How U.S. men's basketball is preparing for Olympics quarterfinals

Transcript

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

The U.S. men's basketball team is preparing to face Brazil in the quarter finals of the Olympic basketball tournament. The U.S. locked up the No. 1 overall seed with a talent-packed roster, but a gold medal here in Paris is not a guarantee. Just last year, a different iteration of the U.S. team finished fourth place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup behind Germany, Serbia and Canada. So as the players prep for tomorrow's game against Brazil, I met up with the team's managing director, Grant Hill, to ask how he views the competition.

GRANT HILL: Brazil, you know, they're a very athletic team. They're physical. They're very tough. They offensive rebound extremely well. They have some guys who've played in the NBA, so they're familiar with some of the players on our team. So I think it's important for us to always have the appropriate fear and respect for our opponent. And so I expect that we'll come out and put on a good show.

SUMMERS: I want to talk a little bit about this team, which many people have said is one of the best Olympic rosters ever - lots of comparisons to that 1992 Olympics dream team, including players like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing. You had a role in hand-selecting this roster. What do you make of that comparison?

HILL: Yeah, well, I think ultimately you have to win. You have to win a gold medal, and then I think you're worthy of having those conversations. And when putting this team together, I mean, I put a whole lot of thought. Just - it was much more difficult than you would think. You have all these incredibly talented players to pull from here in the U.S., but you also have the challenge of forming a team and understanding roles on a team and how pieces fit together. And then also the FIBA game and what we potentially would face here at the Olympics, there's so many different styles of play.

SUMMERS: I mean, even just as a fan, I think it's unquestionable that we are in this incredible moment where there is just so much international talent in the sport. The game is perhaps the best it's ever been. What does that say to you? What do you see when you look broadly at where the sport is right now?

HILL: I've - sort of remember the '92 dream team that you referenced earlier, and part of their mission, I guess, was to help globalize the sport. Well, mission accomplished. They've done that. It's - we're all benefiting from that. So it's exciting to see where the game is, but it's also exciting to continue to imagine where it can go. But it's made a lot of strides in the last 20, 30 years. And you see it's evident by almost 30% of the NBA is made of international players. So there's a good balance. That's great for the game. It's great for the NBA. It's not always great for USA basketball. It makes it that much more difficult. But we love the challenge. We love the fact that the game is in a great place. It just makes - for any team, but hopefully for us, if we're able to win gold, you know, that much better knowing we're going against a great field.

SUMMERS: I want to ask you about the pressure. I mean, this is a team that there have been constantly great expectations for because this team historically has been so dominant. How much personally do you feel that pressure to make sure that this team is successful?

HILL: There is pressure, and pressure means that it's important. And I think part of why there's pressure on the U.S. men's national team and the U.S. women's national team as well is because of the legacy of the program, because of the success of USA basketball in the Olympics over the years. Maybe in part, too, because we invented the game here in the United States. So there's a feeling that we must always dominate. But it's also a lot of fun, and the most exhilarating thing I'm doing right now. So we like pressure. We welcome pressure, and we hope to be at our best when we're under pressure.

SUMMERS: We've been talking with Grant Hill. He's the managing director of the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team. They face Brazil tomorrow in Paris. Grant, thank you.

HILL: All right. Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.