Hall of Fame babies: Listen to players reminisce about 1984 Olympic men's basketball team

A few weeks before the 2019 NBA season tipped off, broadcasters gathered for their annual preseason meetings in Jersey City, New Jersey. The featured speaker, Chris Mullin, fielded questions from the crowd, most notably about his experiences with the 1992 Dream Team. Facing the room of about 100 people, Mullin immediately looked at Jeff Turner, his teammate on the 1984 U.S. men’s basketball team, and asked a question of his own.

Jeff Turner, Vanderbilt forward: (Mullin) said, “Jeff, why is it that everybody always asks me about the Dream Team, but nobody asks me about the ‘84 team?”

The 12-player gold medal-winning roster, led by coach Bob Knight and a Hall of Fame assistant coaching staff, consisted of 11 future NBA first-round draft picks and three future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductees, including a 21-year-old Michael Jordan. The team went 8-0 in Los Angeles, capping off their run with a 96-65 gold medal victory over Spain.

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Yet, when this team looks back at those Olympics, some feel their accomplishment has been slighted.

Chris Mullin, St. John’s guard: I think it's one of the most underrated Olympic teams of all time. It becomes very historical because it is the last amateur team to win a gold medal.

The team took shape starting at the trials in Bloomington, Indiana., a contrast from previous teams’ tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The home of Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers hosted 72 players on campus to determine which 12 would represent the U.S. that summer. The three-time NCAA championship coach applied his militant style to the Olympic stage with one goal in mind: win gold.

Vern Fleming, Georgia guard: Coach Knight only spoke to me one time (the entire Olympics).

When the tryouts came, he and I were the only ones on the street. I knew coach was behind me, and I was like, “Oh man.” These are his exact words to me, he said, “Hey, motherf*****, if you came to my school, you'd be this (expletive) good already.”

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Steve Alford, Indiana guard: Fleming came to me before (the fourth) practice day. He said, “Hey, what's (Knight) expecting today? We've been really good.” I said, “I think coach will kick us out of practice today.” He said, “What? Why would he kick us out of practice? We've been great.” I said, “Because coach never wants to let the players relax mentally. He knows we probably physically need a day off. But on the day off, he wants us to think he's mad and upset with what we're doing so that we stay fresh mentally for the next day. I think we'll have one or two drills, and then he'll do something to kick us out.”

We went through two drills, coach punted a ball and said, “Get out, (go to the) locker room!” Vern thought he'd seen a ghost, and I didn't know I was going to be a prophet on that day, but then we got in the locker room, and everybody started undressing. I said, “Nope. That's not what happens because when you get kicked out, you have to sit at your locker and wait for coach to come in and tell us why.” Vern just sat there, staring through me, like, “I can't believe that just happened.”

Sam Perkins, North Carolina forward: The best medicine to avoid second place (or) third place was just to keep winning. I really believe that the temperament that coach Knight had (made him) the best coach for that position.

Leon Wood, California State Fullerton guard (morning of West Germany game): We weren't in the building for five minutes. All of a sudden, Knight was like, “Leon, you get the blank out of here.” We were doing partner shooting for five minutes and I got kicked out. It's about 105 degrees and I'm sitting out on the hot steps. My mom lived up the street and she was walking her dog and she saw me. She said, “Leon, what are you doing?” (I said,) “I got thrown out of shooting practice.” She was shocked and said, “What did you do?” I said, “I don't know.”

Tim Garl, athletic trainer: (During the 1987) college basketball preseason, (Indiana) hosted the Soviets in an exhibition game.

I just remember that in pregame, Knight walked up to (Soviet coach Alexander) Gomelsky (whose team had boycotted the ‘84 Games) and gave him a pair of Jordan Nike shoes. He said, “We would have beat you any place, any time.” He gave him those shoes, shook his hand, turned around and walked away.

Mullin: Years later, (Knight) had come over to the Warriors practice facility. I had retired by then and I was on the court working with some of the guys. He came in behind me and came walking down the floor, and started yelling, “God**** it, Chris, get in a defensive stance!” I turned around and we chatted. I talked to him about the notebook that I still had, and I told him some things I had written down. He was really touched by that. I said, “Coach, for all that people say, we listened to you, man. We respect you and we really listened to what you had to say to us all summer.”

