustrated and get too antsy.  We have to keep our guys in front of us because teams like Australia can get you on back doors, quick slips to the basket.  If we stay in front of our man, check every shot, and rebound the basketball, there is no way they can win.

Did you talk about the lack of assists when you went in at halftime?
I think we all knew it.  We didn't have to talk about it.  We were kinda taking bad shots, frankly put.  It just wasn't working for us.  We kinda got the ball for ourselves instead of the team.  And, that doesn't work so well unless somebody's hot.  Most of times, guys aren't going to be hot so we just have to move the ball and get shots.

Was that a result of them being able to set their zone?
We have to be ready for that.  We know that teams aren't really going to fastbreak us.  We have to be ready to play against set defenses.  We have to rush up the court, but we have to be smart.

Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)
On the game:
It was a good game.  They played us tough and executed extremely well, particularly in the first half.  That's something we had to adjust to.  The Mills comment hit it right on the head … did a great job of moving without the basketball … that's something we talked about at halftime and making our adjustments and that's what we were able to do.

Can you talk about the beginning of the second half?  Do you know now that it's the do-or-die stage that you have to pick up your offense?
At the start of the second half, we had a particular set that we wanted to run and it materialized and I got a wide open look and knocked it down.  I think myself and Melo and the rest of my shooters, Michael Redd, were starting to get a good rhythm for our shots.  And, it couldn't come at a better time.  Being that it's do or die, it's go time … this is what we came here for and we're all ready to go.  Money's on the line.

When it was 25-24 at first quarter break, were you surprised they were playing you so tough?
No.  We know they're a good team.   And like I said, they execute extremely well.  We've been in games in this tournament where teams have been within one point and tied at the end of the first quarter and so forth and we understand that.  What we try to do is remain calm.  We understand that our biggest strength is our depth.  So we are just going to continue to apply pressure for 40 minutes and try to wear you down.  If it happens midway through the first quarter, great … if it happens in the fourth quarter, that's fine too.  The important part is that it happens eventually.

It seemed you played as individuals in the first quarter.  Will this be the strategy in the next game?
No.  I think we did a pretty good job actually.  It was just a matter of us getting out in transition and keep moving.   What they tried to do was keep us on the perimeter and force us to take outside shots.  When you take outside shots, you don't get second chance opportunities.  Nobody is on the board and that plays to their advantage a little bit.  It happens.

Between Argentina and Greece, do you have a preference who you play next round?
We want to play the best.  We want to play the defending champs.   It's all about challenges and obviously we welcome all comers.  We know what a great team Greece is.  Argentina is the defending champs.  You want to be able to play the guys who won it the last time.  I would love for us to have the opportunity.

You say you want to play Argentina … Greece beat you in the World Championship, do you want to avoid them?
Avoid them?  We're scared to death. (sarcastic)  It doesn't matter. They're both great teams.  The point that I'm making is that when you're a champion, you want to have the opportunity to defend your championship. And, anyone who has aspirations to be a champion, you understand there is a sense of pride that comes along with beating a champion.  That's all that comment's about.

Can you talk about Carmelo Anthony's play in the second half?
He's been extremely solid.  He's been on the boards, he's done a great job of moving the basketball and knocking down shots when they're there.  I think defensively he's done a great job for us as well.  I don't think he's gotten a lot of credit for that but he's done a solid job for us the entire tournament defensively.

LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
What has changed about your game since 2004?
I'm just a better basketball player.  Mentally, physically, emotionally, I  just every game I go out there maybe my last, I approach it that way.

Talk about Kobe:
He's always prepared, focused, he's always on, it's always on with Kobe, he's never off.  He's that one guy on our team, and we have a lot of them, but he's that one guy on our team that sees the moment, that can take the knockout punches for anybody, he likes hitting the dagger, he's not afraid to take any shot, he's not afraid to guard anybody. And he's won championships, so he's been in big games before.

