Fran Fraschilla: "Like many others, I have seen the erosion of basketball skills, fundamentals and team play building in the United States over the last decade. There are many reasons for this, and simply put, everyone from AAU coaches to NBA executives are to blame. I am sure we could argue for hours over the problem.
So, don't blame Stephon Marbury for not fighting over screens against Lithuania, when he wasn't held accountable by his coaches for doing it on the high school, college or pro level. In other words, it took him 27 years to get this way; Larry Brown wasn't changing those habits in a fortnight. And don't blame Carmelo Anthony for pouting over playing time. After all, he should be entering his junior year at Syracuse instead of being used as a marketing tool to sell jerseys at The NBA Store."
Hey, a Bronze Medal isn't that bad in the grand scheme of things.
At least our team medaled.
The real problem with basketball in America is exploitation.
The people who pump money into the game -- the owners, the sneaker companies and sponsors of that ilk -- expect to make a profit on their investment, and let's face it: people find "fundamental" basketball boring.
And it's debatable whether the money guys really care about the integrity of the game. But don't blame the players, they just do what they know how to do.
Blame the owners and financiers.
They are the ones who fund the growth and development of the game that we actually see in arenas around the country and the world.
Ironically, you can probably blame the owners and financiers for just about every modern problem.
They always put their own profit ahead of people and things meaningful to the rest of us, and turn their backs on the problems their greed incites.
I know their argument: but if we don't invest in things, nothing will happen.
If they invested in trying to find a bottom to their amorality, they could invest forever.