VARSITY ATHLETICS

August 23, 2007

SPARTANS FIND CASE CONNECTION WHILE IN BRAZIL...

Friday, August 24, 2007
By Creg Jantz, Sports Information Director

SPARTANS FIND CASE CONNECTION IN BRAZIL

CLEVELAND - A traditional Brazilian Barbeque is one the of things the Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team highly anticipated while on its journey in South America. Little did they know they would be joined by one of the most respected names in Brazilian basketball.

After their second game and final night [Aug. 15] in Guaruja, Sao Paulo, the Spartans were joined at their exotic feast by Jose Medalha. Medalha served as an assistant coach for Brazil’s national team from 1982-1988 and was the head coach from 1991-1992.

“From my perspective, spending time with Coach Medalha was one of the highlights of our trip,” said Case Western Reserve Head Coach Sean McDonnell [pictured with Medalha]. “As Jose was being introduced to our team, it was fun to see the players’ faces when they learned that he had coached against the ‘Dream Team’”. From that point forward, Coach Medalha captivated the room with his stories.”

There is more than just a basketball connection between Medalha, which interesting enough means “metal” [gold, silver, etc.] in Portuguese. He took English as a second language [ESL] courses at Case Western Reserve for two months in the late 1970s.

“It was my first experience at an American college,” stated Medalha. “I enjoyed my interactions with the students while staying in the dorms. “I also remember the lake [Erie] and enjoyed Little Italy, although it was the end of April and a little bit cold.”

When Medalha’s Brazil National Team faced the United States’ “Dream Team” [National Team] at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona [Spain], Medalha found some of his team star gazing rather than thinking about the strong opponent they were about to face.

“I remember some members of my staff sitting on the bench taking pictures of them [Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, etc],” laughed Medalha. “I said ‘hey guys come on we are going to play against them’”.

Another funny memory Medalha, who organized the Spartans’ international exhibition games while in Brazil, has of the experience was a pre-game press conference.

“They asked me if I thought we had a chance to defeat them [“Dream Team”], stated Medalha. “I responded ‘we have one chance and the small room packed with media became quiet’. I then said ‘if the bus driver takes them to the wrong place and they all began laughing.’”

While watching the Spartans play Santos Fupes in Santos, Sao Paulo, Medalha reflected on the state of basketball in Brazil, a country that has five citizens playing in the National Basketball Association [NBA], including Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao.

“Basketball in Brazil today is probably like what soccer was in the United States 20 years ago,” explained Medalha.

Medalha is in America this week, a place both of his sons were born and currently reside and work, to watch Brazil play in the Americas Olympic qualifying tournament [Aug. 22-Sept. 2] in Las Vegas.

Posted by: Creg Jantz August 23, 2007 08:48 PM | Category:

Posted by: cnj4 (Creg Jantz) August 23, 2007 08:48 PM | Comments (0) | Trackback