United States men's national basketball team
The USA Basketball Men's National Team known as the United States Men's National Basketball Team, is the most successful team in international competition, winning medals in all eighteen Olympic tournaments it has entered, coming away with fifteen golds. In the professional era, the team won the Olympic gold medal in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008, 2012, 2016. Two of its gold medal-winning teams were inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in August 2010 – the 1960 team, which featured six Hall of Famers, the 1992 "Dream Team", featuring 14 Hall of Famers; the team is ranked first in the FIBA World Rankings. Traditionally composed of amateur players, the U. S. dominated the first decades of international basketball, winning a record seven consecutive Olympic gold medals. However, by the end of the 1980s, American amateurs were no longer competitive against seasoned professionals from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In 1989, FIBA modified its rules and allowed USA Basketball to field teams with National Basketball Association players.
The first such team, known as the "Dream Team", won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, being superior in all matches. With the introduction of NBA players, the team was able to spark a second run of dominance in the 1990s. Facing increased competition, the U. S. failed finishing sixth. The 2004 Olympic team, being depleted by a number of withdrawals, lost three games on its way to a bronze medal, a record that represented more losses in a single year than the country's Olympic teams had suffered in all previous Olympiads combined. Determined to put an end to these failures, USA Basketball initiated a long-term project aimed at creating better, more cohesive teams; the U. S. won its first seven games at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan before losing against Greece in the semi-finals. The team won gold two years – at the 2008 Summer Olympics – in a dominant fashion; this success was followed up at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, where despite fielding a roster featuring no players from the 2008 Olympic team, the U.
S. did not lose a single game en route to defeating host Turkey for the gold medal. The Americans continued this streak of dominance in the 2010s by going undefeated and capturing gold at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2014 FIBA World Cup. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, the team, led by Mike Krzyzewski for a record third time, won its fifteenth gold medal, making him the most decorated coach in USA Basketball history; the US men were dominant from the first Olympic tournament to hold basketball, held in Berlin in 1936, going 5–0 to win the gold, joined by continental neighbors Canada and Mexico on the medal platform. Through the next six tournaments, the United States went undefeated, collecting gold while not losing a single contest in the games held in London, Melbourne, Rome and Mexico City. Participation in these tournaments were limited to amateurs, but the US teams during this period featured players who would go on to become superstars in professional basketball, including all-time greats Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Jerry Lucas.
S. roster until the formation of the 1992 Dream Team. Alex Groza and Ralph Beard, both NBA stars, made the 1948 squad as Kentucky Wildcats, with 3-time Oklahoma State All-American and 6-time AAU All-American, Hall of Famer Bob Kurland leading the way; the 1952 team included big man Clyde Lovellette of the University of Kansas, a future Hall of Famer and NBA star. Kurland once again led the team to victory; the 1956 team was led by San Francisco Dons Bill Russell and K. C. Jones; the 1960 team included nine future NBA players, including not just Robertson and West, but Bob Boozer, Adrian Smith, Jay Arnette, Terry Dischinger, Rookie of the Year in 1963, another Hall of Famer in Walt Bellamy. The 1972 Olympic men's basketball gold medal game, marking the first loss for the USA in Olympic play, is arguably the most controversial in Olympic history; the United States rode their seven consecutive gold medals and 63–0 Olympic record to Munich for the 1972 Summer Olympics. The team won its first eight games in convincing fashion, setting up a final against the Soviet Union, holding a 6–0 advantage over the Soviets in Olympic play.
With three seconds left in the gold medal game, American forward Doug Collins sank two free throws to put the Americans up 50–49. Following Collins' free throws, the Soviets inbounded the ball and failed to score. Soviet coaches claimed; the referees ordered the clock reset to three seconds and the game's final seconds replayed. The horn sounded as a length-of-the-court Soviet pass was being released from the inbounding player, the pass missed its mark, the American players began celebrating. Final three seconds were replayed for a third time; this time, the Soviets' Alexander Belov and the USA's Kevin Joyce and Jim Forbes went up for the pass, Belov caught the long pass from Ivan Edeshko near the American basket. Belov laid the ball in for the winning points as the buzzer sounded; the US players voted unanimously to refuse their silver medals, at least one team member, Kenny Davis, has directed in his will that his heirs are never to accept the medals posthumously. It was revealed that game officials might have been bribed by the Communist party.
