AN INTERVIEW WITH TIM WARREN ON INTERNATIONAL HOOPS

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What's going to happen to these men?

Tim Warren of The Washington Post has been following international basketball for over a decade; in that span he's covered two European Championships—2003 in Sweden and 2007 in Spain—for the paper, as well as often writing on the topic. We caught up with him via phone the day before USA Basketball took on Greece for a little background on some other teams hoping for gold in Beijing. It's essential reading before you consume ESPN The Magazine senior NBA writers Ric Bucher and Chris Broussard going back-and-forth on the USA's medal chances.

The Mag: Maybe a very basic question, but what are some of the biggest differences between international hoops and NBA hoops?

Warren: International has a shorter three-point line and a trapezoidal free-throw area. The quarters are 10 minutes long, you get five fouls, and there's no defensive three seconds. It leads to a prevalence of zone defenses, because you can stick big guys in the middle. As a result, the middle can be very hard to penetrate, and it's a very physical area. There's lots of contact inside. You look at the game recently between Germany and Greece, Chris Kaman is a NBA center—and you could tell he wasn't used to getting banged around like that down there. Also, the referees are very egalitarian and not impressed by stars; that isn't what Americans are used to. An international ref will tee you up no matter who you are.

Who do you think are the main threats for gold if it's NOT going to be the United States?

I'd say Greece, Spain, Argentina, and Lithuania.

Let's start with Greece. What makes them strong?

From a personnel standpoint, they have a number of skilled guards (Theo Papoloukas, Dimitrios Diamantidis, Vasileios Spanoulis). You need that against the US because they pressure you so much. They have several big inside players, and they play within their system extremely well. They're very physical on defense; they don't hesitate to knock a superstar on the floor. The Russian coach said to me, "They really play smash mouth defense." They just control the tempo of a game and wear you down mentally and physically. Another interesting thing about them is how they believe in their coach and their system. They have some guys who have played briefly in the NBA, but there's no "NBA/international" divide that you see with other teams.

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Pablo Prigioni is a key player for Argentina.

What of Spain?

After the US, they are the deepest and most talented team. I'd say they run 9 deep. They have so many ball handlers, too. To beat the United States, you need that. They have Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, and Juan Carlos Navarro. Rudy Fernandez—headed to the Blazers—has been their leading scorer for the first two games. Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol are both important players. The team's been together forever; they won the World Championships two years ago. What's going to be interesting when they play the US is that they love to run. Most teams are hesitant to run against the US, but they likely won't be.

Argentina?

Obviously, they are the defending gold medalists, but they have some key absentees from the 2004 games in point guard Pepe Sanchez and forward Walter Herrmann. They still have talent, and some NBA guys: Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni, Carlos Delfino and Fabricio Oberto. One big question is Pablo Prigioni, who is replacing Sanchez; he is highly regarded in the Spanish league, but not sure he'll be able to handle the U.S. pressure. Ginobili will be asked to do a lot in big games.

That brings up an interesting sidebar question referenced by Ric Bucher in this Back-and-Forth discussion. For a guy like Manu, what do you think is more important: a NBA title with the Spurs or a gold medal?

In a lot of cases, I think the importance is very close. For a guy like Manu, he's been part of Argentina's rise to be one of the most prominent programs in the world. There's a bond established between the players and the program in those cases. Argentina isn't a particularly small nation, but in a place like Lithuania, which is 3.5, 4 million people—playing on the national team is one of the highest honors you can have.

Seamless. What about Lithuania?

They've got excellent Europe-based wing players in Rimunas Siskaukas and Rimantaus Kaukenas, and some fine front court players in Linas Kleiza and the Lavrinovic twins, Darius and Ksistof. But point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, as good as he's been the past decade, is wearing down and doesn't have a lot of help from the bench. In an exhibition game with the U.S. before the Olympics, he was completely taken out of the game by Kobe Bryant, and other teams may try to force him to give up the ball.

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If the US loses the gold, this man will have some thinking to do.

Somewhat of a sidebar, but interested to know your take: Brandon Jennings. Josh Childress. LeBron rumors. Is this a threat to the NBA?

I'm reserving judgment on the influx right now. There are more teams with deep pockets over there, and the exchange rate currently favors the Euro. But, most of these guys grow up attuned to "NBA or nothing." In a way, going to Europe is acknowledging you're not good enough, or you need more preparation for the NBA. Money can take away some of that sting, but I'd be interested to see if a really big-name player actually makes the jump. Another main thing is, the games don't exactly cross over. If you're a pass-first PG, you'd be in heaven in Europe. A big man with a nice outside game? Same. But if you're a guy who likes to put it on the floor a lot, who is more about the individual than the team, you're going to struggle over there.

Let's say we DON'T win the gold. What are the next steps USA Basketball needs to take?

They've already taken a lot of them. It was important to have the concept of "a national team" and "a national coach" rather than switching out for different tournaments. You can't do that. They need to make sure the pipeline keeps going. The 2010 Worlds are in Turkey; that used to be an event we didn't pay attention to, but we haven't won the last two, so now people are. The commitment to playing both for Team USA and in the NBA is exhausting, so guys like LeBron and Kobe, you'll be replacing them probably. Keep developing the pipeline. I also think it makes perfect sense to put 1-2 guys on the team who have experience abroad; guys who know the refs, the players, and the teams. Team USA probably won't do that from a marketing perspective, because they embrace the notion of a Dream Team, but it makes perfect sense from a basketball perspective.

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