Utah Jazz: Olympic dreams twice eluded Sloan

Four of Jerry Sloan's players have competed in past Olympics and the long-time Utah Jazz head coach has his own Olympic memories from serving as a U.S. assistant at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games with the sequel "Dream Team" squad.

But Sloan missed out on more Olympic involvement for himself — both as a player and as a head coach.

It's one reason why he won't deny a player his chance to play on the Games' global stage — even if it means risking injury or returning to the Jazz physically and mentally taxed from nonstop competitive basketball through the NBA's offseason.

"I've never asked a guy not to play in the Olympics," said Sloan. "That was my lifetime dream. And I got to try out for it, but I wasn't good enough — reality sank it."

Sloan was good enough during his three years at Evansville University to rack up 1,320 points (15.5 points per game) and 1,053 rebounds (12.4 a game). He led the Purple Aces to a pair of NCAA Division II titles, including a 29-0 record his senior season (1965), and was twice named the outstanding player of the NCAA College Division II Tournament.

But he missed making the 1964 U.S. Olympic team that included the likes of Bill Bradley, Larry Brown, Walt Hazzard and legendary coach Henry Iba.

"I wanted to go, I wanted to play," said Sloan of his Olympic opportunity. "Guys I was around wanted to go and play — and why not?"

His dream of playing in the Olympics ended when he was drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Bullets in 1965 and taken in the expansion draft by the Chicago Bulls the following season — professionals were not allowed in the Olympics until a quarter-century later.

During his 11-year NBA career, he was a two-time All-Star and a six-time All-Defensive Team selection his final eight seasons, totaling 10,571 points (14.0 ppg) and 5,616 rebounds (7.4 rpg) before retiring.

He scouted for the Bulls for two seasons before serving the next three (1979-82) as Chicago's head coach, leading the team to the playoffs his second season. Then, after scouting for Utah, he joined Frank Layden's staff in 1984 and became the head coach on Dec. 9, 1988, when Layden abruptly retired.

He now is the longest-tenured head coach in all the major professional sports.

Less than four years later, Sloan and the Olympics crossed paths again, when the Jazz duo of guard John Stockton and forward Karl Malone earned invitations to join the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's team. Christened the "Dream Team," the U.S. squad ended up being the international darling of the Barcelona Games.

In 1995, Sloan was named lead assistant to U.S. head coach Lenny Wilkens, then of the Atlanta Hawks, as the Americans fielded "Dream Team II." The U.S. team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics included '92 holdovers Stockton, Malone, Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen and David Robinson as well as first-timers Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Reggie Miller and others.

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