U.S. Women’s Basketball Outlook: Why The Favorites Can Expect Challenges

The U.S. women's basketball team is aiming for their fourth straight gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which would set a record for most consecutive golds by a women's basketball team. 

Entering their first preliminary round game on Saturday night, it should be clear why this team is #1 in FIBA's world rankings. In addition to having a number of WNBA stars with Olympic experience on the roster, they will also feature Candace Parker, who will be making her first appearance on the global stage as a professional.

However, if there is one thing that U.S. basketball fans should have learned by now, it’s that expectations and talent alone are not enough to win international competitions.

So perhaps due to past disappointments on the men's side as much as present circumstances, there has been plenty of attention paid to the on-court chemistry of the U.S. women’s basketball team. Of course this problem should be expected considering that the 12 players on the roster have never played together as a full unit. From head coach Anne Donovan (via WNBA.com):

"These players know our system. Every one of them has played at different times with different players, but these 12 have never played together before. If anything, it’s just getting chemistry, working together at both ends of the floor and getting the kinks out. There’s going to be mistakes early as they learn to play with each other and get familiar with who’s good at what, and how we can parlay strengths and cover up weaknesses. Overall, I’m really pleased so far."

Their widely-acknowledged struggle with on-court chemistry – in addition to their 25-game Olympic winning streak and a loss to Russia in the semifinals of the 2006 FIBA World championships – make this team one of the more intriguing story lines of the U.S. contingent to Beijing. How quickly can this talented team come together and will it be enough to beat teams like the Australia who have spent more time practicing?

Although they won the FIBA Diamond Ball exhibition tournament this past Tuesday, their chemistry problems did creep up at certain points, as described by AP writer Doug Feinberg:

"At times the U.S. players looked to be in total harmony, scoring at will and containing Latvia. At other times, the Americans struggled, turning the ball over and missing defensive assignments that led to
easy baskets."

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