Bush's Blog; USA Men's Olympics Preview

by Phil Bush

Phil Bush, FIVB Broadcaster

Over the previous three decades, you'd be hard pressed to find someone in athletics with a greater level of expertise in volleyball production and promotion than Phil Bush.  He will be entering his fourth year working for the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) as a broadcaster on the FIVB “Match of the Week.”  He has also handled 17 seasons working for Fox SportsNet South, ESPNU, CSS and Sun Sports providing both play-by-play and color analysis on volleyball broadcasts.  Through his MavRen Marketing & Productions company, Bush has worked in the production and promotion of volleyball events for over 25 years, including the promotion of the first ever pro beach volleyball tournaments outside of California.  He will be writing a daily blog once the Olympics begin previewing the next day's matches for both the men and women.

Reid Priddy

The history of USA men’s international volleyball has been dominated by larger-than-life characters: Karch Kiraly (UCLA), Steve Timmons (USC) and Lloy Ball (IPFW).  These players had both staying power and moments of great success on the world stage, and two of the three also come from a different generation.

One of the questions that will be answered in this Olympic Games is will we be adding to the list?  Can Clay Stanley (Hawai'i) have the same impact in 2012 that he had in being named the MVP in Beijing in 2008?  Will Reid Priddy (Loyola Marymount) be added to the list of premier outside hitter/passers in the mold of Hall of Famers Kiraly, Aldis Berzins and Bob Ctvrtlik?  

By qualifying at the NORCECA Continental Championship in May in Long Beach, the U.S. men will be making their fourth consecutive appearance in the Olympics by virtue of the zonal championship. Their first podium finish of the quad in a major international competition came a month ago, when they finished second to Poland in the 2012 World League. Are the U.S. men following in the ‘picking-up-speed-going-into-the-Olympics model of 2008, where the U.S. squad won the World League, or was this runner-up performance a pleasant anomaly in what has otherwise been a difficult quad?  These are the lingering questions going into London.

Donald Suxho

Outside of NORCECA qualification and a strong World League finish, the similarities between the two teams are few.  Where the setting position was anchored by the 6’10” giant, Lloy Ball, for over a decade, the role has been a revolving door this quad.  Head coach Alan Knipe finally settled on Donald Suxho (USC), the backup to Ball in the 2004 Athens Games' fourth place finish.  Suxho is clearly capable in the role, but at times struggles with keeping his hitters in rhythm.  World League losses to No. 21-ranked France and a 14-16 fifth-game loss to Germany certainly foreshadow that this team has consistency issues. 

Certainly Suxho is not the lone culprit, as the U.S. men have been plagued repeatedly by passing problems.  Newcomer and world-class ball-striker Matt Anderson (Penn State) has had difficulties at times, and even veteran Reid Priddy has not provided the predictable delivery of the first ball that characterized his 2008 summer.

Rounding out the men’s roster is Rich Lambourne (BYU) in his second Olympics at libero; Sean Rooney (Pepperdine) and Paul Lotman (LBSU) will back up Priddy and Anderson on the outside; 2008 starter, David Lee (LBSU) returns to anchor the middle with Russell Holmes (BYU) likely in the other starting spot and David Smith (UC Irvine) providing backup. Brian Thornton (UC Irvine) will sub for Suxho if needed, and David McKienzie (LBSU) is the spare opposite. 

Brazil Head Coach Bernardo Rezende

The titillating aspect of the men’s Olympic draw is certainly the number of teams that could possibly win gold.  While the women’s field is likely only three deep – USA, Brazil, Russia – six teams could win on the men’s side.  Poland was playing the best a month ago with a decisive performance in the 2012 World League that featured two wins over No. 1 ranked Brazil.  Despite those recent losses and a 0-3 spanking by Cuba in a July 4th World League match, Brazil, under the leadership of legendary coach, Bernardo Rezende, is always a good wager for a podium finish having won the 2010 World Championship and finishing second and third in the 2011 World League and FIVB World Cup. 

The Russians have been the most consistent team of the last two years, notwithstanding their absence from the 2012 World League Finals.  Their decision to rest key players on the eve of the Games may be more of a nod to their confidence than reason for concern. Their gold medal performance in the 2011 World Cup and decisive first place finish in the same year’s World League make them worthy of their No. 2 ranking.

Serbia and the USA are the other two teams that could challenge for the gold medal.  As each has shown themselves capable of following a spectacular win with a sub-par performance against a less-capable opponent...their coaches will live with high anxiety the next two weeks.

USA Men's National Team

The story of this Olympic Games for the USA Men’s National Team will likely be written early as they begin on Sunday, July 29th against a dangerous Serbian team.  Match time is 11:45 a.m. ET.  Two days later, on July 31st, the USA men face Germany.  Both of these teams qualified late, are beatable by the U.S. crew, and are matches that will give us a good feel for the potential of our team.  Drop one or both and recover against numbers 1 and 2 ( Brazil and Russia, respectively) will be a herculean task.

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