Johnette Howard is an award-winning writer and author who previously worked for Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, and Newsday.
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Durant picked up right where he left off in the 2012 Olympics with 25 points, and the USA men’s basketball team routed China 119-62 on Saturday night in its opening game.
He had a dinner at his house when Team USA was in Houston, where it defeated Nigeria 110-66 on August 1 in the exhibition tour finale. A weeklong cruise on the yacht can cost upward of $13,000, and patrons enjoy access to a spa, bar, cigar lounge, several dining areas, verandas and an outdoor pool.
In the Redeem Team era, Team USA has primarily been respectful to the competition, despite remaining obviously very confident.
“It’s no different than us staying in the hotel”, he said.
“We should cherish this opportunity and keep our cool mind”, commented Yi Jianlian, a former National Basketball Association player who is on his fourth Olympic journey. We look forward to having that experience.
The boat, the Silver Cloud, is docked at Pier Maua.
Jordan is one of 10 Olympic rookies on Team USA. “There are definitely times in the game when I’m like, ‘Oh man, I have to get my hands right, ‘ but everybody’s using the same ball, so you have to get used to it”.
US basketball won’t likely have to worry about any of that. “Because they’re going to study us just like we’re going to study them”.
But will the USA basketball men and women teams’ decision to ride the games out in style aboard a luxury liner damage their relationship with teams from other countries? The practice of staying outside the athlete’s village started with the first men’s Dream Team in 1988. I think it’s worth noting that while Irving says that nothing could stop U.S. from taking home top honors, he did hedge a little by mentioning that it should be their mindset, as opposed to a direct statement of fact.
Now it’s time to play the games and see if Irving’s right. The U.S. men stayed on the Queen Mary 2, wound up losing to Argentina, and came home with only a bronze medal and red faces.
The boat, smaller than a major cruise ship with 160 rooms, became a bit of an issue during the men’s team’s first formal press conference Thursday in Rio.
The U.S. won that game 101-70 victory and has been even more dominant since.
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But now that they’re all here, a reporter asked Taurasi, what will life be like on the ship?
