Redd's perimeter accuracy just what Team USA needs

Reserve guard Michael Redd is Team USA's leading scorer through two games at the FIBA Americas tournament. AP

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LAS VEGAS -- The screams of frustration that were once deafening have been silenced. Team USA has found its shooter.

For the last seven years (or as much time has passed since Ray Allen last wore a U.S. uniform), USA basketball has been devoid of, well, just about anyone who could score consistently from 20 feet away. Reggie Miller was a member of the 2002 World Championships team, but his contributions were lost in the wake of the Americans' horrific sixth-place finish. At the 2004 Olympics, where Team USA won bronze, its leading long-range shooters were Lamar Odom (50 percent on just eight attempts), Shawn Marion (40 percent) and Allen Iverson (36.6 percent), three guys who will never be regulars in an NBA 3-point contest.

Shooters, as you may have noticed, are a valuable commodity in international competition, where zone defenses are less the exception than the rule. With teams stuffing the lane to avoid surrendering easy baskets, the perimeter is usually unguarded territory. Problem was, the United States recently didn't have anyone who could capitalize on it.

Enter Michael Redd. The Milwaukee Bucks' sharpshooter has not just taken advantage of the breathing room on the outside -- he's staked his claim to it early in the FIBA Americas tournament. He's the team's leading scorer through two games (39 points), including a 15-point flurry in a little more than five minutes during the first half against the Virgin Islands on Thursday night.

Perhaps more important, Redd's soft left-handed release has been as accurate as it is swift: He made 7-of-14 from behind the three-point line in routs of Venezuela and the Virgin Islands. He has become Team USA's version of Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson, providing instant offense off the bench.

"Most shooters need to find a rhythm," USA coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "But [Michael] is ready right away. His [shooting] is something we did not have last year. He's one of the few guys that I've seen in coaching, in over 30 years, where guys are just so happy that he is shooting the ball."

Redd was certainly not lacking confidence entering the U.S. training camp, when he declared himself in excellent shape and suggested shooting from the shorter international three-point line (20 feet, 6 inches compared to the NBA's 23-9) would be like tossing in free throws. He spoke of helping the United States regain its "persona" and "swagger." That confidence was bolstered when Krzyzewski pulled Redd aside before the tournament and informed him that he would play an important role in his first go-round with USA Basketball.

"That was the vote of confidence I needed," Redd said.

It also helps when an accomplished player like Redd, the NBA's sixth-leading scorer last season, gracefully accepts an understudy role. Though clearly a first-tier player (and with a first-tier, max contract to prove it), Redd has transitioned seamlessly into a backup role behind Kobe Bryant.

"I've been here before," Redd said, "having backed up Ray Allen my first couple of years in the NBA and coming off the bench expected to score immediately. That was my role five or six years ago, and this is back to that."

Like most of his U.S. teammates, Redd finds the possibility of winning a gold medal tremendously appealing. But it may be even more so for him when you consider that many of those clamoring for his inclusion on the roster viewed him as the missing link between the United States and gold.

"It was humbling to hear that people wanted me on the team," Redd said. "Usually I'm shooting over two or three hands during the season and now I'm getting wide-open looks. It's beautiful."