As the grandson of a World War II veteran and a fiercely patriotic American, Eric Montross was disappointed when USA Basketball made the decision to send professional players to the Olympics in 1992.
At the time, it was a revolutionary choice. The Olympics had always been the domain of college players. But the Americans (including Tar Heel J.R. Reid) had suffered a defeat to the Soviet Union in 1988 and earned the bronze medal. With other nations sending their very best players, America wanted to do the same.
That move led to the best basketball team of all time, the illustrious 1992 Dream Team that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and a host of other stars, plus Christian Laettner.