Raveling, who coached 22 years as a head coach at Washington State, Iowa and Southern California in the NCAA, was in Manila for a brief visit and watched a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) doubleheader at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum last Sunday. He left yesterday.
"I was told about the Filipinos’ intense passion for the game by one of my star Southern California players Ronnie Coleman who played several years in the PBA," said Raveling, Nike’s global director for basketball in sports marketing. "I saw the passion last Sunday. The crowd (18,377) was really into it. The only other country with fans as intensely passionate is Greece."
Raveling, 69, said even without dominant big men, the Philippines could be a contender in international tournaments.
"There are ways to compensate for playing without big guys," said Raveling. "Your style of play could dictate the pace of the game. You could full-court press, play uptempo, use a zone. The key is to play overseas and gain experience and confidence playing against good international teams."
Raveling said he wouldn’t be surprised if a Filipino point guard makes it someday to the NBA.
"Culturally, not too many Filipinos grow tall," said Raveling. "But I’ve seen PBA guards who can shoot, pass, dribble. A drawback is they start too late. Kobe (Bryant) and LeBron (James) began playing when they were eight or nine. You could accelerate it with a junior national program later to shift to the national team. It would help if two or three of the top young Filipino players could play in the US NCAA where you get quality competition. That would raise their level of play."
Raveling was Bobby Knight’s assistant coach on the US team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He also worked in John Thompson’s staff on the US squad that took the bronze at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
"It was in 1984 when I developed a long and lasting relationship with Michael (Jordan) with the US team," said Raveling. "We were together all summer long. Bobby scheduled practice 47 straight days and I got really close to Michael, Pat (Ewing) and Vern (Fleming)."
Russia boycotted the 1984 Games then came back to haunt the US in Seoul.
"We lost to Russia in the semis in 1988 mainly because we didn’t focus on defending the three-point shot," said Raveling. "When Russia ran the break, they wouldn’t go for layups. They would stop and hit the three. We devalued the three-pointer then. Russia had some great players in Sabonis, Marciulionis and Volkov who all played in the NBA later."
Raveling said the evolution of basketball as a global game has triggered a reexamination of how the US should prepare for the World Championships and the Olympics.
"The game is changing," said Raveling. "I predict that 10 years from now, the NBA will be 50-50 with US-born and non-US born players. This season, the leading MVP candidates are Steve Nash (Canadian) and Dirk Nowitzki (German). And the last two top draft picks were foreigners (Australia’s Andrew Bogut and Italy’s Andrea Bargnani)."
Raveling said in the US case, there are issues that impede the progress of the national team.
"First, we’re the only country playing different rules in high school, college and pros – that hurts us in international competitions," said Raveling. "We’re also the only country without a true national team program by international standards. We’ve lost the passion for winning in international play. There is no strong appreciation for the significance of the World Championships. The only time we pay attention to the World Championships is when we don’t win it."
Raveling said this summer, he will organize a skills development academy in Akron, Ohio, with James as the lead convenor. The academy will gather the top 80 US high school players from four previous camps for point guards with Nash presiding, offguards with Bryant, small forwards with Vince Carter and power forwards/centers with Amare Stoudemire.
"We’re emphasizing fundamentals," said Raveling. "We’re helping young players maximize their skill levels."