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For US Men, London's Calling - Washington Post

August 15, 2008 - Posted in Articles, Car Rental, Deals, Shows

But if the United States is able to defeat Argentina on Friday and eventually claim a gold medal two days later, this might not be a one-time wonder. It won't have to be a magical moment in history that needs to be wrapped up and stored in a time capsule or immortalized with a commemorative stamp.
It could possibly be duplicated. With the exception of
,
, the core players on the 2008 Olympic team are all younger than 25 and could all be in London in 2012. Wade might be back, too, if he decides to give it another run at age 30.
"That's scary," Bosh said with a smile. "That'd be dangerous."
established the current national team program in 2005, he was focused on winning a gold medal this summer. But he also had the future of USA Basketball in mind, selecting young stars for continuity and creating a select team of less established players to practice with them during training camps and serve as a farm system, of sorts.
Colangelo had no idea that this summer would work out as well as it has. The United States is back to its Dream Team domination days -- winning the first six games by an average of 32 points -- and leaving vanquished opponents wondering just how much the gap has closed when America sends its most talented and committed representatives to international competitions.
He also has a group of players that enjoys being around each other on and off the floor, and has responded well to Coach
. Most want to come back for more.
"Why not? I want to play in as many Olympics as I can," said Howard, 22, the youngest player on the roster. "Not too many people get this opportunity. I want to take advantage of it. It's fun, to get a chance to be around everybody, get a chance to travel around the world and do stuff not many people get the chance to do."
Anthony, Bosh, Paul and Williams also said they would come back, if asked. "I'd love to get two gold medals," Williams said. "As long as I get next summer off, I'm cool. I'm back."
Howard, Anthony and James were the only three members of the team to participate in each of the past three competitions -- the world championships,
tournament and Olympics. Anthony and James have each had just one summer off since they entered the
, having also played in the 2004 Olympics. Anthony said he would like to be back in four years, but couldn't guarantee that he could give another three-year commitment.
"We shall see," Anthony said recently. "I can't look that far down the line. I haven't had no time off from the basketball court in four years, which is a good thing, but it could be a bad thing. I think the motivation I'm going to get from winning this gold medal, it should carry over."
James, who would be just 27 in 2012, said he was definitely "open" to being back. "If I'm comfortable and I'm feeling right and my family wants me to do that, I'll be there. You won't know what can happen four years from now."

Tags: Calling, London, Post, Washington