http://www.tennessean.com/sports/olympics/archives/04/08/56385764.shtml?Element_ID=56385764

Houston fears for U.S. hoops
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer


KNOXVILLE — The last thing Allan Houston wants to do is pile on.

The New York Knicks and former University of Tennessee star guard still believes the U.S. basketball team, despite its troubles in the preliminaries, will bring home the gold medal from the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

That said, Houston is like many other American hoops junkies. He's concerned by the changing basketball culture in this country and what he says is a move away from fundamentals, especially at the younger ages.

Houston was in Knoxville yesterday visiting with Vols coaches and players. His grandparents also live nearby, in Maryville.

''What you have is a lot of kids who watch the highlights,'' said Houston, a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the Olympics in 2000 in Sydney. ''They watch the AND 1 (street ball) shows and all those things, and that's what they really know about basketball. That's where American basketball is kind of going.''

Houston, seventh in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this past season, refers to it as the ''slashing and flashing'' phenomenon.

''The game changes, but now it's at a point where guys are neglecting creating space and shooting that mid-range shot,'' Houston said. ''Shooting, itself, has almost become a lost art in American basketball, not only the mid-range shot, but any range.

''It's more about making a move and making somebody fall over and then laughing. That's what basketball is becoming.

''The reality is: Who's to say that this basketball is better when you see the European players and they're catching the ball right away, letting it go, and it's not hitting anything but the bottom?''

There's no denying the AND 1 influence and the ESPN images of one of the Mix Tape Tour team members dribbling a ball off the forehead of his defender and then swooping to the basket for a windmill dunk.

Even Taylor Duffy, public relations associate for AND 1, acknowledges that influence. But as Duffy also points out, nine of the 14 players on the most recent Mix Tape Tour team played Division I college basketball.

''Being out in all 30 cities on our tour, I see it first-hand,'' Duffy said. ''It's quite evident kids these days are caught up in doing the tricks and making the fancy moves and then not being able to follow that up by making their jump shot or making a fundamental layup.

''What we want to get across is that the players on our tour could not do what they're doing with the high-flying dunks and slick ball-handling without a solid fundamental base.''

In addition to its street-ball competitions, AND 1's Web site says more than 20 percent of NBA players wear AND 1. Also AND 1 sponsors the Puerto Rican Olympic team, which routed the Americans 92-73 in the opening game.

Houston believes the youth of the current U.S. team is working against it. Most of the NBA's top stars decided to stay home. The 2000 Olympic team of which Houston was a member featured several veterans and had a mix of players who filled different roles.

''The players are in a tough position,'' Houston said. ''When you have certain guys who didn't want to go because they were fearful for their lives or had injuries or family situations, that hurts. I think they'll still win the gold medal, and I think they still have time to recover and come together as a team.

''But it's a different style of basketball than we're playing in the NBA now. To grow 12 superstars together who have not really played together in that environment is tougher than people think.''

The U.S. team will face unbeaten Spain tomorrow in the quarterfinals. A loss would ensure the Americans of coming home without any medal.

Houston has watched portions of the Games and said it's obvious the Americans could use a few more outside shooters.

''I don't think when they selected this team that they thought that was going to be a problem,'' Houston said. ''A lot of those guys can shoot better than they are given credit for and better than they are doing now. But they're used to getting their shots in different ways. They're not used to just standing in a spot, waiting on the ball to come to them and shooting it.

''It's more of a rhythm, but I do believe that (a lack of shooters) has been one of their setbacks, and it's obviously become a little contagious, too. The whole team is feeling a little discouraged because they're not making shots.''

Houston isn't sure what the solution is, but he does believe NBA players will take Olympic invitations more seriously the next time around. He also said it's probably not realistic to send the NBA champions after such a long season.

''It's tough for a lot of guys to commit to that when our paychecks and our livelihoods are being made in those following months,'' Houston said. ''I don't know what's going to happen, but I do think there will be more guys commit to it because there's a lot of pride in us being the best.

''You see it in a lot of countries over there not respecting us anymore. I'm sure that's painful for a lot of guys to watch.''

Great read. Houston hits the right points in that article. Allan Houston knows what he's talking about. How many NBA players score by not dribbling and moving around in the triple threat position in isolation, then taking a quick step and swishing a mid range jumper just over the defender's outstretched hand? The NBA really is forming into just an athleticism and pure talent based game...

Posted by Allanfan20:

Kobe, KG, T-Mac, Ben Wallace. I've seen him hit many over them.

If you didn't notice, my first post was drenched with sarcasm. Sheesh.

Reggie Miller was always my favorite victim...some other honorable mentions were Derick McKey, Bruce Bowen, & those other guys A-fan listed...i could go on all day listing names.