NIAF Chairman Jerry Colangelo talks USA Basketball in Washington Post

NIAF Chairman Jerry Colangelo

Basketball fans shouldn’t miss yesterday's Washington Post article, “ U.S. struggles to meet expectations,” which features NIAF Chairman Jerry Colangelo speaking candidly about USA Basketball’s efforts to win a world championship.

On Monday, USA Men’s Basketball prepared to face Angola in Round 16 of the FIBA World Championship. (Team USA ultimately won with a score of 121-66, advancing to a Quarterfinal game against Russia on September 9.) In addition to facing stiff competition, the young team – which does not include many of the NBA players who competed for the U.S. two years ago at the Olympics – continues to cope with the high expectations of international fans who want to see Olympic-quality wins. Notes writer Brian Mahoney, “They expect the United States not only to win the tournament, but also every game and perhaps even every quarter along the way.”

Colangelo explained: "I think there is a certain element that does persist that because we have USA on our jersey, that's good enough," USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo said. "And as the world competition has improved, it gets very challenging, especially with a young, inexperienced group of guys, regardless of how much talent we have.

"Personally, I'd rather be hunted like that than the opposite."

NIAF's most recent issue of Ambassador magazine featured an article on "Return of the Gold," a new book by sportswriter Dan Bickley that highlights Colangelo's leadership of the team and its 2008 gold medal win during the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Click here to read the article, which features a longer interview with Colangelo about his career, his Italian American heritage and his efforts to build a better national team.

Click here to read yesterday's Washington Post article in full.