Odom Impressed Williams at Olympics

Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak was in North Carolina last month for a golf outing, ready for a few days’ worth of doglegs and discussions of Tar Heel basketball at his alma mater.

What Kupchak didn’t expect was Roy Williams’ unsolicited analysis of Laker forward Lamar Odom.

Williams, hired to coach North Carolina last year, was an assistant for the U.S. men’s basketball team that didn’t do so well in Athens. Odom apparently fared a little better.

Kupchak didn’t have to ask Williams’ opinion of Odom, one of three Miami Heat players acquired in July for Shaquille O’Neal. Williams was quick to supply it.

“Roy spoke highly of his maturity, how he was great in the locker room,” Kupchak said. “I think he did improve maybe some peoples’ opinions of his ability on and off the court. I think a lot of that happened last year in Miami, [but] it was a good summer for him.”

The U.S. finished with a bronze medal after losing three games, including a semifinal loss to Argentina.

Odom was one of three U.S. players to score in double figures in all three medal-round games, but Olympic followers, and Odom, will remember only the bottom line -- no gold medal for the U.S.

“I was hurt,” Odom said. “That last game against Lithuania, we showed what being an American is all about, never quitting when all odds are against you.

“To tell you the truth, mentally and emotionally, it would have been easier just to give that game up versus to win it. ... We showed a lot of pride to finish up strong.”

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Coach Rudy Tomjanovich has less than four weeks to install the new Laker offense, a tall order on most teams, particularly one with six small forwards under contract and an injured starting center, Vlade Divac, who might not play an exhibition game because of a sore back.

“There’s so much stuff [to learn],” Tomjanovich said. “It’s just like we’re cooking soup and we just chopped up the vegetables. It’s going to take some time.”

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Forward Luke Walton sprained his left ankle and also strained a tendon in the ankle when he landed awkwardly on a teammate’s foot during practice Thursday at the University of San Diego. He will be reevaluated today.... Forward Brian Grant did not practice because of a sore neck. An MRI test was negative and the injury, though uncomfortable, is not believed to be serious. “It should be OK, but I looked like Frankenstein when I woke up today,” Grant said.