The rest of the world asked for it. Yet, the NBA players refuse to let them. And this was never the intention of sending pros to the Olympics. Most of America can live with the rest of the world working the angles of international basketball, running impeccable offensive sets, packing tight zones and clutching and grabbing American uniforms to slow the game to a sluggish speed. They can live with Lithuania delivering a game for the ages and threatening to bring the walls crumbling down on the Dream Team.
Nobody likes it, but they can live with it.
Yet, where is the outrage today over the embarrassment of this coaching staff. Everyone loves Rudy Tomjanovich, but the most embarrassing elements of the unforgettable night started and ended with him and his little helper, Larry Brown. For all the grief John Thompson had to endure for bringing home a bronze medal with college kids in 1988, he never embarrassed the country. He just a lost a game to the Soviet Union in the semifinals of the Olympics. Looking back, Thompson had the team at a most difficult crossroads.