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Rex Brown

Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell is confident that Mike Krzyzewski has the U.S. basketball team on track to win a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

CLEMSON — Four years ago, Clemson coach Oliver Purnell headed to Athens knowing the trip might not turn out the way U.S. fans hoped.

Purnell was part of Larry Brown's men's basketball staff for the 2004 Olympics in Greece. And as the all-star squad began its summer training camp, Purnell didn't see a gold-medal winning team.

"I understood early on, particularly when we left for Jacksonville (training camp) that our team was going to have some problems simply because our team was not constructed the right way," Purnell said recently.

With the U.S. roster for China currently training in Las Vegas, Purnell's confident coach Mike Krzyzewski and USA Basketball have the Americans back on a gold-medal track.

Purnell gave Krzyzewski, USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo and others "a lot of credit because they tweaked the system of choosing the team and keeping the team together to the point they could really put the right pieces" on the floor, he said.

That was not the case during Purnell's time.

The United States finished sixth at the 2002 World Championships. The next year saw NBA stars like Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal sign on to help the Americans qualify to defend their Olympic gold.

Purnell said worries over security in Athens — it was the first summer games since the Sept. 11 terror attacks — played a part in dramatically changing the roster.

Just three members, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Richard Jefferson, followed up the FIBA Americas qualifying tournament with the Olympics. That left Brown and USA Basketball to stitch together a young, untested group.

Gone were confident, accurate, experienced backcourt shooters and leader like Allen, Kidd and Mike Bibby. Duncan, backed by Elton Brand and Kenyon Martin in 2003, was spelled by younger, less established players like Amare Stoudemire and Emeka Okafor.

Instead of high-flying veteran Vince Carter, there were newcomers Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James who were "practically out of high school and didn't understand what it was about," Purnell said.

That showed in Greece. The Americans hadn't lost a game since NBA stars were allowed to play in 1992, yet they were blown out in the Athens opener by Puerto Rico, 92-73.

The problems continued, the Americans unable to match teams from the outside. Duncan spent much time on the bench in foul trouble, Purnell stating flatly upon his return to Clemson that the San Antonio star "got a raw deal" at the games.

The United States eventually lost in the semifinals to gold-medal winner Argentina. The Americans rebounded to defeat Lithuania, a team it had lost to earlier in the games, to take third place.

Purnell blamed circumstances. "I don't think it had anything to do with coach Brown at all," he said.

"We knew we were going to struggle," Purnell continued. "In fact, I was very proud of the guys after they got hit early to get the bronze medal."

Purnell grew up watching America dominate Olympic basketball and was disappointed when that didn't continue while he was on the bench.

USA Basketball switched its selection process in response to the 2002 and 2004 losses.

Colangelo asked U.S. players for a commitment to play in the 2006 World Championships and this year's Olympics. Half the roster from the world championships two years ago, including more mature stars like Anthony, James and Dwyane Wade, will lead the U.S. effort in China next month.

"A three-year period of time is huge," Purnell said. "You have the team together. You know what to expect. You don't start training camp from scratch."

Purnell plans to watch throughout and expects to see the Americans back in their accustomed place atop the medal stand.

"In my mind, we're heavy favorites," Purnell said. "I don't want to put pressure on Mike, but I just love what they've done."