By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Columnist

Last month, when Carmelo Anthony of the U.S. Olympic basketball team promised, "we're bringing it (the gold) back," maybe what he should have said was T-shirts.

You know, a variation on the theme of the ones that can be seen in Waikiki and proclaim, "My parents went to Hawai'i and all they brought me was a T-shirt."

Because off first appearances, the U.S. basketball team is tumbling toward the danger of coming home without any of the favored metallic elements or alloys, gold, silver or bronze, as a souvenir of their travels and, now, mounting travails.

Anthony

In fact, the game of basketball, at least as practiced internationally, is looking, well, greek, to the U.S. team. Three-point shooting, rebounding, defense, passing. ... You name it and instead of Americans having invented the game, it looks like we've never even read a book about it.

Suddenly, tomorrow's game against host Greece isn't looking so solid, either. You know all those empty seats in the various venues that keep showing up on television? Well, there probably won't be many for that game because now everybody thinks they have a chance against the United States.

Mostly because if they can play a zone defense, they do.

If the myth of U.S. invincibility wasn't wiped away by the exhibition loss to Italy, the prayer-shot win over Germany or the struggles with Turkey before these Olympics got underway, then the pratfall against Puerto Rico sure did the trick, ending as it did a streak of 24 consecutive Olympic victories since 1992.

Yes, the U.S. team has had scant time together — 12 practices and seven games. Yes, Puerto Rico and the world has been catching up. And, some of the best players chose to sit this one out for reasons of health, security or ongoing legal matters. But it shouldn't take the whole NBA all-star team showing up to not get blown out in a first-round game.

Once Olympic teams lined up to have their pictures taken with NBA stars. Now, they're lining up to kick some red, white and blue butt and mug for the cameras themselves.

Not just Lithuania, Saturday's coming opponent and one of the medal favorites, either. Even Angola, a whopping 68-point loser to the 1992 Dream Team, has to be feeling better about next week.

Remember when it was feared that the United States was going to kill the interest in Olympic basketball by unleashing its NBA players and routing the world?

Well, that has all changed and Athens is the best example. Men's Olympic basketball has become exciting, unpredictable and wide open as never before. And it can thank the United States for that.

Somehow, though, you don't think this is what NBA Commissioner David Stern had in mind for his stars and league.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.