Without much fan fare USA Basketball announced the finalists for the Olympic team headed to London this summer. The team began practice in Las Vegas earlier in the week with 15 NBA players vying for 12 roster spots. In actuality only 3 of those spots were really available with guys like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant along with others already assured their spots on the roster.
The decision was reportedly a difficult one but Managing Directory, Jerry Colangelo and Coach Mike Krzyzewski trimmed the proverbial fat and will be sending a very versatile team to London. As always the USA team will be the heavy favorites to take home the gold medal despite glaring deficiencies at the true center position.
Taken from the USA Basketball website the roster is as follows:
|
NAME
|
POS
|
HGT
|
WGT
|
DOB
|
CURRENT TEAM / COLLEGE or HIGH SCHOOL
|
|
F
|
6-8
|
230
|
5/29/84
|
New York Knicks / Syracuse
|
|
|
G
|
6-6
|
205
|
8/23/78
|
Los Angeles Lakers / Lower Merion H.S. (PA)
|
|
|
C
|
7-1
|
240
|
10/02/82
|
New York Knicks / Dominguez H.S. (CA)
|
|
|
G
|
6-9
|
235
|
9/29/88
|
Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas
|
|
|
F
|
6-10
|
251
|
03/16/89
|
Los Angeles Clippers / Oklahoma
|
|
| James Harden |
G
|
6-5
|
220
|
8/26/89
|
Oklahoma City Thunder / Arizona State
|
|
G/F
|
6-6
|
207
|
1/28/84
|
Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona
|
|
|
F
|
6-8
|
250
|
12/30/84
|
Miami Heat / St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S. (OH)
|
|
|
F
|
6-10
|
260
|
9/07/88
|
Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA
|
|
|
G
|
6-0
|
183
|
5/06/85
|
Los Angeles Clippers / Wake Forest
|
|
|
G
|
6-3
|
187
|
11/12/88
|
Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA
|
|
|
G
|
6-3
|
209
|
7/26/84
|
Brooklyn Nets / Illinois
|
|
|
Managing Director: Jerry Colangelo
|
|||||
|
Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University
|
|||||
|
Assistant Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University
|
|||||
|
Assistant Coach: Mike D’Antoni
|
|||||
|
Assistant Coach: Nate McMillan
|
|||||
|
Team Physician: Don Roberts, Portland Trail Blazers
|
|||||
|
Team Physician: Paul Saenz, San Antonio Spurs
|
|||||
|
Athletic Trainer: Joseph Sharpe, Oklahoma City Thunder
|
|||||
|
Athletic Trainer: Casey Smith, Dallas Mavericks
|
|||||
The team decided against adding Eric Gordon, Rudy Gay, and rookie Anthony Davis who were invited to compete for the final roster spots. Keep in mind they probably would have not received invites to attend the camp had guys like Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, and Dwyane Wade not been injured.
The team will play an exhibition game next week on July 12 against the Dominican Republic in Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack Center. Yours truly will be in the building.
From there they will head to Washington (July 13-16), Manchester (July 17-July 19), and Spain (July 20-July 25) before the Olympics begin on July 27.
Their first opponent will be France on July 29 in Olympic Pool A.
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Written by Warren Shaw
I am an avid Basketball fan who has worked for the New York Knicks, Alonzo Mourning Charities and various other sports organizations. Having covered many NBA and various professional sporting events has given me the opportunity to provide insight with an unbiased but flavor driven view. I look forward to providing NBA content and interacting with knowledgeable fans and readers.
Follow me on Twitter @shawsports or Email your questions to me at Warrenshaw@prosportsblogging.com
