USA vs China Exhibition Game Full Highlights 07.26.16
A very familiar face will be stalking the United Center sidelines Friday night.
Anyone who watched Tom Thibodeau guide the Bulls to a 255-139 record over five eventful seasons knows his focus will be on Team USA"s exhibition against Venezuela, not what might have been.
"It will be great for me to be back. I obviously enjoyed my time there," Thibodeau said in an interview with the Tribune. "It"s a great basketball city, a great sports town. I"m looking forward to seeing a lot of friends."
Thibodeau is one of coach Mike Krzyzewski"s assistants as Team USA continues preparation for next month"s Rio de Janeiro Olympics with a Thursday practice and Friday"s 8 p.m. scrimmage at the UC. After that, Thibodeau will dive back into preparation for his first season as Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations.
Given that more than a year has passed since management fired Thibodeau in May 2015, it"s almost odd to remember his Bulls deal ran through the 2016-17 season. His Timberwolves deal at $8 million annually offset that contract.
And Thibodeau has about as much time for nostalgia as he does losing.
"There were way more positives than negatives," he said of his Bulls run. "But my focus is on getting better moving forward, not looking back."
Thibodeau owns a gold medal from the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, where he coached Derrick Rose. Now he"s reunited with Jimmy Butler, who, like Thibodeau, is set to experience his first Olympics.
"It will be great for Jimmy," Thibodeau, 58, said. "The experience has been incredible for me. The time has gone by quickly. I"ve gained a lot from it.
"It"s the people you"re around, starting with (managing director) Jerry Colangelo, Mike Krzyzewski, (assistant coach) Jim Boeheim, (assistant coach) Monty (Williams), the assistant coaches of Duke and Syracuse, all the great players. It"s a great organization to be a part of.
"And then of course (there is) the honor of representing your country. It doesn"t get any better than that."
Thibodeau said he even has come up with ideas from international teams to implement into his system. He said the international game has taught him plenty.
Such absorption is why nobody should question whether Thibodeau has too much on his plate this summer with his new Timberwolves roles and his first Olympics. This is heaven for the lifelong basketball junkie.
"Last year, not having a team but knowing I was going to have this commitment, I prepared for that," Thibodeau said. "And I knew there was a good possibility I would be back coaching (in the NBA), so I prepared for that as well. I have a great staff in Minnesota, in the front office and with our assistant coaches. We feel we"ll be well prepared for our season."
Thibodeau and his Timberwolves staff have been active this offseason. Beyond drafting prized point guard Kris Dunn, the Timberwolves have added Brandon Rush, Jordan Hill and Cole Aldrich in free agency to a strong core centered around Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins.
"We feel we"ve added depth, which is something we wanted to do," Thibodeau said. "Then you look at your own player development. We"ve got a lot of young guys who have gotten better, and they"re going to have to get a lot better than they are right now. The challenge is for everyone to put everything they have into each and every day and be consistent with our approach and attitude."
It won"t be long until Towns and Wiggins are asked to know their job and then do their job, two of many Thibs-isms. But that"s skipping steps another one because work toward an Olympic gold medal comes first.
kcjohnson@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @kcjhoop
Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-tom-thibodeau-usa-basketball-bulls-spt-0727-20160726-story.html
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