Durham, N.C. - According to Sue Bird, the expectations for the U.S. Women’s basketball team at this month’s FIBA World Championships in Brazil are simple:

“All we talk about is the gold medal,” said the talented point guard after a team practice at Duke University’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. “That’s what we’re here for.”

The U.S. Women will take the floor hoping to accomplish what their male counterparts couldn’t do in winning a World Championship. To do so, they’ll have to overcome many of the same challenges that faced the U.S. men’s team; The rapidly shrinking talent gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world. Teams with more experience playing both together and under (FIBA) rules. And teams that have scouted the strengths and weaknesses of each American player for months, if not years, in preparation for this event.

“I think that we have the most talent,“ notes Bird. “But for us to win, we’ll have to play together. We don’t have any unselfish players. For us, it’s all about winning.

 Bird has already learned to play nice with her fellow backcourtmate Diana Taurasi. In two seasons at Connecticut, the pair forged an on-court bond that was evident as UConn went 71-3, with two trips to the Final Four, an undefeated season and a national title during that span. Two years later, “Dee” and “Sue” joined forces again on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that captured the gold medal in Athens. Now, it seems that the future of USA women’s basketball has gone from the likes of Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie to two Huskies with a passion for winning.

“When you have a certain chemistry on the court, you can’t really describe it,” said Taurasi. “It’s almost like a sixth sense. She knows what I’m going to do before I do. I kind of know where she’s looking to pass. It’s a very good vibe.”

For both Bird and Taurasi, high expectations are nothing new. It’s exactly what happens when you spend four years playing in college basketball’s Camelot under Geno Auriemma. The program has not only won five national titles, but every game is televised, many of those coming nationally on ESPN. Capacity crowds not only pack the Hartford Civic Center and Gampel Pavilion on game day, but the road games sell out as well. They’re loved. They’re hated. They have their own local television contract with Connecticut Public Television. And only in Connecticut can a star player like Svetlana Ambrosimova ditch her pixie haircut and end up on the front page of every paper from Mystic to Greenwich.

With all of that success and attention comes the immense pressure to succeed, UConn had been to the Final Four five straight seasons, with four national titles, before Taurasi’s illustrious collegiate career ended in 2004. In the two years since, they haven’t been back, prompting some, almost unfairly, to wonder what’s wrong with the program.

“The last two years, we made it to the Elite Eight,” states Taurasi. “For most programs that would have been a dream.”

Just like at Connecticut, the same “winning is everything” expectations exist for Team USA, both now and in Beijing two years from now.

The World hasn’t beaten the U.S. Women for quite a while now -- the 1994 FIBA World Championships to be exact. Since then, the Americans have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals and back-to-back FIBA World Championships. But they haven’t come easy. In Athens, the U.S. had to ward off the Russians 66-62 before beating Australia in the gold medal game 74-63. At the 1998 World Championships in Germany, the Americans beat the Russians 71-65 to win gold. Four years later, the U.S. once again had to fight off the Russian charge, winning the gold medal game by 6 points, 71-65.

“I think what’s happening is that the world’s playing more basketball,“ said Taurasi. “You see it with both the men and the women. They’re playing at a younger age and obviously getting better.“

The World might be rapidly getting better, yet to beat the Americans in the future, they’ll have to go through Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird. “Dee”, for one, is certainly up for the challenge.

“Nothing intimidates me,” she proudly states. “Nothing.”

Other Olympic Notes

Spotlight On - U.S. Women’s Soccer

These are uncharted waters for U.S. Women’s Soccer.

Mia Hamm won’t be wearing the red, white and blue when the U.S. heads to China for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup next September. It’s one thing to replace her talents on the field, where she scored 158 goals over 17 years of international play, but replacing her Madison Avenue marketability off the field is a different story.

She was a unique athlete who has bridged both gender and generational gaps in selling her sport. During the 1999 Women’s World Cup, her jersey was everywhere and not just on the young girls that adored her, but the guys as well. There was also the Gatorade commercial alongside Michael Jordan, the building at Nike’s World Headquarters and her own video game to boot.

Sunil Gulati’s biggest task as the President of U.S. Soccer might be finding somebody to replace Hamm as the face of soccer in this country. Currently, there’s a great young talent pool with players like Abby Wambach, Heather O’Reilly, Aly Wagner and Lindsay Tarpley that could fill those massive cleats at some point. But right now, without Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain, the most marketable talent in the sport may be 28 year-old Heather Mitts, who despite her fantastic defensive skills is probably more well known for her off-field modeling (FHM and SI’s Swimsuit Issue) and her NFL QB boyfriend (A.J. Feeley) than she is for her on-field talents.

Looking Back On - U.S.A. Men’s Basketball at the World Championships

Top Five Comments Regarding Team USA’s loss to Greece

4) I’m shocked that Coach K’s team couldn’t beat a bunch of Euroleague players, especially since most of Duke’s best players usually end up riding the pine on European teams after flaming out in the NBA.

3) I bet we will kick ass in the Olympic Dunk Contest.

2) Maybe if Coach K ate less children…or we hit some 3’s…whatever.

1) Apparently ACC refs did not do the game.

 (Courtesy, Deadspin.com) 

Now for the serious commentary…

What did the U.S. team’s bronze medal performance at the recently completed FIBA World Championships leave us with? Well, a lot of the same questions that existed when the team was assembled a few months ago.

Is Kobe Bryant really the answer? What about a perimeter threat like J.J. Redick? Are we in need of a complete overhaul in basketball philosophy? Or just the talent on the floor? Are we still the world’s premier basketball power?

To say that the American team was a total failure because it failed to bring home a gold medal is nothing short of asinine. The U.S. team lost one game, to a Greek team that couldn’t miss from the field. Compare that to the multiple and sometimes embarrassing losses, both in Athens and at the 2002 FIBA World Championships in Indianapolis, and the improvement has been obvious.

The team does seemingly have the right head coach on the sidelines in Mike Krzyzewski.

The style of play he emphasizes at Duke, which focuses on ball movement and perimeter shooting, fits the International game perfectly. He also has the respect of some of the NBA’s most talented players, including the aforementioned Bryant, who nearly lured him to the bright lights of L.A. in 2004. The hope is, that when it comes time to make the final decisions concerning the 2008 Olympic Team, many of the NBA’s top American talent won’t decline the invitation from Coach K.

Name to Watch - Nastia Liukin (Gymnastics)

If 2004 USA Gymnastics coach Marta Karolyi had her way, she would have taken Nastia Liukin with her to Athens, but she wasn’t age-eligible at just 14 years of age.

That’s the downside of being a child prodigy.

Liukin, who defended her U.S. All-Around title last month in St. Paul, has both immense talent and great genetics. As the daughter of 1988 Olympic gold medalist Valery Liukin, and 1987 Rhythmic World champion Anna Kotchneva, Nastia was exposed to the gym at a young age….very young; Meaning her gymnastics career started almost immediately after taking her first steps. 

Next month, both Liukin and teammate Chellsie Memmel will take to the floor at the World Gymnastics Championships in Germany, looking to continue their recent string of dominance in the sport. Memmel is the defending All-Around Champion, Liukin is the defending champion on the balance beam and the uneven bars.