A globetrotter lends his knowledge to USA basketball

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 5, 2008 | by Jeff Faraudo

Tony Ronzone still can barely wrap his arms around the adventure he's about to begin.

"I've been to Olympics before to watch," he said, "but I never imagined I would be wearing the USA sweatsuit. I still can't believe it's happening ... a kid from Bishop O'Dowd shooting jump shots for (coach) Mike Phelps. Amazing."

Ronzone, a 43-year-old Oakland native, did not ascend by accident to the position of director of international player personnel for USA Basketball.

After the U.S. team staggered to an embarrassing bronze-medal finish at the 2004 Athens Games -- the club's three defeats were one more than it had suffered at 14 previous Olympics combined -- changes were made.

Simply trotting out a collection of NBA players no longer guaranteed winning an Olympic gold medal.

Ronzone, among others, was enlisted to help.

Having played, coached and scouted international basketball for two decades since graduating from Long Beach State, Ronzone is among America's foremost authorities on the global game.

Profiled in a 2004 article in Time magazine, Ronzone estimates basketball has taken him to nearly 70 countries. He is a former national team coach for Saudi Arabia, discovered Utah Jazz forward Mehmet Okur on a remote Turkish island and had dinner with Yao Ming and his family at their Shanghai apartment on the occasion of the future NBA star's 18th birthday.

The director of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons when he's not working for USA Basketball, Ronzone has been assigned this summer to provide scouting reports on the international players and teams that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd will face in Beijing.

"My job is to make them understand who they're playing against," said Ronzone, recalling how Bryant recently asked him for a videotape on Greek star Dimitris Diamantidis. "Our guys are focused. They're buying in. They do respect their opponents."

Still, no one knows them the way Ronzone does. So we asked him to provide us with a scouting report on the competition Team USA faces in Beijing:

Which three teams are the biggest threat to the U.S.?

"Spain, Argentina and Greece. Spain won the world championships in 2006 and beat us. They feel they can beat us. They've got great guards and play very unselfish basketball. Argentina is the 2004 Olympic champion and plays with a no-fear factor. Four of their players are in the NBA and another two or three could be. Greece beat us (in the 2006 world championship semifinals), so they don't have the fear factor. They go 4-5 guards deep. They all can shoot the 3, they can all drive. They look to pass first, score second. They don't care who scores."

Which team could be the surprise of the Olympics?

"Lithuania is the tallest opponent we'll play. They have twin 6- foot-11 brothers who will shoot the 3. It's a team that's been playing since they were born as a country. Those guys can close their eyes and make passes to each other."

Who are the best players in the Olympics who aren't in the NBA?

"Dimitris Diamantidis of Greece is four-time defensive player of the year in Europe. He's a 6-7 point guard. He's unbelievable. The Lithuanian twin brothers -- Darjus and Ksystof Lavrinovic -- are 6- 11 and can play inside or outside. There's also (Lithuania's) Ramunas Siskauskas. He's a 6-6 point forward and anytime their team gets in a little funk or they break down, they put the ball in his hands and he just makes plays."

Which player will lead the Olympics in scoring?

"(Germany's) Dirk Nowitzki, hands down. He and (Spain's) Pau Gasol will be 1-2. But there's also a kid from Croatia, Marko Tomas, a 6-6 shooting guard, who's a big-time scorer."

How will home team China do, and how much will the crowd help them?

"The crowd will help them. They'll be loud, but they won't be crazy like the Europeans. I think China will compete, but it will be tough for them. They've got a billion people in the country, but they can't find the guards."

At age 35, what will Kidd's contribution be to the U.S. team?

"First of all, I've got to root for him because he's from my hometown. He brings complete leadership to our team. LeBron and Carmelo (Anthony) lost at the last Olympics -- Jason's got a perfect (44-0 international) record. Plus, he's pass first, shoot second, so he's a perfect international player. And he's taking this extremely seriously."

Contact Jeff Faraudo at jeffscribe@aol.com. Beijing's path to gold

Team USA's Olympic men's basketball schedule, starting with five pool-play games:-- Sunday: vs. China-- Tuesday: vs. Angola-- Aug. 14: vs. Greece-- Aug. 16: vs. Spain-- Aug. 18: vs. Germany-- Aug. 20: Quarterfinals-- Aug. 22: Semifinals-- Aug. 24: Gold/bronze medal games