Former Detroit Pistons great Grant Hill taking over USA Basketball
After taking a rocky road to another gold medal at the Olympics, the job of running the men’s side of USA Basketball has been turned over to Grant Hill, a former star for the Detroit Pistons.
When the United States plays in the Olympics, the men’s basketball team is expected to stomp the rest of the world like a bug. Since the advent of the ‘Dream Team’ in 1992, Team USA has pretty much done that (except for a hiccup in 2004 when, coached by the Pistons’ Larry Brown, they finished third).
Now, 2021 was not as much a bug-stomping affair. The USA dropped two exhibition games in Las Vegas and then got beat by France in its first game in Tokyo. Led by Kevin Durant, Team USA (which included the Pistons’ Jerami Grant) then won out, beating France for the gold medal.
If USA Basketball had picked more Detroit Pistons, all would have been OK. light. Related Story
After the Olympics, as was pre-arranged, USA men’s program managing director Jerry Colangelo (who took over in 2005) passed the torch to Grant Hill. The Duke grad was drafted third overall in 1994 by the Detroit Pistons.
Hill, a 6-foot-8 forward, played six seasons for Detroit before being traded to Orlando (in return, the Pistons got future Hall of Fame center Ben Wallace).
Who will coach the Olympic team in 2024?
With a new managing director, comes a new coach for Team USA. Gregg Popovich, who had a really up-and-down stint as coach (the Olympics were the only tournament he won) is also stepping down.
Hill won an Olympic gold medal in 1996, back in the bug-stomping days, as no team came close to Hill, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and company.
He told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, he still remembers fondly that Olympic Games, and hopes to convince today’s stars they should welcome time as an Olympian as well.
"“Just the experience, the feeling of winning a gold medal, the feeling of competing on that stage …,” Hill said. “One of the great memories of my career, the relationships, the platform, the environment, the Olympics, everything about it, all that it encompasses, is something that 25 years ago it’s hard to believe, or almost 25 years ago. It still feels like yesterday. I still recall and remember and have fond memories."
After studying the game for a year, Hill knows that the United States can not simply out-talent everyone anymore, they need to learn the international game. The coach must know the differences.
Related Story. Detroit Pistons: Olympics could push Jerami Grant’s game to another level. light
It is expected that Hill will pick an NBA coach with USA Basketball coaching experience, although his former coach at Duke, Mike Krzyzewski, did pretty well coaching pros, winning three gold medals. Villanova coach Jay Wright was an assistant to Popovich.
Hey, Hill’s old Pistons coach, Alvin Gentry, is available.
The Pistons made the playoffs in four of Hill’s six seasons but never won a playoff series (twice losing to Atlanta, 3-2). However, with Team USA, Hill knows the expectations are far different. Any loss, in any game, will be considered stunning, and anything less than a gold medal in an Olympics will be considered utter failure.
"“We’re all alone in terms of what those expectations are,” Hill said to Spears. “You don’t run from that. That’s something you welcome, you embrace, and you recognize that you’re supposed to win.”"
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Pistons players did pretty well with USA Basketball this year. Grant was on the Olympic team and Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey both were on the Select team (and Bey was briefly called up to the main team due to injuries). Besides those three, one would think Cade Cunningham would also be under consideration for the 2024 Olympic team.
Hill will happy to pick Pistons, one would think.