Before Athens in 2004 anything short of Olympic gold is seen as a failure.
When Team USA returned from Athens in 2004 with the bronze medal, the program was changed.
In 2005, USA Basketball put the responsibility in the hands of Colangelo, the former chairman of the Phoenix Suns. He demanded three-year commitments from everyone involved with the team.
"We needed commitments from coaches and players alike," said Jerry Colangelo, managing director of the USA national team program
USA Basketball announced the 12 players who will represent the United States this summer in Beijing:
Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Utah's Carlos Boozer, Toronto's Chris Bosh, the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Orlando's Dwight Howard, Cleveland's LeBron James, Dallas's Jason Kidd, New Orleans's Chris Paul, Detroit's Tayshaun Prince, Milwaukee's Michael Redd, Miami's Dwyane Wade and Utah's Deron Williams.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, chose not to make such a commitment.
There are some questions about 12-man squad:
*Its lack of balance, with only one true center in Howard, after Stoudemire withdrew his name last week.
*Two power forwards: Boozer and Bosh.
*Also three point guards, including Kidd, who is 35.
"I think ball handling and defending the point, that's where it all starts," Krzyzewski said. "In the past, We didn't have the strength, at the point guard position"
*Problem could be the team's ability to shoot from the outside.
But Redd is chosen specifically to fill that role.
Anthony, Boozer, James, and Wade played in Athens four years ago when the United States lost to Argentina. That team, widely regarded as too inexperienced .
Two years later, at the 2006 world championship, the United States had not yet improved, although the outcome was not as surprising as its sixth-place finish in 2002.
The team meat in Las Vegas for a two-day training camp Before it starts daily training July 21-24. Then they are scheduled to play nine friendly games, trying to build chemistry.
The U.S. team play Aug. 10, in a preliminary-round against China.
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