Redeem Team cashes in, sets sights on 2012

BEIJNG - The U.S. men's basketball team won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday, beating Spain 118-107.

Let us pause and remember what it feels like to have the Earth back on its axis.

Feel better?

Now comes the next mission: Convincing another group of NBA stars to start anew in a year to prepare for the 2012 London Games.

Team USA senior men's managing director Jerry Colangelo didn't sound worried Sunday. After the U.S. won, Colangelo, after joking that this team forgot it was a "six-year commitment," said four or five of the 12 men on the 2008 team had told him "unsolicited" they wanted to play for the U.S. again.

Dwight Howard, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade would be some of the younger players Team USA would want back.

"I will commit to this team until I can't walk no more," center Dwight Howard said.

Now that this team has redeemed the U.S. basketball program, what is the motivation to commit for another three years?

"This is the motivation right here," Howard, 22, said, holding up his gold medal. "To win another one. Lisa (Leslie) got four and she wore all four to the game tonight. I want to catch Lisa. I want to catch Michael Phelps."

U.S. star Lisa Leslie became the second women ever to win four basketball gold medals when the women's team won its fourth gold in a row Saturday.

James, 23, and Wade, 26, led this U.S. team the entire tournament, with energy, points and will. Colangelo said he had already spoken to James about 2012.

"I'm just so excited about how many want to go forward," Colangelo said.

Paul, 23, who was the U.S. team's lead point guard in every way, except that he came off the bench, said he would "most definitely" want to play in 2012 in London.

0x160"It definitely interests me," Tayshaun Prince, 28, said. "I know we have a lot of great young talent in the NBA that will probably be on the 2012 team. ... I'm more than committed to being on this team again."

Anthony and James gave the past four years of their lives to the Olympic cause, playing in Athens and the past three summers.

Anthony still seemed ready to re-enlist.

"I look back at 2004 and ... I'm so proud right now," Anthony, 24, said.

U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski, 61, said the next coach to fill his chair would have a clearer path.

"That person will have a structure that Jerry and all these people have built," said Krzyzewski, who's at the end of his three-year commitment. "I think the greatest part of the continuity should be Jerry and the players, the ones who still feel like they can give that type of commitment."

The path won't be as arduous for the 2012 group. This team had to travel to Japan and China to reach its goal. As the defending Olympic champion, the U.S. team need not qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. It will go to Turkey in 2010 to compete at the World Championships, but won't have to add a second trip to qualify like this team did.

"It's not that much of a hardship," Paul said of the three-year commitment. "It is when you're traveling."

By the end, this team was unified enough to insist on doing the final official press conference together. All 12 walked into the room after the game and sent Olympic officials scrambling for six more chairs.

USA Basketball was already looking ahead when it put players such as Greg Oden, Kevin Durant and Luke Ridnour on the national team.

Also, the past two summers, USA Basketball has invited others to help the team train for the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament and the Olympics. Andre Iguodala and 2008's top NBA draft picks, Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, did that in July.

"The young guys coming up that want to be a part of this, make sure you have right mindset," Wade, 26, said. "That's, ‘be unselfish with everything.' It's not about you shining. It's about the team shining."

With Paul, Howard and others coming back, the U.S. would have players with Olympic experience guiding those without.

On this team, that responsibility fell to Jason Kidd. He won a gold in 2000 and finished his senior international career at 56-0.

Kidd, 35, who didn't play much in Beijing, said this team's experience would be a great selling point for whoever comes next.

"I think it's going to be the hottest thing," Kidd said. "They had a bad start before they left for Athens in 2004. But with LeBron and those guys coming back for this and telling everyone how cool it is, it's going to be a hot ticket. There's going to be a lot of competition to play for this team."

The next team will also see competition that will only get better. The U.S. blasted through its first seven opponents by over 30 points per game, but the rest of the world won't retreat. Spain, not a power eight years ago, gave the U.S. a run in the gold-medal game.

Colangelo said the U.S. had to win gold if it wanted to force change, for USA Basketball and the rest of the world.

It happened after the Dream Team won in 1992, and Colangelo believes the world will push harder again.

"Now the world stage is going to be lifted, because the world sees we are taking everything seriously," said Colangelo, who will be 69 in November. "And that will help world competition, I believe that."

After working on the top portions of USA Basketball, Colangelo said more work needs to be done with the youth programs and getting the best players playing internationally early and often, "so that playing for the United States in the Olympics becomes the thing they really want to do," he said.

Colangelo's cell phone has been burning up with calls from players and agents wanting to take part in USA Basketball. He's not worried about "who" now that USA Basketball has a handle on "how."

"Why worry about that now?" Colangelo said. "We've seen now that they will come, so why wouldn't we think the best will buy into it all and come again?"