Earlier today, in a teleconference for Team USA Basketball with Chairman Brian Colangelo and USA Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski regarding the 2010-2012 pool of players that Team USA Basketball gets to choose from, I asked Mr. Colangelo a question about 2008 Gold Medalist Kobe Bryant, who hit the game-clinching shot in the closing minutes in the Gold Medal game against Spain. Here’s how it went and how Mr. Colangelo responded:
Mark Travis (But The Game Is On.com): Kobe Bryant seemed like the alpha dog in 2008, but he has suffered from injury since. Has he ever expressed doubt about playing with the National Team?
Brian Colangelo: I would say this about Kobe: He is totally committed to USA Basketball. He has been. It’s very much appreciated. That is why he is part of this pool, because of his interest in continuing. There is no doubt that a lot of players have wear and tear during the course of their careers, and that’s why it’s important not to put the cart before the horse. We are taking one step at a time here. We’re hopeful that all of our players are going to be healthy for our mini-camp in July, but only time will tell. As far as Kobe, we couldn’t say enough things about him in terms of his leadership and the job he did for us in this last run we had.
To read more quotes from Coach K and Mr. Colangelo, click here.