After the controversial loss in Munich, 1976 saw Dean Smith coach the USA to a 7–0 record and its eighth Olympic gold medal in Montreal. The success at this tou
Kenny Rollins
Kenneth Herman "Kenny" Rollins was an American professional basketball player. He competed at the 1948 London Olympics and was a member of the University of Kentucky's "Fabulous Five" who won the 1948 NCAA Tournament, his college career was interrupted by service in the United States Navy during World War II. He was voted to the All-SEC Tourney teams following his junior and senior seasons, his brother, played for the University of Louisville and spent 3 seasons in the NBA. Born in Charleston, Rollins played high school basketball in Wickliffe, Kentucky, he played professionally for the Chicago Stags of the BAA and the NBA, the Louisville Alumnites of the National Professional Basketball League and the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He died in October 2012 in Greencastle, Indiana where he had lived with his son since 2004. Career statistics and player information from Basketball-Reference.com Profile on Univ Kentucky fan site Olympic Profile Kenny Rollins at Find a Grave
Gordon Carpenter
Gordon "Shorty" Carpenter was an American basketball player, part of gold medal winning American basketball team at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Born in Ash Flat and nicknamed Shorty despite his 6-foot, 6 inch frame, Carpenter played his college basketball at the University of Arkansas, where he was an All-Southwest Conference performer in 1943, he played AAU basketball for both the Phillips 66ers and Denver Chevrolets, making AAU All-American teams each year from 1943 to 1947. He coached the United States men's national basketball team at the 1950 FIBA World Championship, winning the silver medal. Carpenter was named to the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame. Following his playing career, he became a referee with the Big Eight Conference. Olympic profile profile as player basketpedya.com profile as coach basketpedya.com
Don Barksdale
Donald Argee Barksdale was an American professional basketball player. He was a pioneer as an African-American basketball player, becoming the first to be named NCAA All-American, the first to play on a United States men's Olympic basketball team, the first to play in a National Basketball Association All-Star Game, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Born in Oakland, California to Argee Barksdale, a Pullman porter, Desoree Barksdale, Don attended nearby Berkeley High School, where the basketball coach cut him from the team for three straight years because he wanted no more than one black player. Barksdale honed his basketball playing skills in parks, played for two years at Marin Junior College, across San Francisco Bay, before earning a scholarship to UCLA. A 6'6" center for the Bruins, in 1947 he became the first African American to be named consensus All-American. Barksdale was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In 1948, he was the first African-American on the U.
S. Olympic basketball team, he joined the team in Basketball at the 1948 Summer Olympics, became the first African-American to win an Olympic gold medal in basketball. Barksdale, playing with the Amateur Athletic Union's Oakland Bittners, was given an at-large berth from the independent bracket, but not without heavy lobbying by Fred Maggiora, a member of the Olympic Basketball Committee and a politician in Oakland, adjacent to Barksdale's hometown. About eight years Maggiora told Barksdale that some committee members' responses to the idea of having a black Olympian was "Hell no, that will never happen." But Maggiora wouldn't let the committee bypass Barksdale. "This guy fought and fought", Barksdale said, "and I think the coach of the Phillips 66ers Omar Browning said,'That son of a bitch is the best basketball player in the country outside of Bob Kurland, so I don't know how we can turn him down.' So they picked me, but Maggiora said he went through holy hell for it – closed-door meetings and begging."
The 1948 Olympic team had five Kentucky Wildcats basketball players who had just won that school's first national championship in the 1948 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. The rest of the Olympic team, consisting of AAU Champion Phillips 66ers and Kentucky team members scrimmaged on Stoll Field the home of the Kentucky football team, in front of 14,000 spectators, the largest crowd to watch basketball in Kentucky at that time. Barksdale became the first African-American to play against Kentucky in Lexington, he could not stay at the hotel with the rest of the team, but instead stayed with a black host family. Adolph Rupp, the legendary Kentucky coach, was assistant coach on the 1948 team under Omar Browning. " turned out to be my closest friend," Barksdale said. "We went to London and won all 12 games and got the gold medal." But he had to brush off indignities just about every step of the way... Coach Rupp told Barksdale, "Son, I wish things weren't like that, but there's nothing you or I can do about it."
