Hooped Up

If the Olympics started all over again today, LeBron James would be a happy man! 

 ”I still haven’t (come down). It’s an unbelievable experience to go out there and represent your country the way we were able to do it, showcasing our talent to the world, playing the game that we love to play,” James said Wednesday. “It was really fun that we were able to bring home our game, that’s the game of basketball. “I guaranteed the gold medal would be back in the United States of America. You hate the fact that it’s over. You’re never going to have that team again, as powerful as we were, we’re never going to have that team again.”

AP/Seattle Times

This English squad could become a sleeper pick in the 2012 London Olympics with Luol Deng on board.

” GB take on Israel on Wednesday in Tel Aviv, with NBA star Luol Deng in the team for the first time this summer.

“Whenever you have a guy like that added to the team it gives you a chance to win every game,” said Mensah-Bonsu, who was GB’s top scorer in Turkey. ”

BBC

Retaining Michael Finley just became a genius move in San Antonio.

“San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili says he needs arthroscopic surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left ankle. “They’re going to operate on me,” the 31-year-old told Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper Friday. Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, said an MRI of the injury showed no improvement from a previous exam. ”

AP/Arizona RepubliC

Nate McMillan, really likes what Rudy Fernandez offers the Blazers.

“Back home from the Olympics, where he was an assistant coach for Team USA, Trail Blazerscoach Nate McMillan on Thursday could finally reveal the two-week struggle he endured in Beijing. There were sleepless nights. A self-imposed muzzle on his emotions. And the uneasiness of choosing an allegiance. All because of Rudy Fernandez. The high-energy shooting guard for Spain, who will join the Blazers this month, excelled during the Olympics, which included a team-high 22 points in the gold medal loss to the Ameicans. And after getting a front-row view for many of Spain’s games, McMillan said Fernandez, 23, is so talented that he will “definitely” play, and play a lot, for the Blazers.”

The Oregonian

If Jason Kidd wins a NBA championship I’m calling first dibs on the ring.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t a case of Jason Kidd paying off a Charles Barkley-sized gambling debt. He’s just fulfilling a promise to Elaine Wynn of Wynn Casino fame. “Last summer, we stayed at the Wynn for (what seemed like) a lifetime, close to three weeks,” Kidd told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We met at a banquet, we got to talking, and she really understands the game. I told her I’d make a deal with her, that if we won the gold medal, I’d give it to her. She thought I was kidding. But I told her I had one already, and the way they treated us at the Wynn, it was the least I could do.”

Dallas Morning News

Kobe Bryant is a straight up rock star in China!  This wasn’t something that just happened on his arrival to Beijing either. Bryant actually has a reality TV show in China powered by Nike called “Kobe’s Disciples“.   The show featured 24 Chinese kids living and training in the United States and getting tips from Bryant.

This gives me even more reason to believe, that Kobe Bryant will land overseas before his playing days are done.  

Call me crazy.

It’s rare that this ever happens to a monster shot blocker like Dwight Howard but Rudy Fernandez beat Superman.  Will Rudy Fernandez steal votes from Rose and Beasley for Rookie of the Year?  

With plays like that…uh ya!

At least that’s what is sounds like he would like to do, via his blog at Yardbarker.  With Jason Kidd out of the mix as the veteran presence in the locker room, maybe there’s room for another guard from California.

“Spain balled their asses off - can’t wait till Rubio makes it to the league,” wrote Davis in his blog. “He’s a gem. Portland should be nice too, with Oden AND Rudy Fernandez coming in (did you see that nasty one-hand over Dwight Howard, are you kidding???).

“It would be an honor to play for the gold in London 2012 to keep the Olympic title where it belongs, here in the US,” added Davis. “What a dream come true.”

Yardbarker

It was mission accomplished for the Redeem Team yesterday, with a 118-107 victory over Spain for the gold medal on the final day of the Beijing Games.  Carmelo Anthony who was one of four members of the current US squad who was also a member of the 2004 Athens squad. Called the Beijing victory a “blessing” .  

Carmelo also said “We were at the lowest point. Today, we’ve done a hell of a job and put U.S. basketball back on top of the world.”  

Dwayne Wade led the US with 27, followed by Kobe Bryant with 20. LeBron James added 14, and Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony each had 13 points.

Rudy Fernandez led Spain with 21, Pau Gasol had 21, and Juan Carlos Navarro added 18. Carlos Jiminez scored 12, Marc Gasol 11, and Felipe Reyes 10.

With the bar set high for the 2012 London games, will other countries catch up to the US?

The NBA has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with China’s largest brewery Tsingtao Brewery Co. that will fund sports and dance competitions related to the NBA in the country, according to Bloomberg.

It will sponsor a nationwide search for an NBA China Dance Team which will train in the US. Tsingtao will also help finance a tour of basketball caravans across China. Last month the NBA opened two merchandise stores in downtown Beijing.

It plans as many as a thousand to cash in on spiraling interest fueled by the success of Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

CCTV