After helping stage the meteoric international debut by the original USA Basketball Dream Team in 1992 and subsequent World Championship titlists in 1994, the tides turned and the world of international basketball played catch-up much quicker than any American or global basketball expert could believe. With the changing of the guard for international basketball dominance, came extensive criticism and a dark cloud rose over the USA men’s basketball program with a bronze medal performance at the 2004 Athens Olympics garnering unprecedented public backlash somewhat unfairly tossed at the team.
The result was a new commitment by the NBA, USA Basketball and a new breed of young players who would represent the USA for the 2006 Worlds with the goal of winning the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in China. NBA icon and Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Colangelo was tabbed as the Managing Director and he, with the aide of USA Executive Director Jim Tooley and Men’s team director Sean Ford, began to rebuild the program by tabbing a new coach in Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and a tremendous roster of assistant coaches, scouts, players and medical team.
The program was re-engineered and USA Basketball tapped on key resources of the NBA to help publicize the “Redeem Team.”
Culling from his work dating back to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics through the current day, Terry Lyons teamed with his longtime cohorts Craig Miller and Brian McIntyre to help manage the massive amounts of media attention while helping the team stay focused on the goal of bringing home the gold medal.
“You have been an MVP in your contributions to the success and building of the present NBA,” said Colangelo about Lyons. “Thank you for all of your contributions and for your continued support, of not only the NBA, but also of our entire USA Basketball program,” added Colangelo
The international reviews were similar: “We would like to thank Terry Lyons for such a helpful introduction to his world, that of the NBA. The friendship, which began on a basketball court at a time when the reality of this great sports spectacle was not yet globalized, but which today we can reach out and touch with one hand. At that time, ‘world’ basketball