USA basketball megastars high on Mills 28 July 2012

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• Team USA basketball stars Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant) © Dave Lyall / AOC

BASKETBALL: Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and other members of the superstar USA men’s basketball team have warned of the ability of Australian star Patty Mills to be one of the dominant players at these Olympics.
The Boomers will begin their Olympic campaign with a game against Brazil on Sunday. Spain, China, Great Britain and Russia are also in Australia’s group.
Speaking at a jam-packed media conference on Friday, Los Angeles Lakers veteran Bryant said 23-year-old Aussie Mills, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA, would thrive on the challenge in London.
“This is the stage,” Bryant said. “He’s playing against the best teams in the world and I know he is going to be up for the challenge. I know he is.
He works very hard and he’s very competitive, so I know he will be ready. I’ve followed him for a long time, I’ve been a big supporter of his for a while now. I know he has dealt with some injuries here and
Anthony, from the New York Knicks, recalled how a young Mills  burst on the Olympic scene at Beijing in 2008.
“Well, in 2008 we didn’t know about Patrick Mills. He kind of caught us by surprise and right after that he ended up in the NBA,” Anthony said.
“You know, he played a college season and ended up in the NBA. The guys were just surprised by how good he was in an international game when we played them.”
Mills is still to become a regular player in the NBA, but he is steadily increasing his game-time and his reputation is growing. Anthony said that with the Aussie team in London, it would be a totally different story for Mills.
“Over here it’s a different game, guys have different roles on their team than they do back in the US,” Anthony added.
“So you’ll be seeing a lot of and hearing a lot about Patrick Mills over here.”
Oklahoma City Thunder’s James Harden said of Mills and the Aussie team: “Patty Mills is definitely a very good player coming up, and they have other good players as well, so we definitely don’t take that team lightly. We don’t take anything for granted. We’ve got to go out there and play every game like it’s our last.”
Harden said all Mills needed to become an NBA regular was the opportunity.
“He needs a chance. He has the talent, he’s shown it. He showed it in college and he showed it at the (2008) Olympic Games. He just has to work hard and get his chance and he’ll be fine.”
Kevin Love, of the Minnesota Timberwolves, said Mills had the necessary self-belief.
“I think he just needs to play with the confidence that he always does,” Love said.
“He’s a guy who’s had success when he’s been out there on the floor, as a player in the NBA, and I think if he does that and continues to work hard and do his job he’s going to be good.”
Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams said of the Aussies: “They’re a good team, they’ve got some tough players. Patty Mills is a tough point guard who excels in international play, so they could do some damage. He’s a guy who can definitely put some points on the board. He’s very tough to guard, especially in this setting when he has the ball in his hands and really has the green light.”
And Philadelphia 76ers forward Andre Iguodala said that while it was a blow to the Aussies that Andrew Bogut wasn’t available, they still had considerable potential.
“They really have a strong team,” he said. “With Patty Mills as the point guard they really have some solid players, even though Andrew Bogut’s not playing. We didn’t play them at the world championships, but we got to see them play and they were really solid.”