James reason U.S. favored for the Olympic gold

7/31/2008

MACAU, China - LeBron James was already one of the NBA's best players by the time he slipped on USA jerseys in 2004 and '06.

Problem was, the United States had enough good players. What the Americans really needed was someone to be a strong leader, but King James wasn't quite ready.

Now, one of the biggest reasons the United States is the favorite for the gold medal is because James has realized that this team doesn't just need him to be the player he is for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It needs him to be comfortable with taking over a game or taking control of a timeout.

"I feel like I have to raise my leadership level to a new height when I get with these guys. It's just how I am as a person and as a player," James said yesterday before practice.

"I'm a born leader, so I do whatever it takes for our team to understand what it means to win."

It wasn't always that way, though. The player who once would have allowed veterans such as Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant to be the team leaders now shares that role with them.

"There's a lot of respect for LeBron," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I think LeBron these last two years, as good as he was, he's really grown to be a very complete basketball player."

After the disappointment of the 2004 Olympics, when he played little following his rookie season on the team that won the bronze medal, James could have let the experience sour him on international play.

Instead, he quickly committed to join the team again when Jerry Colangelo began assembling the program in late 2005, then became one of the loudest American voices telling everyone that kind of flop won't happen again this time.

Then last summer he spent all offseason working to correct a weakness in his game, an inconsistent jumper that the San Antonio Spurs forced him to take - and too often miss - during their sweep of the Cavaliers in the NBA finals.

"You don't always have to speak as a leader," Kidd said. "You can show by example and I think he's doing both by putting in the work, extra shooting, and then also, when it's needed, he speaks up."

James strode onto the court for practice yesterday sporting the baseball cap of his favorite team, the New York Yankees, only this one had a red brim. It wasn't long ago that he didn't look nearly as comfortable wearing red, white and blue.

James averaged 13.9 points two years ago in the world championships, but the team's most talented player was too content to be a third option. He never led the Americans in scoring in any of their nine games, scoring some six points per game fewer than Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.

"Offensively, he really wasn't as comfortable," assistant coach Jim Boeheim said. "There were a couple of games I don't think he got many shots up at all during that whole thing, where Carmelo was more of a go-to guy, Dwyane Wade was more of a go-to guy. LeBron was not a guy who was anywhere near understanding the game and where he gets the ball and how he plays today."

He figured it out in a hurry. James averaged 18.1 points and made 76 percent of his shots from the field on the U.S. team that went 10-0 in the Olympic qualifier. And he proved his jumper is no longer a weakness, hitting 62 percent on 3-pointers.

What's more, he joined Bryant in showing a commitment to become a defensive stopper, something he can't demonstrate in the NBA because the Cavaliers need him to focus on his offense.

"I don't think he was anywhere near the player in '06," Boeheim said. "He didn't take charge, he wasn't a defensive leader. I don't think he had realized defense, he's always been an offensive player. Now he's really a key defensive guy on our team. That's a major, major change from what he was two years ago on the defensive end."

Boeheim calls James' "night-and-day" change, "the most impressive thing I've seen in two years."

Carlos Boozer has been watching James even longer, since they played together in both Cleveland and Athens in 2004. And he knows the difference in his teammate now is a reason the Americans shouldn't expect the same disappointment in these Olympics.

"He's just grown a lot. He's just matured just like anybody else," Boozer said. "As you continue to grow in age and grow in experience, you grow in maturity, and he's definitely done that and at the same time he's become one incredible leader."

EDMONTON - A tournament chairman said that two prominent players from Cuba's junior baseball team may have defected in Edmonton.

Ron Hayter said 2008 IBAF World Junior AAA starting pitcher Noel Arguelles and infielder Jose Iglesias were last seen Sunday night at their team meal.

"Rumors were swirling around a couple of days ago. There were denials everywhere. Both players ate the pre-game meal, then went back to their rooms at the university and got dressed to go on the bus, and they didn't get on the bus," said Hayter.

Hayter said there's also talk that two more players might have defected.

"Unfortunately we can't really get involved in these problems and it's up to the team's managers," said Hayter.