James’ ankle feeling better

LAS VEGAS -- It was a sight to warm the hearts of Coach Mike Krzyzewski, managing director Jerry Colangelo or anybody else connected with the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team.

There was LeBron James, a smile on his face, standing beyond the three-point arc Wednesday afternoon at the end of practice at Valley High, pumping in shot after shot, making six of nine in one sequence, free of a walking boot or any other medical device on his right leg.

Only 24 hours earlier, James, diagnosed with a mild sprain of his right ankle, was stretched out on a trainer’s bench in that same gym, his right foot encased in ice, a frown on his face.

“It feels a lot better today,” James said. “When it first happened, it didn’t feel good at all.”

James, who injured the ankle when he inadvertently stepped on Kevin Durant’s foot during a scrimmage Tuesday, sat out practice Wednesday and was expected to sit out Friday’s exhibition game against Canada, the team’s final activity before heading for the Olympics in China.

“I don’t think that would be a wise decision,” Krzyzewski said of the idea of playing James on Friday. “Especially because he will not have practiced. If the gold-medal game was tomorrow, he’d play. It’s an exhibition game and then we will travel for two days. That gives him about four or five days by the time we get to Macao to really get well.”

James is confident the healing process will be swift.

“I will be ready,” he said, “when we hit the road.”

Although he and Kobe Bryant are expected to be the key figures on the team, James wouldn’t categorize his presence on the court as critical to the team’s hopes for a gold medal.

“We need all 12 guys,” he said. “No one can get hurt.”

Scoring points but no talking points

Although there have been appeals to U.S. athletes to address the involvement of the Chinese government in the crisis in Darfur, several players say they won’t respond.

The Darfur region, located in western Sudan, has been engulfed in a devastating conflict for the last four years. Government troops and militia units called janjaweed have been battling rebels opposed to a government they say persecutes the non-Arab population. The government-backed janjaweed have targeted civilians. China is the major trading partner and supplier of weapons to the Sudanese government.

Some players have filmed public-service announcements appealing for an end to the slaughter.

“We are coming to play basketball,” James said. “We want to try and keep basketball and politics separate.”

Teammate Dwyane Wade agrees.

“It’s not about us making a stand or taking a position. It’s about us playing our position,” he said. “We are going into uncharted waters. It’s not our home. We are going to go over there and respect China. This is a business trip for us. We’ll let the politics take care of itself. That’s not for us to worry about. There might be some people that get into it, but that’s not my focus. I’m focusing on basketball.”

That decision will be solely theirs to make, Krzyzewski said. There will be no muzzle ordered from above.

“They should say whatever they want,” the coach said. “Our country allows you to do that. The fact is, we look at the Olympics as sport, not a political forum. But that doesn’t mean our guys don’t have the right to speak about any issue. That’s what makes our country a pretty nice place to live.”

Late additions

Former UCLA guard Russell Westbrook, taken by Oklahoma City with the No. 4 pick in the draft, and Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith have been added to the U.S. select team for today’s final scrimmage against the Olympians.

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steve.springer@latimes.com