Pirate Galaxy » coaches in an effort to keep things as co

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Team USA will face its old friends from Argentina on Wednesday in the mens basketball quarterfinals at the Rio Olympics.Argentinas loss Monday night in its Group B finale against Spain, coupled with Croatias subsequent rout of Lithuania, dropped the Manu Ginobili-led Argentines to fourth place in the group -- but one spot ahead of rival Brazil, which was eliminated.The USA-Argentina winner will face the Spain-France winner in Fridays semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Australia meets Lithuania in one quarterfinal and Group B winner Croatia takes on bitter rival Serbia in the other.With Ginobili, Luis Scola, Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino, Argentina stunned a U.S. team that featured a 20-year-old named Carmelo Anthony in the semifinals of the 2004 Olympic tournament in Athens. That loss sparked an overhaul of USA Basketball, which led to the 2005 appointment of Dukes Mike Krzyzewski as coach under USAB chairman Jerry Colangelo.The Americans have since won 21 consecutive games in the Olympics and two successive gold medals under Krzyzewski. But Team USA, with Anthony as its most experienced player, has struggled by its own lofty standards in Rio, winning its previous three games against Australia, Serbia and France by a mere 16 points combined.Well be ready for these last three [games], Im telling you right now, Team USA guard Klay Thompson told ESPNs SportsCenter on Sunday after scoring 30 points in the Americans 100-97 victory over France.Thompson insisted that a late flurry by the French, after the Americans had seized a 100-90 lead, made the final margin look worse than it was.As for criticism his team has received for not coming together as quickly as anticipated compared to the cohesion that underdog opponents such as Australia and Serbia have shown, Krzyzewski told SportsCenter of his players: Well, I do think they trust each other. Theyre just not accustomed to playing with one another. When youre together for one month, its not as instinctive.But dont confuse it with not getting along, ?pulling for each other, things like that. Its just not as instinctive as it would be for an international team thats played together for years. Thats always something that we have to fight in putting a team together for these international competitions. But were getting there.Team USA throttled Argentina by 37 points last month when the teams met in a July 18 exhibition in Las Vegas. But the Americans road to the gold-medal game will force them to see off the most seasoned competition they could have drawn just for the chance to play for the championship in Krzyzewskis farewell tournament.Spain opposed the United States in each of the past two gold-medal games, losing by scores of 118-107 and 107-100. This incarnation of Spain, however, will be without Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol, who is not playing alongside brother Pau Gasol at these Olympics as he continues his recovery from the foot surgery that limited him to 52 games last season.We know that the quarterfinals is the beginning of another tournament, France coach Vincent Collet said. When you reach this goal, [then] the real tournament starts.Said Team USAs Thompson: Everyone we see now is going to be explosive. Were happy to be 5-0, and we control our own destiny. We just have to trust ourselves on both sides of the ball, and if we do that and play hard, I dont think well lose. Jordan Mickey Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Wayne Ellington Jersey . 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WACO, Texas -- Jim Grobe enjoys all the things that go with coaching, that until now he hasnt really been able to do as Baylors acting head coach.This has been far from the typical buildup to a season for the 64-year-old veteran coach who only three months ago took over when two-time Big 12 champion coach Art Briles was suddenly dismissed.Weve spent a lot of time talking about things that have to be talked about, no question. We had to deal with a lot of serious issues, Grobe said Monday. But now its kind of more light-hearted because were getting ready to play a game. And so its fun.Briles was quickly removed, and the schools president and athletic director later left as well, following the May release of a report alleging that the university mishandled complaints of sexual assault, including some against football players.After winning 50 games the past five seasons, the 23rd-ranked Bears get a fresh start Friday night in their season opener at home against Northwestern State.Ive been waiting on it all summer, junior linebacker Taylor Young said. When its time to play everybody is excited about it. We want to win every minute, every day. Thats the mindset right now.Grobe, who won an ACC title with Wake Forest 10 years ago, was in semiretirement and out of coaching for two seasons when he got a call to help Baylor through a trying time.From his first days on the Waco campus, Grobe said players would be held accountable for any off-field issues. He also promised that university officials would be involved in more serious cases, and that no longer would the football coaches and staff solely handle discipline in such instances.On Monday, Grobe said he was waiting for university officials to make their ruling on any discipline for sophomore receiver Ishmael Zamora before deciding what to do from a football perspective. The coach had hoped for a resolutionn last week.ddddddddddddZamora was cited by Waco police for a misdemeanor charge after a video surfaced of him beating his dog with a belt this summer.I think we were criticized in the past for not having a process, and now were following that process, Grobe said. Its important that we strive to understand that were dealing with a young person here, and its critical that were fair and reasonable in our decision.While Zamora is listed as a starter on the initial depth chart released Monday, Grobe said the receiver wouldnt play Friday night if there isnt a decision from the university by then.Grobe said the depth chart was put together last week based on how the kids have performed this summer, and not with any thoughts of potential discipline.Junior safety Chance Waz, a returning starter, wasnt on the two-deep chart. When asked about Waz, Grobe said only that he wouldnt play the first two games because of a discipline issue with the university.After taking the job, Grobe kept all of Briles assistant coaches in an effort to keep things as consistent as possible on the field for the players. He was given the authority to make any necessary changes, but said he is glad he kept intact a group of coaches he called really good teachers who care for the players.This has been a very unusual situation obviously and especially for me in that in the past I had more input. ... Ive had to rely on our coaching staff quite a bit as far as the Xs and Os are concerned, and Ive relied on them primarily to kind of stack the guys up first-, second- and third-team, Grobe said. As we go forward I think I may be more involved, but I really couldnt do that until we start playing games and I see how the kids perform and how things go in competition. ' ' '