CECIL HURT: Alabama trio in search of gold

Richard Hendrix and Alonzo Gee are looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience -- literally.

The two University of Alabama basketball stars are among 32 college standouts headed to Philadelphia this week in an attempt to earn a spot on the USA team for the Pan American Games, where the eventual goal is a gold medal. A generation ago, when basketball was strictly an American sport, winning such international competitions was routine. Now, it’s rare. In fact, the Americans -- who send college all-stars to face professionals from the other nations of this hemisphere -- haven’t won a gold medal since before Gee and Hendrix were born. That win came in 1983. In the most recent Pan Am games in 2003, the American team finished fourth.

“It’s a college team playing against adults," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said on Tuesday. He’s headed to Philadelphia as well, and will serve as an assistant coach for Team USA. The Crimson Tide’s two players equal the most from any college (Kansas, Duke and Washington State also have two representatives) and Alabama would certainly have had a third representative if Ronald Steele, recovering from knee surgery, had been healthy enough to participate.

It was a taxing day for Gottfried, who had to deal with a discipline problem on his team (Yamene Coleman, arrested, according to team sources, for using an invalid UA ACT card to charge pizzas last semester). Still, he spoke enthusiastically about the upcoming Pan Am experience.

“We’re going down there with 12 college guys, and they are going to see NBA guys like Manu Ginobli [of the San Antonio Spurs] on the opposing team. They are going to see other guys who could be in the NBA if they wanted, but are playing in other countries. But we’ll have a good team. We’ll have future NBA players who won’t make the cut for our team. Hopefully, we’ll put together the right 12 guys."

The likeliest candidate to make the U.S. team is Georgetown’s 7-foot-2 center, Roy Hibbert, but Gottfried says that size isn’t the only consideration for an international squad. The wide trapezoidal lane and the sheer number of talented shooters and ball-handlers create a premium on perimeter play.

That might increase the chances for a player like the versatile 6-foot-6 Gee, whose stock continues to rise in the off-season. (The website nbadraft.net currently has Gee projected as a first-round pick in the 2008 NBA draft.) It’s also one reason among many why Hendrix has slimmed down to be a more maneuverable weight.

“I don’t plan on making a change in my game," Hendrix said. “I’ve just got to get better at what I do. I just have to go up there and play as hard as I can and play as efficiently as I can.

“We’re playing with a lot of other great players from around the country, especially with a lot of big men and maybe I can find something they do in their game and find a piece of it and work on it myself. But as well as learning from the other guys, I also plan on doing a little teaching myself."

Gottfried’s presence on the staff won’t necessarily help Gee or Hendrix make the team. He’ll have input, but a committee of coaches will make the final choice.

“Maybe from a comfort standpoint, it helps" Hendrix said of having a coach and teammate alongside. “At the end of the day though, I control my own destiny on the court. From a comfort standpoint it will be nice, but I know what I have to do and that’s all on my back."

Cecil Hurt is sports editor of The Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0225.