The United States Men’s Basketball team, the Redeem Team, went into the gold medal game against Spain last night, and captured the gold medal for the United States once again.  While the team may not have made it look as easy as they did in 1992, they certainly improved on the performances of the U.S. national team over the past few years.

It is hard to say that this team was led by any one player because they all contributed and they are all so good.  But some of the players who stuck out in my mind were Dwyane Wade (rejoice Heat fans, there is hope!) because of his resurgence after an injury plagued year, Chris Bosh who finally got the recognition that he deserves after being trapped in the media black hole of Toronto Raptors basketball, and of course Kobe Bryant and LeBron James simply taking over when it was crunch time.

To me, the most impressive thing about this team was not that they won by 30 or 40 points almost every game, the most impressive thing was how they went about winning.  This team tried their asses off every single game, and when they weren’t playing or practicing they were out watching fellow Americans.  This team was bigger than the individuals on it, it was even bigger than USA basketball, it was all about the USA Olympic Team, and that was refreshing to see.

I have no doubt that people will be saying that the celebration after winning gold was excessive.  People will say that they should have acted in a more reserved manner because they were the clear favorites going into the games.  I disagree on all counts with those critics.  Seeing the team celebrate like that after they won the gold medal made me realize that this team wanted it more than they could ever express in words.  They didn’t expect to win the gold, they expected a hard fight the entire way and while it appeared they were able to coast some of the time they never rubbed it in, they never showboated, and they always kept grinding and the result was an Olympic gold.

Team USA basketball can’t win anymore even if they try to field their best team. When members of their best team don’t want to play, that makes it even more difficult to win. And by more difficult I mean next to impossible. This is the task they will be facing as they head into international competition.The team was looking to add Marcus Camby as a defensive stopper/inside presence, but he has declined the invitation.

Camby has a pressing family problem that he needs to attend to, and while this is going to be a hit to the United States team, I’m sure they can find someone else. I personally don’t know how much Camby’s style of play fits into the international game. While Camby can dominate the post, it seems like we get beat because we can’t play as a team and can’t defend the perimeter play. He is obviously one of the best players in the game. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and can still play. But how well would he adapt to the international game?

Regardless, the people who make the selection for the team obviously thought he would help them, and his absence will hurt them. That means that this is going to be a tough blow for the team to overcome. Can they do it? I certainly hope so, but I’m not sure. They need a lot of help, and Camby might have fit right in as a role player, or maybe he would have failed completely. While I tend to think more towards the latter, we just won’t know.

LeBron James said that he was only “50-50″ on whether or not he would play for team USA in an Olympic qualifying tournament over the summer. This has of course pissed off Team USA director Jerry Colangelo. Whenever one of your players says he doesn’t want to play for your team, it usually is enough to make someone angry.

There has been all sorts of discussions about LeBron and his effort, or lack thereof this year. Many people feel that his heart doesn’t seem into the game and that he isn’t playing at as high of a level as he used to. This statement probably didn’t help him win anyone over to his side. People are getting fed up with LeBron and his apparent lax attitude and Colangelo isn’t going to take it anymore.

LeBron was one of the few members of Team USA who seemingly had locked up a spot on the team, but Colangelo is making it clear that if James wants to play on the national team he is going to have to partake like everyone else. I have to completely support Colangelo in this one. If LeBron wants to be part of the team, he is going to have to earn his place. This team needs to put together a good run, and good showings in major tournaments such as the Olympics. To do that, they are going to need to play together as a team for more than one summer.

This requires LeBron to play with his team this summer. Personally I don’t know if I want to see him play for Team USA anymore. If LeBron doesn’t want to put in the effort to lead this team somewhere, then quite frankly he shouldn’t be on the team. He may be one of the most talented players in the NBA, but if he isn’t going to put in work that won’t mean anything in the international game. I hope that LeBron can get himself back together and get his heart into the game because he would certainly be useful for the team.