<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Amare Stoudemire will get his wish and will be added to the U.S. Olympic basketball team, NBA sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein on Wednesday. The Suns forward had hoped to gain some 11th-hour consideration as the selection committee scrambles to fill a roster in flux. As reported by ESPN.com last month, officials have been operating under the premise that Minnesota's Kevin Garnett will not accept their invitation to join the squad. Karl Malone is also expected to relinquish his roster spot, and Lakers teammate Shaquille O'Neal is considered a long shot to accept his invitation.</div> Full Article: http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=1800465 Congrats to Amare. He would be joining Shawn Marion and former teammate Stephon Marbury.
I like the idea, it's not like they are going to play him too many minutes (let's hope not) -- he'll get to play and learn from some of the best US players, as well as be coached by Larry Brown. With Shawn and Steph on the team, he'll have familiar teammates; I just hope he learns from the experience, comes back fresh and well-rounded, and comes away with GOLD!!
A little further into the article it mentioned Richard Jefferson's experience and growth as a player from being a member of Team USA. He gained a better understanding of the fundamentals and it gave him confidence playing alongside the stars in the league. I expect the tournament to have the same positive impact on Amare. Not just being able to play with other stars, but also the opportunity to travel to another country at a young age. He will get to see another country and culture, which should give him a greater appreciation of how fortunate he is to be a member of Team USA. The best of luck to him and the team.
Check out Post #1 on this link. Prior to James, Marion, & Marbury being added there were 6 players on the team. Amare becomes the 10th member of the team. http://www.justbball.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17244
That's good to hear. Team USA lacks big men, so picking him up is going to help Team USA drastically. And the best part is that he's young and full of energy, and plays real aggressive. Hopefully, he won't keep trying to posterize someone. He often try to do it too much, and end up blowing the dunk. Well Congratulations to Amare. I know he's going to do some damage overseas.
Congrats to Amare and Shawn, should be helpful to Amare getting to be around J.O'Neal and Duncan practicing with them etc.
Hope Amare brings back some new moves for next season. Amare will be great next season not saying that he isnt now but he could probably be an allstar with the immense talent he has and the stuff he could learn from America's best. Stoudemire with a little more flare and shooting touch wouldnt be such a bad thing.
Whoa, he's going to make it really exciting, it'd be funny to see how he dominates and overpowers everybody. He'll most likely show off his power and hops. I'm looking forward to seeing that. It's awesome to see Rookies and Sophomores go at it in the Olympics, it's a real honor.
