If you take a look at the coaches who have led the USA Men’s basketball team, since the late Chuck Daly was at the helm of the original and only "Dream Team," one common theme is shared among all of them — they were well respected coaches with successful track records and able to manage egos.
When asked on who he believes should be the next coach of the Olympic Team, Doug Collins stated:
“My feeling is the two guys who should be in the mix are Pop and Doc.’’
The head coach needs to be able to ask the players to do something or make a decision and know they will not give him any push back or try to do things on their own.
I think Charles Barkley said it best, when he was asked about playing for Daly, if he can deal with the (expletives) that comprised the "Bad Boys" in Detroit, then he is would be able to deal with the egos on the “"Dream Team"."
When dealing with the caliber of players that comprise the USA Olympic team, you need to have a coach that can instantly get the respect of the players. For today’s athletes, nothing speaks louder than championships.
Which Collins went on to validate with the following statement.
“I think those two guys, what they’ve done. Pop, the years he’s put in, what he’s done and plus he has a military background a lot like Coach K, and what he’s done in San Antonio. And then I think Doc.
Those two guys are the cream of the crop. They’ve won championships.''
So as the process of selecting a head coach moves along, let’s hope that committee in charge looks at the content of the coach and not merely the gruff exterior that Coach Popovich shows during his in-between quarters during national televised games.
Otherwise they may miss the opportunity to maintain the momentum that Coach K and Jerry Colangelo worked so hard to regain in the aftermath of the 2004 Olympic catastrophe.
