Colangelo a builder who's right at home
Posted on 2010-02-25 14:47:52 CST
Jerry Colangelo is really more of a Summer Olympics guy. But lately, the Chicago Heights native finds himself watching the Winter Games whenever he can.
"In the past it was appealing. It was emotional in the sense of kind of sharing the moment with our athletes," the high priest of USA Basketball said Friday. "The difference now is, after being on the inside, after being a part of it at the Beijing Olympics, I have more of an intimate feeling regarding the Olympics and the athletes and what they go through. I felt I had a good handle on it before, but until you go through that thing yourself, you can't really measure all of it."
All the former Arizona Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns owner went through has been chronicled, winningly, in a new book by a fellow Arizonan transplanted from the south suburbs. Arizona Republic columnist and Dolton native Dan Bickley's new book, "Return of the Gold" (Morgan James Publishing), benefits both from the ex-Sun-Timesman's considerable narrative skills and the access afforded him by Colangelo's blessing.
"I had a lot of trust in (Bickley) and knew he'd do a great job, and I felt comfortable with him," Colangelo said.
Couldn't hurt that both men were South Side guys.
"Well," Colangelo said, laughing, "it's better that he was from the South Side than the North."
Bickley talked to everybody for this effort, which followed the rebirth of USA Basketball after a disastrous collapse at the 2004 Athens Olympics. But everything said by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan, Mike Krzyzewski, Doug Collins, Phil Jackson and others comes back to Colangelo.
And this week, Colangelo comes back to Chicago Heights. He'll do a book-signing from 2 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at St. James Hospital, where he was born, before heading to a benefit dinner sponsored by the Marchegiana Society of Chicago Heights.
He is not an infrequent visitor to his old turf - the Hungry Hill section of the Heights, and, more specific, the tiny house on 22nd Street built from the wood of two boxcars.
"I got my foundation in that neighborhood. I owe so much to it. I'm a product of all of that," Colangelo said. "Over the years I've always gone back - past the old house, down the alley, past the outdoor basketball courts, the park - just to bring me back, to keep me grounded."
Fittingly, USA Basketball looked to Colangelo when it needed to return to its roots - the roots of dominance, yes, but also of respecting the game.
Team USA did a lousy job of that in 2004, with a poorly matched and even more poorly prepared collection of malcontent stars.
"Our showing in Athens left so much to be desired," Colangelo said. "It was more than the losses. It was how (Team USA) looked and acted, and how people responded to them. The bottom line is we had an arrogance about ourselves, and that had to change. We had to show respect to the world, the world basketball community - and we did."
Colangelo personally met with each of the men he recruited for what would become known as the Redeem Team.
"I think they bought in to a vision, they bought in to a passion," Colangelo said. "They had respect for me individually, and therefore once there was some buy-in, it kind of snowballed. This was about not only being basketball people, but being an American and being upset about how people look at us as Americans around the world, how they look at us as athletes, as basketball people."
The look is different now.
"Here's what transpired: The players were better people for the experience," Colangelo said. "They were better players for the experience, because of the coaching. ... And they brought that culture back to their respective teams in the NBA, so their teams were better for it. Ultimately, the real beneficiary was the NBA - at a time and place where the NBA needed that kind of an uptick."
The uptick has continued through the selection of a roster - Colangelo called it "loaded" - from which the 2012 Olympic team will be culled.
But then, things always seem to be ticking up for Colangelo, the sort of man who is given to volunteering philosophy amid a chat about basketball.
"You hear people complaining about 'I never got a chance,' " he said. "My experience in life ... is that opportunity walks by quite often and people miss it. Their eyes aren't open. They're busy complaining about how bad things are, so they miss it - and that's sad.
"You can't be afraid to fail. Many times, people hold back because they're afraid to fail.
"For some reason, my attitude has always been, 'It could end tomorrow, and it's OK.' I could always go back to where I came from and say, 'It's been a heck of a ride.' "
Colangelo will be back this week. But the ride's not over yet.
February 21, 2010
BY PHIL ARVIA
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