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Dream Team now nightmare

AFP, Athens
Now that their Olympic basketball humiliation is complete, the United States might just go back to the old-fashioned notion
of tryouts and having a coach select the players instead of a committee.
In the wake of Puerto Rico's historic 92-73 upset of the US National Basketball Association's millionaire stars here Sunday, American fans were asking how the rest of the world has overtaken the game's homeland.
From the moment such NBA stars as Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady started pulling out or rejecting Olympic overtures, USA Basketball's selection committee was scrambling to fill US uniforms.
US coach Larry Brown, left with a team lacking superior height or
outside shooting skills, was confident that the 2008 Beijing Olympics would see a US team selected at a tryout camp from among those willing to commit to the trip.
US co-captain Allen Iverson said tryouts were not a bad idea.
Just as a 1988 Seoul Olympic semifinal loss to the Soviet Union spelled doom for the era of having collegians represent the United States, this third loss in 112 Olympic starts might force greater changes.
Michael Jordan led the 1992 "Dream Team" to Barcelona gold but the NBA's elite have left league newcomers to defend that team's US legacy against its global one - the huge numbers of talented players from around the world.
The novelty of the Olympics has worn off for most top US NBA players, who have either won gold already, have no interest in giving up their three months away from the NBA or are drained from the stress of a deep playoff run.
Hints of the US struggles came early. Iverson, LeBron James and Amare
Stoudamire were suspended from an exhibition against Puerto Rico for being late to a team meeting.
Then came a 17-point loss to Italy and an 80-77 victory over Germany won only when Iverson sank a half-court miracle at the final buzzer.
For all their talk of coming together as a team, the US Olympians lacked the personnel an NBA general manager or coach would have assembled and the time to learn the rules and opponents they would have to master to claim a gold medal.