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The USA men's basketball team won't be back on the court until tomorrow, facing off against Australia as they continue their quest for Olympic gold. This follows a big win over the Spanish team in preliminary playoffs, 119-82.
Utah Jazz player Carlos Boozer may have more drive to win than any of the other players. He was on the 2004 Olympic team that failed to bring home the gold medal from Athens. Tom Kirkland caught up with him today.
Boozer isn't playing a lot of minutes on this ‘Redeem Team', but he's really happy to just work hard, push his all-star teammates in practice and be there should his college coach call on him.
Boozer is an Olympic veteran who understands just how special this Olympic experience is. "It's so amazing because you get a chance to see athletes from different countries and so many different sports. You meet people who may not even speak your language, but you have the same respect for them because they're Olympians. And as a fellow Olympian, it's an honor to walk beside them in opening ceremonies. The best memory of Athens for me was opening ceremonies see an arrow come from outside the stadium. I'm like, oh my gosh. In the lake was the Olympic symbol and rings of fire; it was the most amazing thing I ever saw in my life," he said.
From then on, Boozer's gold medal dreams went up in flames too.
"I was so disappointed. I felt like I'd let down my countrymen. We were all so young. I was in my second year. Carmello [Anthony], Lebron [James] and D [Dwyane] Wade were all rookies, and for us, we were like a deer caught in the headlights, eyes wide open," he said.
In 15 Olympics, Team USA has lost a total of five times, three of those in Athens. The bronze medal was a bust for team USA.
"What was bittersweet about it was, when we got our medals, we had to watch Argentina get the gold medal. That was the most painful experience," Boozer said.
Now, four years later, the Dream Team's become the Redeem Team. Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James feel the urgency every day, pushing their new teammates to the gold standard.
"The pain from not succeeding, we still have that. The guys that were there, we're bringing that same pain, using it as motivation. Nothing's going to be handed to us, we're going to have to go take it; and we're ready to go take it," Boozer said.
It's not easy for an all-star like Boozer to accept the back-up role, but he is totally committed to doing whatever it takes to help this team bring home the gold.
With no game Sunday, Boozer says he's planning on visiting the Great Wall of China.