One of Knight’s most challenging tasks was working with two-time Olympian and 11-time NBA All-Star Charles Barkley, whom he ultimately sent home in the final rounds of cuts. All three assistant coaches advocated for his spot on the roster, but Knight wasn’t convinced.

Koncak: Knight was on military time, and you don't dare be a minute late. For the first time, the coaches were late, and they came in at like 7:03. Charles, as soon as they walked in, said, “I thought the meeting started at seven.” Nobody said a word, and Knight looked over at him and said, “Charles, let me tell you something. There's only one general in this army and that guy is me.”

Mullin: We were having an exhibition game at Indiana University against their alumni. Before the game, Bobby's son Tim, said, “My dad says everyone needs to be taped, everyone needs to wear high-top sneakers and everyone needs to wear Converse.” We're in a tiny little locker room, and Bobby's office is right there, he's sitting right outside the locker room. Charles says, “Well, you need to tell your dad that I don't get taped, I wear low tops and I wear Nike.”

Fleming : Before every meeting, we rushed to the meeting place so we could get a front-row seat to (Barkley) and coach Knight going at it. Charles would say some things that pissed him off. Charles told him, “Let me and you go in that closet and see who walks out.”

Joe Kleine, Arkansas forward: (Knight would) look at you and go, “Why don’t you lose 10 pounds?” or “We'd like you to get a little lighter.” You'd go home and you do it. I know they asked Charles to drop some weight. He came back heavier.

I thank Charles every day for letting me (make the team and) get my gold medal.

Raveling: Bob said, “Go over to the dormitory and find Barkley and tell him that he's cut.” So, I had to go over and find Charles and tell him that he didn't make the team, and he really handled it well. He said, “Coach, you know I was as good as anybody out there. I should have made the team. But honestly, all I wanted to do was come and show those NBA scouts that I could play at that level.”

While Knight’s relationship with Barkley wasn’t the best, he had a profound amount of respect and admiration for Jordan, once telling Raveling that “he is the best player that there ever will be.” Even before the eventual five-time MVP played his first NBA game, the ‘84 team got a preview of what Jordan would ultimately become.

Patrick Ewing, Georgetown center: Michael and I were wrestling one day, and he put me in a headlock. My neck was sore for the next few days. Coach Knight really didn't like that.

Raveling: Bob told Michael early on, he said, “Michael, I need you to do me a favor. There's going to be some times during this tour that I'm going to cuss you out and you're just going to have to stand there and take it.” Michael said, “Why do I have to take it?” He said, “Well, because the players will say to themselves, ‘If he says that to Jordan, what the hell is he going to say to me if he feels that way?’”

Garl: Jordan had a toothache, and I took him to the dentist in the village that morning. They worked on him a little bit and we're playing (West Germany), but because of doping rules, you couldn't use this or that to try to get him through it. Toward the end of the game, it was tight. I ended up taking him to the locker room a little bit early once it seemed like we were going to win the game because he was in pain. Then he went and had a root canal when we got back to the village.

Perkins: Knight was mad, and that's one of the times he made Michael cry. He told Michael he needed to apologize to everybody in the locker room for the way he played because Michael was (defended) pretty well. I think it was the (six) turnover factor, but we didn't care because we won. Knight was sending a message to Michael that he could be better than that.

Wood: I'll take it to my grave. (Jordan) put his head down and then everybody else started going up to him after it was over, “It's OK, Michael. Don't worry about it. Keep your head up.”

I'm looking around at these guys and I said, “Where was that when I'm doing all these laps, doing bleachers and I'm outside in 105 degrees? Y’all didn’t come up to me and say keep your head up.” It’s just like, wow.

Koncak (Seven months after the gold medal game): We drove to the Galleria Mall in Dallas. (Jordan) is at Lord and Taylor, looking at some sport coats. I'm standing probably within 20 or 30 feet of him, and this SMU alumni walks up to me. He said, “John, I'm so happy for you winning the gold medal and how much you've done for the university.” At that point, Jordan is done looking at the rack and he's walking over to us. As he walks up next to me, the guy says, “Well, is this one of our new recruits at SMU?” And I said, “No, no, sir. This is Michael Jordan.” And obviously, as soon as I said it, the guy realized who it was, but Michael Jordan at that point was not Michael Jordan yet.

