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ARGENTINA: 2006 FIBA World Championship — 4th place. 2004 Olympics — Gold Medal.
Top Players: Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs; Luis Scola, Houston Rockets; Andres Nocioni, Chicago Bulls; Fabricio Oberto, San Antonio Spurs; Pablo Prigioni, Tau Ceramica (Spain); Carlos Delfino, Toronto Raptors.
Comment: It was certainly impressive for Argentina to grab one of the two Olympic berths in Las Vegas while playing without not only Ginobili and Nocioni, but fellow NBA players Oberto and Walter Hermann and former NBA players Ruben Wolkowyski and Pepe Sanchez. It showed the tremendous depth of Argentina's program and allowed Scola and Delfino to spread their wings as go-to players. The 2008 Olympics will likely be the last go-round for Ginobili with his national team, and this great champion is certain to bring his very best to Beijing. NBA fans are finally about to find out how good a player Scola is, albeit in a supporting role to Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
SPAIN: 2006 FIBA World Championship — Gold Medal. 2004 Olympics — 7th place.
Top Players: Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies; Juan Carlos Navarro, Memphis Grizzlies; Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors; Jorge Garbajosa, Toronto Raptors; Rudy Fernandez, DKV Joventut (Spain); Sergio Rodriguez, Portland Trail Blazers.
Comment: Spain's core group, many of whom are now in the NBA, have been together for years, having grown up together in the Spanish basketball system as teenagers and then honing their skills in the ACB, the top national basketball league outside the NBA. Spain has already qualified automatically for the 2008 Olympics, but they are the host country for the FIBA European Zone Qualifying Tournament beginning Monday. Spain has it all: a dominant post player in Gasol, smart, versatile guards in Calderon and Navarro, youthful exuberance off the bench in Fernandez and Rodriguez, and veteran intelligence in Garbajosa. Most of all, these players know each other's moves on the court so intimately, it's almost like facing a team comprised of brothers on the court.
GREECE: 2006 FIBA World Championship — Silver Medal. 2004 Olympics — 5th place.
Top Players: Theodoros Papaloukas, CSKA Moscow; Dimitris Diamantidis, Panathinaikos (Greece); Vassilis Spanoulis, Panathinaikos; Lazaros Papadopoulos, Real Madrid (Spain); Nikos Zisis, CSKA Moscow, Antonis Fotsis, Dynamo Moscow.
Comment: The Greeks present an enormous problem for most national teams because of their veteran big, tough guards. Papaloukas and Diamantidis, who were underestimated by Team USA to their everlasting regret in Japan, use their size and the loose officiating prevalent in FIBA basketball to physically dominate their opponents. Each is the kind of player who is not a pure shooter, but will make a huge shot when his team really needs it. In other words, they are winners.
LITHUANIA: 2006 FIBA World Championship — 7th place. 2004 Olympics — 4th place.
Top Players: Sarunas Jasikevicius, Golden State Warriors; Darius Songaila, Washington Wizards; Rimantas Kaukenas, Montepaschi Siena (Italy); Ramunas Siskauskas, CSKA Moscow, Linas Kleiza, Denver Nuggets.
Comment: Jasikevicius is returning to the national team this week after a three-year absence, but his reputation for controlling pace and for making big shots at the end of games guarantees he will always be welcome in Europe, despite the disappointing nature of his NBA career. Songaila is a beast when he gets the ball in the low post, something he showed more at Wake Forest than in the NBA, where he has rarely been a featured offensive player. Kaukenas, one of the leading scorers in Italy's Lega A, and Siskauskas, a veteran of the Euroleague, are extremely smart players who can play with or without the ball.
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FRANCE: 2006 FIBA World Championship — 5th place. 2004 Olympics — Did Not Qualify.
Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more.
Top Players: Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs, Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns; Rony Turiaf, Los Angeles Lakers, Yakhouba Diawara, Denver Nuggets; Mickael Pietrus, Golden State Warriors, Mickael Gelabale, Seattle SuperSonics.
Comment: France's young team will go as far as Parker can take them, and in Japan, that was pretty far (fifth). France has produced a seemingly unending supply of athletic swingmen over the last few years, and as they grow in confidence and stature, Parker will be able to utilize their talents more fully. France won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics with an older team, and this new generation of French players is almost ready to play for a medal itself. Pietrus and Gelabale are skipping the European Zone qualifying, but if France gets a spot in Beijing, they will be a dangerous team.
TURKEY: 2006 FIBA World Championship — 6th place. 2004 Olympics — Did Not Qualify.
Top Players: Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz; Hedo Turkoglu, Orlando Magic; Cenk Akyol, Efes Pilsen (Turkey); Ersan Ilyasova, F.C. Barcelona.
Comment: Okur played in his first NBA All-Star Game in February, and he has become one of the most formidable inside-outside players in the world. Turkoglu, who is coming off an excellent season for Orlando, is a strong, physical forward who plays a more bruising style on his national team than he does for the Magic. Akyol is something of a prodigy, being drafted in 2005 by the Atlanta Hawks when he was only 18 years old. He's nearly ready to become a big factor on the national team as is Ilyasova, who completed two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks before returning to Europe for a lucrative contract with Barcelona. Like France, Turkey is a basketball country on the rise and can't be overlooked.
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