Barksdale agreed. He lived by a simple philosophy, he wasn't interested in protest. He had faced prejudice before, he knew that he would face it again. After college, he played for the Oakland AAU team. While playing professional basketball, he started a career in radio broadcasting. In 1948, he became the first black radio disc jockey in the San Francisco Bay area, he worked in television and owned a beer distributorship. He became the first African-American beer distributor and the first African-American television host in the Bay area with a show called Sepia Review on KRON-TV. In 1951, he signed a lucrative contract with the Baltimore Bullets and entered the NBA as a 28-year-old rookie, he would be one of the first African-Americans to play in the NBA after Nathaniel Clifton, Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd and Hank DeZonie had joined the league in 1950. While with the Bullets, he became the first African-American to appear in an NBA All-Star Game, in 1953. Shortly afterward, he was traded to the Boston Celtics.
Two years his playing career was cut short by ankle injuries. After his basketball career ended he returned to radio, started his own recording label and opened two nightclubs in Oakland. In 1983 he launched the Save High School Sports Foundation, credited with helping to save Oakland school athletic programs from collapse, he succumbed to throat cancer at the age of 69 on March 1993 in Oakland, California. He was survived by his sons Derek. A documentary on Barksdale's life, Bounce: The Don Barksdale Story, was released in 2007; the documentary was produced by Doug Harris for Athletes United for Peace, a Berkeley-based youth sports and media organization. For his significant contributions to broadcasting in the San Francisco Bay Area, Don Barksdale was inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2007, his sister, Pam Barksdale-Gore, accepted the posthumous honor on his behalf. On February 24, 2012, Barksdale was announced as a member of the 2012 induction class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
He was directly elected by the Hall's Early African-American Pioneers committee, formally entered the Hall as a contributor on September 7. List of African American firsts Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame NBA Profile
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event, held in London, United Kingdom from 29 July to 14 August 1948. After a twelve-year hiatus caused by the outbreak of World War II; the 1940 Olympic Games had been scheduled for Tokyo, for Helsinki. This was the second occasion that London had hosted the Olympic Games, having hosted them in 1908, forty years earlier; the Olympics would again return to London 64 years in 2012, making London the first city to have hosted the games three times, the only such city until Paris and Los Angeles host their third games in 2024 and 2028, respectively. The 1948 Olympic Games were the first of two summer Olympic Games held under the IOC presidency of Sigfrid Edström; the event came to be known as the Austerity Games, because of the difficult economic climate and rationing imposed in the aftermath of World War II. No new venues were built for the games, athletes were housed in existing accommodation at the Wembley area instead of an Olympic Village, as were the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and the subsequent 1952 Games.
A record 59 nations were represented by 4,104 athletes, 3,714 men and 390 women, in 19 sport disciplines. Germany and Japan were not invited to participate in the games. One of the star performers at the Games was Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen. Dubbed "The Flying Housewife", the thirty-year-old mother of two won four gold medals in athletics. In the decathlon, American Bob Mathias became the youngest male to win an Olympic gold medal at the age of seventeen; the most individual medals were won by Veikko Huhtanen of Finland who took three golds, a silver and a bronze in men's gymnastics. In June 1939, the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1944 Olympic Summer Games to London, ahead of Rome, Budapest, Helsinki and Athens. World War II stopped the plans and the Games were cancelled so London again stood as a candidate for 1948. Great Britain handed the 1948 games to the United States due to post-war financial and rationing problems, but King George VI said that this could be the chance to restore Britain from World War II.
The official report of the London Olympics shows that there was no case of London being pressed to run the Games against its will. It says: The Games of 1944 had been allocated to London and so it was that in October 1945, the Chairman of the British Olympic Council, Lord Burghley, went to Stockholm and saw the president of the International Olympic Committee to discuss the question of London being chosen for this great event; as a result, an investigating committee was set up by the British Olympic Council to work out in some detail the possibility of holding the Games. After several meetings they recommended to the council that the Lord Mayor of London should be invited to apply for the allocation of the Games in 1948. In May 1946 the IOC, through a postal vote, gave the summer Games to London and the winter competition to St Moritz. London was selected ahead of Baltimore, Lausanne, Los Angeles, Philadelphia. London, which had hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics, became the second city to host the Olympics twice.
