1984 United States men's Olympic basketball team: Difference between revisions
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== Legacy == |
== Legacy == |
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The 1984 Olympics was a coming out party for Michael Jordan, who led the U. S. team in scoring and dazzled the worldwide viewing audience with his athletecism and speed. In addition to Jordan, the team featured two other future [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers]] in Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin (who would later reunite with Jordan as a part of the [[1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team|1992 Dream Team]]). The team was considered one of the strongest in U. S. history as it featured four of the five [[1984 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1984 consensus first team All-Americans]] - Jordan, Ewing, Tisdale and [[Sam Perkins]].<ref name=HOOPS/> |
The 1984 Olympics was a coming out party for Michael Jordan, who led the U. S. team in scoring and dazzled the worldwide viewing audience with his athletecism and speed. In addition to Jordan, the team featured two other future [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers]] in Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin (who would later reunite with Jordan as a part of the [[1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team|1992 Dream Team]]). The team was considered one of the strongest in U. S. history as it featured four of the five [[1984 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1984 consensus first team All-Americans]] - Jordan, Ewing, Tisdale and [[Sam Perkins]].<ref name=HOOPS/> Jordan recalled that while this Olympic experience was exciting, it had been difficult because of Knight. "I don't know if I would have done it if I knew what Knight was going to be like" he would be quoted later. <ref name=JORDAN_RULES/> |
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The Olympics and trials helped the draft stock of several players. [[Vern Fleming]] and [[Jeff Turner]] parlayed their Olympic exposure into first round spots in the 1984 draft, while several players cut from the team either received strong recommendations from Knight ([[John Stockton]], Tim McCormick) or benefitted from exposure from the trials (Barkley, Lancaster Gordon).<ref name=BONDY/> |
The Olympics and trials helped the draft stock of several players. [[Vern Fleming]] and [[Jeff Turner]] parlayed their Olympic exposure into first round spots in the 1984 draft, while several players cut from the team either received strong recommendations from Knight ([[John Stockton]], Tim McCormick) or benefitted from exposure from the trials (Barkley, Lancaster Gordon).<ref name=BONDY/> |
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Revision as of 08:13, 1 January 2013
The 1984 United States men's Olympic basketball team competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, representing the United States of America. The team, coached by Indiana Hoosiers coach Bob Knight, won the gold medal. It was the last amateur U. S. team to win an Olympic gold medal in men's basketball. The Olympic tournament was notable in that many Eastern Bloc countries opted to boycott the games in retaliation of the United States' boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
Roster
| Name [1] | Position | Height | Weight | Age | Home Town | Team/School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Alford | Guard | 6-1 | 163 | 19 | New Castle, IN | Indiana |
| Patrick Ewing | Center | 7-0 | 248 | 21 | Cambridge, MA | Georgetown |
| Vern Fleming | Guard | 6-5 | 184 | 23 | Long Island City, NY | Georgia |
| Michael Jordan | Guard | 6-5 | 199 | 21 | Wilmington, NC | North Carolina |
| Joe Kleine | Forward | 6-11 | 269 | 22 | Slater, MO | Arkansas |
| Jon Koncak | Center | 7-0 | 250 | 21 | Kansas City, MO | Southern Methodist |
| Chris Mullin | Guard | 6-6 | 211 | 20 | Brooklyn, NY | St. John's |
| Sam Perkins | Forward | 6-9 | 233 | 23 | Latham, NY | North Carolina |
| Alvin Robertson | Guard | 6-4 | 193 | 21 | Barberton, OH | Arkansas |
| Wayman Tisdale | Forward | 6-9 | 259 | 20 | Tulsa, OK | Oklahoma |
| Jeff Turner | Forward | 6-9 | 229 | 22 | Brandon, FL | Vanderbilt |
| Leon Wood | Guard | 6-3 | 190 | 22 | Santa Monica, CA | Cal State Fullerton |
Olympic trials
Trials for the team were held in April 1984 on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Seventy players attended the trials. Kentucky post players Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin chose to skip the trials to concentrate on the upcoming 1984 NBA Draft,[2] and Keith Lee of Memphis State, Len Bias of Maryland and Kenny Smith of North Carolina ultimately pulled out as well.[3] Knight led the trials with assistant coaches George Raveling, Don Donoher and C. M. Newton, whittling the prospects to twenty by the end of the first week.[4]
During the trials, Auburn junior Charles Barkley impressed with his performance - most observers felt he and North Carolina guard Michael Jordan were the two top performers. However, Barkley's and Knight's strong personalities did not mesh and Barkley was one of the last cuts for the roster.[5] Ultimately, Knight cut the team to his final twelve players in June, as Tim McCormick, Lancaster Gordon, Johnny Dawkins and Chuck Person were the final four players let go (Dawkins and Person served as alternates for the team).[6] The most controversial selection was Knight's own player, Steve Alford, who at 19 was the team's youngest player and who most did not expect to make the team.[4]
Olympic tournament
The team went 8-0 in the Olympic tournament, averaging 95.4 points per game and holding their opponents to 63.3. Four players averaged double-figures: Michael Jordan (17.1), Chris Mullin (11.6), Patrick Ewing (11.0) and Stave Alford (10.3). Wayman Tisdale led the team in rebounding (6.4 per game), while Leon Wood led the team in assists (7.9 per game).[1]
Results
- USA 97, China 49
- USA 89, Canada 68
- USA 104, Uruguay 68
- USA 120, France 62
- USA 101, Spain 68
- USA 78, Federal Republic of Germany 67
- USA 78, Canada 59
- USA 96, Spain 65
Legacy
The 1984 Olympics was a coming out party for Michael Jordan, who led the U. S. team in scoring and dazzled the worldwide viewing audience with his athletecism and speed. In addition to Jordan, the team featured two other future Hall of Famers in Patrick Ewing and Chris Mullin (who would later reunite with Jordan as a part of the 1992 Dream Team). The team was considered one of the strongest in U. S. history as it featured four of the five 1984 consensus first team All-Americans - Jordan, Ewing, Tisdale and Sam Perkins.[4] Jordan recalled that while this Olympic experience was exciting, it had been difficult because of Knight. "I don't know if I would have done it if I knew what Knight was going to be like" he would be quoted later. [7]
The Olympics and trials helped the draft stock of several players. Vern Fleming and Jeff Turner parlayed their Olympic exposure into first round spots in the 1984 draft, while several players cut from the team either received strong recommendations from Knight (John Stockton, Tim McCormick) or benefitted from exposure from the trials (Barkley, Lancaster Gordon).[5]
See also
- United States men's national basketball team
- 1984 Summer Olympics
- Basketball at the 1984 Summer Olympics
- United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics
References
- ^ a b "1984 USA Men's Olympic Games Roster & Results." usabasketball.com. Retrieved on August 18, 2012.
- ^ "Bowie, Turpin to Skip". TheDaily Times. April 14, 1984. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Olympic Cage Quest". TheDaily Times. April 14, 1984. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c Cunningham, Carson (2009). American Hoops: U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball From Berlin to Beijing. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-2293-9.
- ^ a b Bondy, Filip (2007). Tip-Off: How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever. DaCapo Press. ISBN 978-0-306-81486-0.
- ^ "Knight Makes Up His Mind Early, Announces Olympic Cage Squad". TheDaily Times. June 28, 1984. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Cite error: The named reference
JORDAN_RULESwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
