USA Basketball

A Little History: The USA has played Venezuela three times in past FIBA Americas Championships, collecting a 98-69 (+29) victory in 2003, winning 83-61 (+22) in 1999 and in 1992 the Dream Team had no trouble in a 127-80 (+47) romp. Despite that lopsided score, Venezuela went on to collect the silver medal at the ‘92 Tournament of the Americas.

The Scoop: USA Basketball talked to the three assistant coaches as well as Tony Ronzone, the team’s Director of International Player Personnel, to let you know what to expect out of the international play and the USA’s first contest against Venezuela. We’ll check in with Ronzone prior to each game as he's the man the USA is counting on to break down opponents. Plus, in this first edition, Ronzone details the work that goes into winning.

Tony Ronzone
Director of International Player Personnel
Can you describe the process you go through while preparing the team for its next opponent?
...Tonight we're giving each player a DVD to take back to their room, so they can watch and have an idea. And I think what Coach K is really into is the personnel is really important, that our guys really know who Vasquez from Venezuala is, they know who Carlos Adino is becuase they're not household names. Our guys follow NBA guys. They might even follow college once in a while, but they don't know kids from Venezuala or from Uruguay. So it's real important than we educate them on these guys, and that's what we are trying to do.

Who or what makes Venezuala dangerous?
They're a team that is very athletic. They play a two-three zone. We are going to get zone. And they are a team that just looks to drive, drive, drive. So they're going to try to make our guys pick up fouls, which we won't, but they are going just be very active. I think that's they're biggest strength. They're not great shooters, just more athletic guys that like to play above the rim, play kinda wild. The game in my opinion is going to be very up and down, a very active game. It will be a very entertaining game. Our guys will like to play this game.

Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix Suns
Assistant Coach
Is the team ready for Venezuala tomorrow?
I think so. I mean, we better be. Whether I think so or not, we better be. But, yeah, they're ready to go. They're anxious to get it started and see what they can do.

Has the team adjusted to playing according to international rules?
Basketball is about reaction, so we'll see how that goes. We stress the rules, and they know it. But trying to get it once you get into a game and you start reacting we'll see if it kicks in or not. I don't think they'll ever be totally imersed in it because it's not possible, but I think they'll have a nice understanding of what we need.

Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University
Assistant Coach
What are the major differences between the international game and what people normally see here in the United States?
The international game is different from the NBA game, the officiating is little bit different, they allow more international hand checking and banging around. I think that makes it different. I think the biggest difference is that international players tend to be better shooters, better perimeter shooters, they spread the court out more. It’s a big adjustment for NBA players to make, but I think our players have started to make those adjustments and I think we’re a lot better at playing the international game than we were at the same time last year.

The international game also changes from region to region, zone to zone. The Asian game is a little different than the European game. What can you expect to see from some of the teams here?
Some of them are a European style, some of them play very similar to our style: pressure, run, get it up the court. Some do play more in the European style. Argentina is a much more European-style of team. But you have to be ready for all types and you have to be ready for some teams to zone more than others. You have to be prepared for all different kinds of things.

Nate McMillan, Portland Trail Blazers
Assistant Coach
Is this team prepared to play according to international rules?
We're really trying to focus on changing them for this competition because it is a different brand of basketball. It's a more physical game. A lot of rules that we have in place in the NBA, it takes some time to adjust. So we're really trying to focus on the rule changes that these guys will be facing because we feel like we got to play their game. They are adjusted. They are accustomed to playing NBA basketball because of so many players in the NBA, but international basketball, our guys are not accustomed to the physical play, some of the screens that they set, the hand checking rules, being able to touch the ball on the rim. So there are some adjustments for us.