London became the first city to host the Olympics for a third time when the city hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics. Lord Burghley, a gold medal winner at the 1928 Olympics, member of the International Olympic Committee, President of the Amateur Athletics Association was named Chairman of the Organising and Executive Committees; the other members of the committees were: Colonel Evan Hunter, General Secretary of the British Olympic Association, Chef de mission for Great Britain. E. Fern. J. Holt. B. Cowley of the London Press and Advertising. B. Studdert, Managing Director of the Army & Navy Stores. E. Porritt, a member of the IOC for New Zealand who resided in London. F. Rous, Secretary of The Football Association. Olympic pictograms were introduced for the first time. There were twenty of them—one for each Olympic sport and three separate pictograms for the arts competition, the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony, they were intended for use on tickets. The background of each pictogram resembled an escutcheon.
Olympic pictograms appeared again 16 years and were used at all subsequent Summer Olympics. At the time of the Games food and building were still subject to the rationing imposed during the war in Britain. Athletes were given the same increased rations as dockers and miners, 5,467 calories a day instead of the normal 2,600. Building an Olympic Village was deemed too expensive, athletes were housed in existing accommodation. Male competitors stayed at RAF camps in Uxbridge and West Drayton, an Army camp in Richmond; the British Red Cross provided medical facilities at the Richmond Park camp. These were the first games to be held following the death of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, in 1937, they were the last to include an arts competition, which took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Games opened on 29 July. Army bands
Great Britain at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association, competed as the host nation for the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. It was the second time that the United Kingdom had hosted the Summer Olympic Games, equalling the record of France and the United States to that point. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 404 competitors, 335 men and 68 women, took part in 139 events in 21 sports. Dickie Burnell and Bert Bushnell — Rowing, Men's Double Sculls Ran Laurie and Jack Wilson — Rowing, Men's Coxless Pairs David Bond and Stewart Morris — Sailing, Men's Swallow Class Tom Richards — Athletics, Men's Marathon Alastair McCorquodale, Jack Archer, John Gregory, Ken Jones — Athletics, Men's 4 × 100 m Relay Dorothy Manley — Athletics, Women's 100 metres Audrey Williamson — Athletics, Women's 200 metres Maureen Gardner — Athletics, Women's 80m Hurdles Dorothy Tyler-Odam — Athletics, Women's High Jump John Wright — Boxing, Men's Middleweight Don Scott — Boxing, Men's Light Heavyweight Reg Harris — Cycling, Men's 1.000m Sprint Robert John Maitland, Ian Scott, Gordon Thomas, Ernie Clements — Cycling, Men's Team Road Race Alan Bannister and Reg Harris — Cycling, Men's 2.000m Tandem George Sime, Michael Walford, William White, William Lindsay, John Peake, Frank Reynolds, Ronald Davies, William Griffiths, Robin Lindsay, Robert Adlard, Norman Borrett, David Brodie — Field Hockey, Men's Team Competition Guy Richardson, Paul Massey, Alfred Mellows, John Meyrick, Jack Dearlove, Michael Lapage, Brian Lloyd, Christopher Barton, Paul Bircher — Rowing, Men's Eights Julian Creus — Weightlifting, Men's Bantamweight Tebbs Lloyd Johnson — Athletics, Men's 50 km Walk Thomas Godwin — Cycling, Men's 1.000m Time Trial David Ricketts, Wilfred Waters, Robert Geldard, Thomas Godwin — Cycling, Men's 4.000m Team Pursuit Arthur Carr, Harry Llewellyn, Henry Nicoll — Equestrian, Jumping Team Catherine Gibson — Swimming, Women's 400m Freestyle James Halliday — Weightlifting, Men's Lightweight Rosamund Fletcher — Art competition, Reliefs Men's Hammer ThrowDuncan ClarkQualifying Round — 49.76m Final Round — 48.35m Women's Discus ThrowMargaret Birtwistle Preliminary Round Lost to Uruguay Lost to Canada Lost to Brazil Lost to Italy Lost to Hungary Classification Matches17th/23rd place: Defeated Ireland 17th/20th place: Lost to China 19th/20th place: Lost to Egypt → 20th placeTeam Roster Ten cyclists, all men, represented Great Britain in 1948.