The team’s main goal was to win the gold medal, but they had many memorable moments outside of basketball. From the emotions of the opening ceremony, interactions with other Olympians and what Kleine called “a long guy’s trip,” their memories have endured 40 years.

Raveling: When we were walking onto the track, the parade and the crowd erupted. It was at that moment you knew that you were officially part of history forever. When you grow up a little ragtag kid from Washington, D.C., and all of a sudden you are representing your country and you are walking in a parade with a flag bearer, it hits you. This is a time in your life that you'll never be able to duplicate.

Ewing: (With) the national anthem being played, looking in the stands and seeing someone, I'm like, “That guy looks just like my dad,” and it wound up being my dad. Someone from his job flew him out there to make sure that he could see me partake in the Olympic experience.

I waved him down after we got off the podium. I was like, “What are you doing here?” He told me the story. It was great being able to celebrate it with him, leave with him, go back to his hotel and spend time with him and talk about the experience.

Turner: (Ewing) gets cold. I just remembered roasting to death in the room because it was so warm in there. I don't know if it's his Jamaican heritage or what, but I used to say, “It's no wonder you're always wearing a t-shirt and you have a runny nose. You're roasting. This room is so hot!”

Fleming: We rolled with Mary Lou (Retton) and the gymnasts because they were all on the same bus. It was funny because we couldn't see them. They were sitting in the seats and we’d say, “Hey, where you at?” They all popped their heads up because they were so short.

Mullin: We had to take the bus with the gymnastics team, including Mary Lou Retton. On the way there, nobody knew who she was, but two weeks later, she was the only person they knew.

Alford: We were eating lunch, and Pernell Whitaker was eating. I'm a huge boxing fan. So, we’re sitting there talking and Pernell had a match later in the day. In the Olympics, you don't have a lot of knockouts (because) you have a lot of headgear and bigger gloves. He said, “Tune in when you're in your room because I'm going to knock this guy out today.” It was so funny because that's how boxers are, but then about four or five hours later, we sat there and watched, and he knocked the guy out just like he predicted.

Fleming : (The boxers) got to see our (games in person). We didn't get to see theirs. We had Bobby Knight as the coach. His one mindset was to win the gold.

That mindset led to one of the most dominant runs by U.S. men’s basketball in the last 60 years, crushing opponents by an average of 32.1 points. The team’s four-month journey encapsulated a range of emotions as players and coaches stood on the podium and were crowned the best in the world.

Raveling: At least half of the players and the coaches were tearing up. I mean, how could you not be proud that you represented your country successfully? To this day, winning a gold medal and the ‘84 Olympic team is the greatest moment of my life.

Garl: C.M. (Newton) and coach (Knight) just looked at each other and said, “Damn, we've done it. Well, I'll never do this again.” That was because of the pressure. There was just absolutely no way that the United States couldn't win the gold medal.

Raveling: Bob's reverence and respect for the American flag and his country were as important as could possibly be. It was a proud moment for him to be part of this gold medal because he came up in an environment where we respect the flag and the country's values.

Mullin: I played (in) ‘92, but those are the two moments that stand alone in my career. They're outside college basketball. It's outside of NBA basketball. That's the Olympics, that stands on its own.

Forty years after the summer of 1984, the team has never been reunited. Their legacy is the ultimate amateur gold medal-winning team, but they believe the Dream Team overshadows that legacy.

Wood: I just felt that we're kind of forgotten. Michael is probably the only one that keeps it relevant. But when you hear Michael's name with the Olympics, it's the Dream Team.

Perkins: It's almost like they start at ‘92 (and) ‘84 was like a relic. It was like an experimental thing. I took pride in the amateur status. It made us feel different. Now, because of the amateur status, we don’t get too much recognition.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hall of Fame babies: Listen to players reminisce about 1984 Olympic men's basketball team