Anthony ready to lead U.S. in FIBA tourney

LAS VEGAS – Some NBA players struggle with rough-and-tumble international basketball.

It seems to bring out the best in Carmelo Anthony, who has also thrived in the NCAA and NBA.

“I can adjust to all types of games,” Anthony said after U.S. practice Thursday at Valley High School. “I don’t need the ball to be effective. I can go in there and get some rebounds, get some assists and get some steals and score when I have to.

“I don’t really have to try to go out there and score 30, 40 points for this team to win,” said Anthony, who has averaged 24.1 points in four NBA seasons. “I can do the little things.”

As the Americans prepare for the FIBA Americas tournament next week, there’s been a lot of attention on newcomer Kobe Bryant and how he’ll mesh in the backcourt with LeBron James. But if Anthony reprises his performance from the world championships last summer, he might be the glue that holds the Americans together.

“Arguably, Carmelo was the most important player we had last year,” coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “I love Carmelo.”

The FIBA Americas tourney will be Anthony’s seventh with the United States. At age 20, he played sparingly on the 2004 Olympic team that settled for a bronze medal in Greece.

He had a bigger role on the world championship team that won a bronze medal in Japan last summer, serving as a tri-captain with James and Dwyane Wade.

Anthony led the Americans in scoring, averaging 19.9 points. His 35 points against Italy set a single-game U.S. scoring mark for the world championships.

He was selected to the world championships all-tournament team and was honored as USA Basketball’s 2006 Male Athlete of the Year.

Anthony picked up where he left off in an intrasquad scrimmage in July, scoring a game-high 28 points.

The 23-year-old Anthony has already shown he can perform at the highest levels of the NCAA – he led Syracuse to the 2003 national title as a freshman – and in the NBA, where he finished a close second to James in Rookie of the Year voting in 2004.

Krzyzewski said he didn’t know Anthony very well before the forward was invited to join Team USA, but he had a glowing report from assistant coach Jim Boeheim, who coached Anthony at Syracuse.

“Carmelo’s a winner, and he’s a heck of a competitor,” Krzyzewski said. “He plays with courage on both ends of the court. I’d like him on my team any time.”