Individual road raceBob Maitland Gordon Thomas Ian Scott Ernie ClementsTeam road raceBob Maitland Gordon Thomas Ian Scott Ernie ClementsSprintReg HarrisTime trialTommy GodwinTandemReg Harris Alan BannisterTeam pursuitAlan Geldard Tommy Godwin David Ricketts Wilf Waters 19 fencers, 16 men and 3 women, represented Great Britain in 1948. Men's foilEmrys Lloyd René Paul Arthur SmithMen's team foilRené Paul, Arthur Smith, Harold Cooke, Emrys Lloyd, Pierre Turquet, Luke WendonMen's épéeRonald Parfitt Charles de Beaumont Bert PellingMen's team épéeCharles de Beaumont, Terry Beddard, Ronald Parfitt, Archibald Craig, Michael McCready, Bert PellingMen's sabreRoger Tredgold Robin Brook Arthur PilbrowMen's team sabreArthur Pilbrow, George Moore, Emrys Lloyd, Roger Tredgold, Robin BrookWomen's foilMary Glen-Haig Gytte Minton Betty Arbuthnott The British Gymnastics team competed in nine events and was made up of 16 gymnasts, including Frank Turner and George Weedon. Three male pentathletes represented Great Britain in 1948.
Andy Martin Michael Lumsden Geoffrey Brooke Great Britain had 26 male rowers participate in all seven rowing events in 1948. Men's single sculls - UnplacedAntony RoweMen's double sculls - GoldDickie Burnell Bert BushnellMen's coxless pair - GoldRan Laurie Jack WilsonMen's coxed pair - UnplacedMark Scott Howard James David Walker Men's coxless four - unplacedPeter Kirkpatrick Hank Rushmere Tom Christie Tony ButcherMen's coxed four - unplacedAnthony Purssell Robert Collins William Woodward William Leckie John Healey Men's eight - SilverChristopher Barton Michael Lapage Guy Richardson Paul Bircher Paul Massey Brian Lloyd John Meyrick Alfred Mellows Jack Dearlove Twelve shooters represented Great Britain in 1948. 25 metre pistolCharles Willott Henry Steele Henry Swire50 metre pistolGuy Granet John Gallie Peter Marchant300 metre rifleBob Maslen-Jones John Knott Jocelyn Barlow50 metre rifleJohn Chandler George Jones Victor Gilbert 85 art competitors, 65 men and 20 women, represented Great Britain in 1948.
Mixed Architecture, Architectural DesignsPatrick Horsbrugh
Wallace Jones
Wallace Clayton "Wah Wah" Jones was an American professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association from 1949 to 1952 with the Indianapolis Olympians. Jones was born in Kentucky, he attended Harlan High School, where he set a national scoring record in basketball and led his school to a state championship. He was all-state in football and baseball. Jones attended the University of Kentucky, where he continued to play varsity football and baseball, he was twice All-SEC in football. In basketball, he was a three time All-American and four time All-SEC, he led the Wildcats to 2 NCAA Championships, in 1948 and 1949. Jones was a member of the 1948 Olympic Gold medal winning team with Adolph Rupp's "Fabulous Five" and the Phillips 66ers. During his four years at Kentucky, the basketball team had a combined record of 130-10 and won the SEC championship every year, he holds the unique distinction of being an All-American under both legends, Adolph Rupp and Bear Bryant when both coached at Kentucky.
He is the only player to have his number retired in both basketball at Kentucky. At the University of Kentucky, Jones was a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. In 1953, Jones was elected the sheriff of Kentucky. In 1956, Jones was the Republican nominee for Kentucky's 6th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives. Though Dwight Eisenhower, heading the Republican ticket, carried the state, Jones lost the election to Democrat John C. Watts. In 1978, Jones started a charter bus company called "Blue Grass Tours", contracted to the UK Athletics department and more purchased a custom sleeper coach for the use of the athletic teams. Known as Wallace in his early years, Jones acquired the nickname, "Wah Wah", when his younger sister Jackie, just learning to talk, could not pronounce his name. Jones died in Lexington on July 27, 2014 at the age of 88. Stats
Gold medalists 
Silver medalists
Bronze medalists
United States
Great Britain
Philippines
Egypt
Brazil
Italy
South Korea
Mexico
France
Republic of China
Uruguay
Hungary
Iran
Canada
Belgium
Iraq
Chile
Czechoslovakia
Peru
Switzerland
Argentina
Ireland
Cuba
Argentina (14)
Belgium (14)
Brazil (12)
Canada (14)
Chile (14)
Republic of China (10)
Cuba (14)
Czechoslovakia (14)
Egypt (14)
France (14)
Great Britain (13)
Hungary (14)(**)
Ireland (14)
Iran (13)
Iraq (10)
Italy (14)
South Korea (9)
Mexico (14)
Peru (11)
Philippines (10)
Switzerland (14)
United States (14)
Uruguay (14)