What's the difference between this Olympics and 2004?
It's a different feel. In '04 we didn't play well, we got to the semifinals but we didn't play well. We didn't have a leader, we didn't have defensively we didn't have it. We just weren't a good team, honestly. We got to the semifinals just because of our individual abilities. It's a totally different feel now.

It doesn't seem like you were as excited to play in Athens:
I was. Anytime I got out on the court I was excited to play. I love the game so much. Off the court we weren't a team as we are now and I think that helps. If you can be together off the court more than on the court, it helps.

Is this a better mix?
Yeah, I think it's a better mix, personalities, guys who seize the moment, love to play the game of basketball. No individual believes they can do it without the next (person). It makes it easy.

Oh Kobe Bryant's popularity in China:
His popularity is probably the No. 1 athlete out here. It's been unbelievable to see how big he is as an athlete. As a player I think we all know how big he is. He brings that to our team with a great mindset. He's really good.

With basketball, we know how good he is. He's pretty popular. I think it's because of basketball of course, but I think a lot of it is his personality also.

On the wide margins of victory:
If we don't approach every game like it's our last, we can be beat. If we don't come into it and offensively make the extra pass or defensively we don't help each other and we start converting back to individuals, we can lose. I'm not going to let that happen. Coach K is one of the greatest coaches that we have.

Where would you put winning a gold medal in your career?
That would be the biggest thing that's ever happened to me as a basketball player. Thus far, winning a national championship as a high school senior, which is something I've always dreamed of since I was eight-years-old, and then accomplishing that was the biggest. But if we take care of business and do what we need to do to win the gold medal, it would be the biggest thing in my career.

Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks)
On Australia's Gavin Mills:
He has the speed to get by guys and get to the basket and he can shoot threes, he's tough to cover.

Do you see any NBA potential?
He does have NBA potential. He has to keep working on his game. The sky's the limit for him. It's up to him if he wants to get to the NBA. Right now he's going in the right direction.

Is that what stood out " his speed?
And he can shoot. He can knock down the jump shot. I think the next step for him is to be able to run the team. In the NBA you have to not just be able to do one thing, you have to do multiples. The guards in the league are so good. You talk about Chris Paul, Deron Williams, the younger generation. Those guys are good.

On the close first half and being able to pull away from Australia:
We don't panic. We keep our composure, we continue to execute the game plan. We get on one another, we push each other. That's the beauty of this team, we care about one another. If somebody isn't pulling their weight we pick them up until they get going. That first quarter, first half, we didn't panic. We missed a ton of free throws. We knew what we were doing wrong and then we came out in the second half and we jumped right on them.

What was being done wrong in the second half of the first quarter?
They were making threes. We felt that in this game that they were going to live and die by the 3-pointer. They made a couple. We had a couple of defensive breakdowns but we took care of it. That's the beauty of this team. On the fly we can solve problems without having to call timeouts. Communication is a big weapon for us. Nobody is afraid to talk to one another because we all respect one another.

You won a gold medal in Sydney, what are you here for?
To win another gold medal. We're one step closer after beating a very good Australian team and now we wait for the winner of Greece and Argentina

Is there anything you need to change for the next two games?
We know our next opponent is going to be tough no matter if its Greece or Argentina. We have to get better defensively, but keep playing at the high level we have been playing at. We have to continue to be unselfish and hopefully we should be able to come out on top.

What do you think of your team's performance at these Games?
I think we're playing well. Everybody's touching the ball. We have some very talented players in LeBron and Kobe. We're all playing defense and we're all cheering for one another. That's what makes the game a lot of fun.

You now have four field goal attempts and four successful makes. You are shooting 100 percent, perhaps you should maybe try some more?
I don't want to push it. Don't jinx me either. The big thing is I'm having fun and I am with a group of guys who are talented, so I don't have to do any scoring. I just try to get those guys the ball.

What do you tell your teammates before the game?
To relax and have fun, enjoy every moment because the Olympics are coming to an end. We'll never be back together as a team playing, but the big thing is that we're here for one thing and that's what we're here for.

