US men's water polo team well positioned for LA Games after bronze-medal run at Paris Olympics

NANTERRE, France (AP) — A couple days before the U.S. men's water polo team played its first game at the Paris Olympics, coach Dejan Udovicic let down his guard for a brief moment.

Udovicic, 54, a hard-driving Serbian who played and coached in his native country, said he had changed a lot since he took over the U.S. program in 2013.

“I figured out that I cannot change them. I cannot change the culture in the way how I want immediately,” Udovicic said. “So I needed to change myself a lot. So it’s not who I am, but I, I needed to change, to really be on the same page that they would be winning group. And they helped me in that it’s not easy to handle me, honestly. I am grateful for that.”

Evidence of that growth — for Udovicic and his team — was everywhere as the U.S. made a surprising run deep into the Olympic tournament. The Americans lost 10-6 to Serbia in the semifinals on Friday, but they rallied for a wild 11-8 victory over Hungary in the bronze medal match Sunday.

It was the best showing for the U.S. men at the Olympics since the last time the program took home a medal — a 2008 silver after it lost to Hungary in the final. Perhaps more importantly for Udovicic and company, it wasn't hard to imagine taking a higher spot on the podium in 2028 in Los Angeles, the home base for American water polo.

“I think this team will probably never be the same,” captain Ben Hallock said. “You know, there’s always guys who move on in life and do other things. But I think definitely the foundation that we have is great and something to build on.”

The world's biggest water polo powers are seeing the same thing.

“It’s a great generation,” Hungary's Denes Varga said. “They have the potential to go even further for the next two or three (Olympic) cycles.”

It has been a steady rise for the U.S. since it failed to make it out of group play in 2016. It managed just 35 goals while going 2-3 on its way to a 10th-place finish in Rio de Janeiro.

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the team's training schedule ahead of the 2020 Olympics, a sizeable contingent of American players joined professional teams in Europe — many of them helped by Udovicic's contacts in the sport. That experience played a major role in the development of much of this year's U.S. roster.

Hallock became one of the top centers in the world, and the U.S. jumped up to sixth at the Tokyo Games. By the time Paris rolled around — after a couple more years of seasoning abroad — the Americans looked more comfortable and confident when they went up against the world's best teams.

One of the biggest differences was the play of Hannes Daube, who led the U.S. with 18 goals on 31 shots at the Paris Games after scoring eight times in his Olympic debut. He provided a dangerous outside presence while Hallock had trouble finding any room on the interior.

Goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg, a three-time NCAA champion at California, had a successful Olympic debut, and Marko Vavic made a handful of clutch plays during the U.S. run.

“I didn’t have any expectations, really,” said Weinberg, who finished with 94 saves. “What I did expect though was for me to go out there and do my best every single game. I don't know if that meant I was going to be good or bad. Just focus on myself, focus on what I need to do, focus on my job.”

There will be some turnover ahead of LA, but 10 of the 13 players on this year's team are in their 20s. Daube is 24, Hallock is 26 and Weinberg is 22. Ryder Dodd, who turned 18 in January, scored eight times and averaging more than 19 1/2 minutes while playing in each of the country's eight games in his first Olympics.

“This is a huge part of USA Water Polo for us to grow mentally and to come home with some hardware is huge,” Daube said. “And then going into LA, obviously, the goals are the highest. ... Our home crowd will be through the roof, I mean nothing like it. But for now, I’m just going to enjoy this and one step at a time.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games