Sept. 5
Now do you believe the gap has been closed between USA basketball and the world? For the first time since NBA players have been on the American team in international competition, the United States suffered a loss, falling to Argentina 87-80 Wednesday night at the World Championship. The Argentinean team included former Temple guard Pepe Sanchez. So much for that 58-0 record.

	Pepe Sanchez, who starred at Temple, is a guard on the Argentinean team that defeated Team USA on Wednesday night.

The game of basketball is all about chemistry and playing as a team. It's about getting it done on both ends of the court, passing effectively and employing good shot selection on offense and helping out on defense. It's about playing good team D, stepping in the lane and closing off driving angles.

If you watched the game, it was obvious that Argentina played like a team.

Before the World Championship began, I said that Kobe Bryant and other NBA stars (the guys who weren't injured) should have played for Team USA. But now that we're at this point, I don't want to hear cries that the U.S. team doesn't have players like Kobe, Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady. The guys on this team -- Paul Pierce, Andre Miller, Baron Davis, Jermaine O'Neal and Reggie Miller -- can flat-out play. That's good NBA talent, but making the extra pass to get the good shot was the difference. Give Argentina a lot of credit for its performance.

In fairness to Team USA coach George Karl and his staff, they just don't get enough time to put these all-stars together. The game of basketball is best played as a team.

It is time to face reality -- the international talent gap has really closed. NBA players first played in international competition in 1992, when the nations of the world got to see our best: the original Dream Team with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. The world was able to measure the standard of basketball excellence by that team. Then other countries went to work to develop talented players -- and cohesive teams.

Look at what has happened in the NBA draft. Every year now, more international players are drafted. The talent overseas has really improved. Now, the United States must put a team out there that will play as a unit.

The bottom line is that the gold medal is still up for grabs, and that was the goal entering the tournament. Maybe this will serve as a wake-up call. With a sense of pride, the United States should learn from this. As Team USA guard Baron Davis said after the game, "We didn't play together defensively, we didn't move the ball and they played better than we did. But this baby is not over yet."

We have to flat-out understand that we don't dominate like we did in the past. We have to play with more of a sense of urgency, realizing what it means to wear that jersey that says U-S-A on the front. My feeling is that the United States will come back and win the gold medal. But we won't forget the loss to Argentina.