What do you think about Michael Phelps?
Well, he's the most incredible athlete on the planet right now for his performance here in Beijing. 8 Gold Medals--he's the most dominant athlete on the planet other than Tiger Woods. He's a great guy. With all the expectations and accomplishments, he's a down to earth guy.

You are in the medal round now, can you talk about that?
Well we haven't accomplished anything yet. We've taken one baby step and now our next step is going to be tough. When we play Greece or Argentina we will have our hands full. We'll have to make sure that our defense is tight and remember that we are here for one thing and that is to win a gold medal.

Deron Williams hit a nice shot at the end of the half, do you think the third quarter made the difference for your team?
Deron knocked down a big three and that pushed us forward because we picked it up from that point. Kobe and Carmelo knocked down some big threes and then before you knew it we were up 20 something and then we kept playing defense and wearing those guys down.

Do you feel you're peaking at the right time?
I wouldn't say we're peaking, but we're playing pretty good basketball. The one thing we've relied on is our defense. One thing we need to work on is our free throws. When we play defense the way we can, it gives us a good chance to win.

Did you surprise Australia by shooting a couple of times tonight?
I probably surprised everybody. The whole world was probably shocked.

What is the comparison between this team and the one in 2000 when you won a gold?
Well one is age. But in 2000 I don't know if we were as hungry because we were favorites and the world was just getting better at the game of basketball. But this team is hungry because of the taste in 2004 and 2006.

These guys are hungry. They want to win. Those are the biggest things that stand out in my mind.

Have you told the guys what it feels like to win a gold medal?
I've told the guys that at the Opening Cermonies you get goose bumps and that once you receive that Gold Medal you might cry but that you will also get goose bumps. You understand and reflect on all the hard work that you put in and that nobody understands what you've gone through and that nobody can take that away from you.

Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets)
On Australia keeping it close in the first half:
They stayed with us in the beginning, but that's when we imposed our will. Luckily it's not a 20-minute game, it's a 40-minute game so we get the chance to extend our lead.

Winning by so much, was it more due to offense or defense?
A little bit of both. We didn't shoot as well as well as we'd like to from the free throw line. But we shot the ball extremely well, you see Kobe got hot in the second half. Once we impose our will it's tough for teams to play with us.

Are you on a mission?
We're not settling for anything less than a gold medal. We understand that it takes 12 guys to win every game. It's so much fun playing with this team because we play with so much emotion and we don't want to lose.

On the physical play against of Australia:
It's the medal round now. We expect it to be physical. We know we just have to keep our heads. We're competitors and we're going to get emotional just like other teams. But we know how to keep our cool and stay balanced and get the win.

Did Deron Williams' 3-pointer at the end of the first half set the momentum for the second half?
Yeah. D-Will had maybe two or three open ones that he missed and he was getting down on himself. That shot he hit right at the end of the second quarter was huge for our momentum. We went into halftime, talked about what we needed to do and our starting group was unbelievable to start the third quarter.

Who will be a competitive opponent for you?
It will be the winner of this game (Argentina versus Greece), that's who we play. We have to keep taking it one game at a time, do what we've been doing and that's win.

Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons)
On his performance tonight:
What's at stake and the caliber of guys that we have, we just have to be ready. Today I was ready. In other games I have been ready, whether it's shooting the basketball, playing some defense or doing whatever. I have to just continue to stay ready because this next game is really going to be important for me to keep the same thing going.

On tonight's game:
We knew that this team would test us. Out of all the teams we've played up to this point, Australia's done a good job of being consistent with what they do, as far as running their plays and doing things right. They have four shooters on the court at one time, they can spread us out and run their plays. They do a lot of screening, they do a good job of running their plays and I think that's why they were able to stay in the game in the first half. There were times where we got up by eight or 10 points in the first half, then we relaxed a little bit and they responded.

It was important for us to get this type of test because obviously we've been doing a good job of opening the game up early.  By it being that close in the first half, when we came out at halftime we really had to respond on both ends. Kobe came out in the third quarter and got us going. That helped out a lot, too.

