veteran anthony blossoms into leader of team usa

he knows what to do and how to do it and, to listen to him after team usa closed out its cruising-over-america tour monday night and now heads off to rio for his fourth olympic games, there's nothing new to see.

"i think (my role) is the same," anthony said after his 19 coins led the way in a 110-66 thumping of nigeria. "i think it's to go out there to be myself and not be nobody else. not try to do more than i have to. you do a little bit of a lot when it comes down to it. i feel comfortable in these situations, regardless of what type of game or style of play that these teams are going to bring to us. i think i've seen it all over all the years."

"the leadership comes natural to me," anthony said. "people are putting a lot on it because the whole world is seeing it. for me, i do this every day. it's natural for me. it's genuine. it's nothing that i'm forcing myself to do. i do it every day all day. i'm the same person. i'm the same guy. now it's just more visible to you (media) guys because you're seeing it a little more on my own team every season. there's more cameras in practice now. we have practice that's open and you guys have a chance to see how we react with one another. i think that's the difference. i think you guys are starting to see more of me doing that rather than all through the season."

"oh, he's the guy that's been there so much before," said center demarcus cousins. "we would all be foolish if we didn't go to him, learn from him, lean on him as we take on this challenge. he knows the ups and downs, the little differences from this kind of game to what we all play in the nba and those can pay off for us as we go through this."

"carmelo's been sensational really as a leader and as a player, too," krzyzewski said. "this is his fourth olympics and his fifth usa competition. for him to use his experience. he wants everyone to be good. he knows us. he knows the international game and everyone on the team respects him. i think he's been terrific. i thought he would be good and he's been better. because he's a smart guy and he gets it."

spend thirteen seasons in the nba, nine times an all-star, a former scoring champ and respect for the sheer talent pours in. but all those years with nuggets and knicks teams that just haven't had enough around him and it chips away at the edges of the total picture. it's one more reason to understand why kevin durant chose to go to golden state in order to get the most out of himself with players of similar ability and attitude.

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