Colangelo wants Melo accurate, in best shape

By Chris Tomasson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 7, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

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Photo by Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Team USA's Carmelo Anthony at team practice Thursday.

Carmelo Anthony is determined to turn the page from his disastrous 2004 Olympics.

Apparently, there's still work to do.

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said in June the Nuggets forward, whose past year has been up and down on and off the court, needs to get back to where he was the past two summers with Team USA. With the Americans having played five exhibitions, Colangelo still is waiting.

"Carmelo still has work to do in terms of getting ready," said Colangelo, whose team opens the Olympics on Sunday against China. "He came up with a little cramp because of conditioning (in Thursday's practice). . . . We need a lot out of Carmelo.

"He has to play at the same intensity (of the past two summers). He has to get up and down the court. He has to knock down his shots. Right now, he's not shooting well and he's not in the best of shape yet."

Anthony said he didn't get a cramp Thursday. He just banged his knee.

"My conditioning is good," Anthony said. "It's not a problem."

Few expect Anthony to have the problems he did in Athens in 2004, when he barely played and was said to not be a team player by coach Larry Brown. The Americans won the bronze medal.

"I got two bronze medals," said Anthony, who also got one at the 2006 World Championships. "I don't want another. . . . (The 2004 Olympics) was embarrassing. It was really embarrassing to come back to the States knowing we're supposed to be the best basketball players in the world."

What if the Americans again fall short of gold?

"I'll ship my clothes somewhere else," Anthony said. "I'm not trying to come back to the States."

The "Redeem Team" arrived Wednesday in Beijing. While Anthony said "it kind of hurt inside" that players were booed even walking around Athens, he said "anywhere we go" in China, "we get the warmest welcome."

Players visited the Olympic village Wednesday. Anthony had a chance to chat with swimming sensation Michael Phelps, also from Baltimore.

"That's a tough one," Anthony said when asked whether he or Phelps is the city's most popular athlete. "I think I still have that."

Nevertheless, Phelps has done a lot better in the medal category.

"It was good just to see him," Anthony said. "I had a chance to meet him one time in '04. Since he won all those gold medals, I know his whole life changed. . . . I told him I would go check out some of his events. I think I'm going to check out his first one (Saturday)."

Anthony probably won't hear anybody questioning Phelps' conditioning.

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