Olympic Jazz

Posted by Johnathan Kendrick on June 21, 2008

‘Beijing Bound’ (Andrew Bernstein – NBAE/Getty Images)

As far as the selection process for the USA Mens Basketball team is concerned, all that is left the official announcement and maybe a fight or two over jersey numbers. The press conference to formally announce the team is needlessly set for Monday morning. It’s kind of a formality at this point – unless every source in the country is wrong. The names of team members have been leaking out all week.

With that said – Jazz fans will get a little extra Jazz this summer with Team USA boasting both Jazzmen Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer. Andre Kirilenko will also be in Beijing leading the Russian contingent.

Boozer and Williams will be joined on Team USA by Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh, Michael Redd and Tayshaun Prince.

With only 2 true power forwards and 1 true center – expect to see a lot of Boozer. Williams on the other hand is one of 3 pure point guards and is expected to split time with Chris Paul backing up Jason Kidd.

Jerry Colangelo, the chief architect of Team USA, has suggested that because of Williams size he can also play at shooting guard. So can four other guys. It will be interesting to see how the members of the team are used and how often they will need to play “small ball.” Due to Billups taking his name out of consideration, the most controversial selection for the team was not which point guard to leave home – but choosing Prince over Tyson Chandler or any other big man.

Sponsored By: Barry’s Tickets – Click here to get your tickets to the next big event.

2 Comments

mitch on June 22, 2008 said:

The players who most deserved to make the team did so alls well ends well

go Jazz

Jared Conger on June 23, 2008 said:

i do think there will be moments when foul trouble will put us in a pickle – and as a result tayshaun prince will be forced to play some low-block action as a “4″.

Leave Your Comment

How do I get an avatar for my comments?
It is easy and completely free. Just go to Gravatar.com and sign-up with your email address. Gravatar is globally recognized, so your avatar will show on every Gravatar-enabled website or blog.