THE SEOUL GAMES / DAY 13 : Commentary : ‘Miracle on Wood’ Has U.S. Second-Guessing

The day after the dynasty died:

The United States realized its impossible dream at Lake Placid, shocking the mighty Soviet ice hockey team. The Soviets lived theirs Wednesday, stunning the mighty U.S. men’s basketball team.

Do you comrades believe in miracles, too?

Obviously.

An hour after it ended, it was already being called the biggest team victory in the history of the Summer Games . . . and critics were gathering at the throat of U.S. Coach John Thompson.

Didn’t the problem lie in his selection criteria? Where were the American 3-point shooters?

One, Hersey Hawkins, was hurt; another, Dan Majerle, was in and out; a third, Mitch Richmond, was cold, and a fourth, Jeff Grayer, couldn’t have hit the Pacific Ocean from the airplane on the flight over.

Also, two other possible sharpshooters, Rex Chapman and Steve Kerr, got cut.

It wasn’t a banner year for outside shooters, but it’s hard to argue with the idea that an extra long-range shooter would have been handier than Stacey Augmon. Thompson already had enough defensive hounds on his bench.

Maybe it was Thompson’s system?

Maybe, indeed.

Thompson used all 12 of his players, running them in and out like interchangeable parts and gearing his offense to no one. Maybe that was why so many of his players were struggling. Players used to getting 20 shots a game, and being able to shoot themselves out of slumps, were getting fast hooks.

Sean Elliott, a candidate to top the 1989 NBA draft, went stone cold in exhibitions and was cut. Danny Manning, always loath to take over, anyway, was never asked to, and couldn’t Wednesday.

Even some team officials were wondering if Thompson had to keep Manning out of the entire first half after he got those 2 quick fouls. Manning, of course, wound up with no points.

However . . .

Who was complaining before Wednesday?

The team was playing well, and was generally being readied for canonization.

“This is a team that can play with the ’84 team,” said Lute Olson after the Puerto Rico rout, while two dozen scribes took down his words and nodded agreement.

“The ’84 team may have had a few more weapons, but this team, defensively, is the best team I’ve ever seen us put on a court in Olympic play, as long as I’ve been watching.”

All of a sudden, everyone knew this team was fatally flawed? Is this criticism or just the sportswriters’ axiom--if it loses, second-guess it?

An extra weapon or two--say, Michael Jordan, would have come in handy Wednesday, but it’s simple:

The Soviets beat the American amateur best, coached by one of its best. You might like to believe it was preventable-- we’re Americans, we can’t really lose unless someone messes up big-time --but Wednesday, the U.S. team was the second-best in Chamshil Gymnasium.

Is the world catching up?

Although it went little remarked upon, U.S. teams have lost games in every major competition they’ve been involved in since the ’84 Olympics.

They’ve won only one of those tournaments.

“No doubt about it,” says Bill Wall, executive director of the U.S. federation, in effect the general manager of these teams.

“We finished in second place in the Pan American Games, second place in the World University Games, second in the World Junior Championships--and we had good teams. We had a good team here.”

The losing coaches?

Denny Crum, Pan-Am Games; Mike Krzyzewski, World University Games; Olson, ’86 World Championships, where the U.S. won the title but lost a preliminary game to Argentina; Larry Brown, Junior Championships, and Boyd Grant, FIBA Club Championships.

Or in other words, the cream of American college coaches.

What’s happened?

In 1985, international ball went to the 3-point rule--at 20 feet 6 inches, a lot closer to the college 19-9 than it is to the NBA’s 23-6.

That’s not a long shot for a grown man.

In the United States, long-range shooters usually don’t come into their prime until their mid-20s, or about the age of most of the foreign players here.

In the United States, everyone plays the game from the inside out, both on offense and defense. American coaches pound the ball inside, and try to make sure the opponents can’t.

When Rimas Kurtinaitis was spotting up on the 3-point line, on the side of the court away from the ball, his defender was probably still dropping off into the lane, helping to guard Arvydas Sabonis, as any smart American would.

Bang, zoom, a guard cuts to the middle, tosses it out to Kurtinaitis, and he launches, without a second thought. If he misses a few, they’ll move up Valdemaras Khomichus, another mobile launcher.

“That’s that skip pass,” Wall said. “Boyd Grant was our first coach to see the 3-point shot. That was at the FIBA club tournament in ‘85, outside Barcelona.

“Drazen Petrovic (the Yugoslav bomber) beat ‘em up while we were going inside to Larry Krystkowiak.

“We finished fifth and didn’t make the medal round. That’s when we became aware of the impact of the 3-point shot.”

Won’t NBA players be eligible in 1992?

Yes.

FIBA has all but officially declared that they will, and will do that next April, opening the door for Magic Johnson to play in Barcelona for the United States . . . and Sabonis to play in the Lakers’ Pacific Division for Portland.

The U.S. federation doesn’t like the idea, but the rest of the world does.

“We don’t lobby against it,” Wall says. “It’s the will of the people.”

There are several questions, however, starting with: How many pros, having just completed their grueling October-to-June schedule, will give up 2 months of their off-season, leave home and join another team?

Maybe they could just borrow Kiki Vandeweghe, and tell him to stand out on that short, little 3-point line.

Voila, it’s morning in America, again.

“I know,” said Soviet Coach Alexander Gomelsky. “Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan comes in competition, not possible beat United States. I know.

“But this year, not possible. Maybe after 10 years, possible.”

Anything’s possible, obviously.