What do you know about Argentina and Greece?
We know a lot about Greece. We played them and obviously lost to them in '06. And with Argentina, we know some of their guys because they play in the league and know their style of play. Then we played them in '07 in the FIBA Americas (Championship). But they have a few more players on the team now. It's going to be a great game no matter who it is. Both teams play hard, play physical and that's how we like to play. No matter who wins it's going to be an interesting match-up regardless.

Michael Redd (Milwaukee Bucks)
What does the team still need to work on heading into the final two games?
We need to work on our free throws and continue to get better as far as moving the basketball. We need to continue to keep getting better defensively. Tonight we played well. Obviously there are some things we need to work on but we were happy with our performance tonight.

Whether it's Argentina or Greece, the next game will be a tough one:
Yeah, oh yeah. We knew tonight was going to be tough, but we just picked up our level of intensity. We'll need to keep up that intensity and be prepared for either Greece or Argentina. Now it's going to get really serious, but we're going to continue to have fun and enjoy it.

You make it look easy out there:
It's not easy. Obviously we have to execute and do well defensively, which we have done throughout the tournament. If we can continue to do that, I like our chances.

Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
You won a bronze in Athens, do you feel you are on your way to a gold here?
We have two games to get to the goal we set. Our next game is going to be against a tough team, either Greece or Argentina. We're looking forward to it. I think we are playing so much better than we played in Athens.

Is there anything you need to change going into the last two games?
Just keep playing the way we have been playing, keep our composure when teams come out early and give us everything they've got. There's four quarters to the game and we have to keep on fighting, and we are deep enough and talented enough where we can wear teams down on both ends of the court.

The biggest goal remains for the trip to Beijing?
Yes. Beijing has been great to us. The fans have been great and this has been an unbelievable Olympics, but it's not completed until we can win that Gold Medal. We have a lot of work to do in a short period of time.

What is the atmosphere like on the team?
It's great. We have an unbelievable team. Guys all believe in one another and all want to see each other succeed. I've never been on a team like this before. It's just great.

Who do you want to meet in the semifinals?
Whoever wins tonight. We'll take whoever comes next.

What was the key to tonight's game?
The key to tonight's game was to stick with it, knowing that they were going to come out early and give us all they had We had to stick with what we do and that's pressure defensively and run our offense where everybody gets involved. we picked it up in the third quarter and played the way we should.

Deron Williams (Utah Jazz)
On the 3-pointer made at the buzzer of the first half:
It was a little bit of a momentum builder for us. Something to take us into the half. We didn't feel like we played well in the first half.

They had cut back into the game, cut it to single digits. Chris Bosh got it off the rim, passed it to me, I looked up and saw that I had time to get off the shot. I got a good look at the basket.

What do you remember on the clock?
When I caught it, it was about three seconds.

What's the thought process at that point did you think about making it to the basket?
I could make it to the basket, but he kept backing up. That was my first thought. If he came up and challenged me, he was a big man, then I was going to try and get to the basket. But he kept backing up and I just rose up for the three.

How difficult was that?
It was a little difficult. I think I missed two before that so I just relaxed, came down and shot it. When you know you have to shoot it, it's a little bit easier.

Would you rather play Argentina or Greece?
It doesn't matter. Whoever wins, that's who we want to play. We want to play the best to beat the best.

You're two games away from the gold medal:
We have one goal in mind and that's the gold medal. We don't have our sights on any other medal. We came here with that purpose and I think we're playing great basketball right now. We're on our way to the gold medal.
On the game:
We were a little riled up in the first half, eager to break away. We didn't really take the shots and get the shots we wanted to and we relaxed on defense. But in the second half we came out with a purpose, started playing the kind of basketball we've played in the previous games and we were able to blow the game open.

The team seems to be peaking at the right time:
Definitely. Teams are going to be tougher as we go along but as it gets tougher, we get better. If we continue to do it I don't see anyone being able to beat us.