As Henry Abbott explains on TrueHoop, Team USA has traditionally never paid much attention to scouting, but that's changed now that Pistons director of basketball operations/international scouting guru Tony Ronzone is on board as an advance scout. Abbott recently caught up with Ronzone to talk about his efforts:
This year, I can tell you that Team USA has gotten very serious about scouting. For one thing, they have hired the Pistons' highly respected Director of International Scouting Tony Ronzone to be in charge. He's hitting it hard, flying all over the place getting insight into the players and schemes Team USA may face.
Ronzone has also started working with Synergy Sports, the video scouting service a lot of teams use. They will prepare video reports detailing every player Team USA will face. Players and coaches will have DVDs they can take back to their hotel rooms every night showing the guy they'll be guarding the next day.
"The video element," Ronzone just told me, "will make a difference. People are able to break down plays, see the offense and the defense, and assess strengths and weaknesses. We always say that video doesn't lie."
"When we play Brazil," Ronzone adds, "NBA players might know guys like Nene and Barbosa, but they might not know as much about Machado. We can work with the staff Jerry Colangelo and Coach K have put together to make sure that everyone knows everything they need to know about everybody. Video, written reports, demonstrations ... There's no limit to our preparation."
I've mentioned Ronzone more than a few times on this site, and it's nice to see that he's getting some national pub, as well. He's a name to remember, as he's probably going to end up running an NBA team of his own some day.