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The NBA wants Team USA to send teams consisting of [URL=”http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Global/Issues/2012/07/31/Olympics/NBA-Players.aspx”]only players that are 23-years-old or under for the Olympics[/URL]. The public excuse is to save the wear-and-tear on older superstars; the real reason is to [URL=”http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketball/story/_/id/8219221/2012-olympics-why-nba-bail-olympics”]create a NBA-sanctioned World Cup[/URL] which will make the NBA and FIBA more money.
The Under-23 proposal has created a flurry of “what would former/future Under-23 Olympic teams look like” blog posts. The best post concerning a change of Team USA’s Olympic roster was made by [URL=”http://www.aseaofblue.com/2012/8/1/3212436/what-if-usa-basketball-had-stuck-with-college-players”]Alex Scutchfield at ASeaOfBlue.com[/URL] by flipping the Under-23 question on its head: What would Team USA look like if [I]wasn’t allowed to use professional players[/I] in 1996 and beyond?
Here’s what Alex projects what Team USA roster would look like in the 2000 Olympics:
[QUOTE]Kenyon Martin Cincinnati Sr.
Marcus Fizer Iown St. Jr.
Mike Miller Florida So.
Eddie House Arizona St. Sr.
Morris Peterson Michigan St. Sr.
Khalid El-Amin UConn Jr.
Shane Battier Duke Jr.
Troy Murphy Notre Dame So.
Stromile Swift LSU So.
Michael Redd Ohio St. Jr.
Chris Carrawell Duke Sr.
Darius Miles East St. Louis HS[/QUOTE]
Ugh. Does that team even medal?
Kentucky players Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk, Antoine Walker, Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist all are selected as Olympians within their prospective eras. Feel free to petition in the comments which other UK players should make their Olympic squad. If I don’t see at least 5 different complaints regarding the travesty that Patrick Sparks was omitted, I’ll know that you guys are not trying.
