The_herd
06-23-2004, 05:55 PM
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=1826868
ESPN.com news services
UConn center Emeka Okafor will be invited to join this summer's US Olympic basketball team, league sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Okafor is expected to formally accept the invitation shortly.
The USA Basketball Selection Committee opted to fill its final roster spot with a power player instead of a perimeter specialist such as Milwaukee's Michael Redd.
Team USA coach Larry Brown had recently pushed for the inclusion of a top shooter like Redd or Rip Hamilton, but Hamilton and Detroit Pistons teammate Ben Wallace declined invitations.
It was believed that Redd was next in line, but the selection committee reversed its position on Denver rookie Carmelo Anthony and invited Anthony to join the squad Tuesday. As ESPN.com reported Tuesday night, Anthony, who had criticized the selection process earlier this month, eagerly accepted.
San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson are the only original members from Team USA's "core" group of nine players still on the roster. Five players were officially named in the first wave of replacements: Cleveland's LeBron James, New York's Stephon Marbury, New Jersey's Richard Jefferson, and the Phoenix tandem of Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.
So, are we even going to being playing for a medal?
ESPN.com news services
UConn center Emeka Okafor will be invited to join this summer's US Olympic basketball team, league sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Okafor is expected to formally accept the invitation shortly.
The USA Basketball Selection Committee opted to fill its final roster spot with a power player instead of a perimeter specialist such as Milwaukee's Michael Redd.
Team USA coach Larry Brown had recently pushed for the inclusion of a top shooter like Redd or Rip Hamilton, but Hamilton and Detroit Pistons teammate Ben Wallace declined invitations.
It was believed that Redd was next in line, but the selection committee reversed its position on Denver rookie Carmelo Anthony and invited Anthony to join the squad Tuesday. As ESPN.com reported Tuesday night, Anthony, who had criticized the selection process earlier this month, eagerly accepted.
San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson are the only original members from Team USA's "core" group of nine players still on the roster. Five players were officially named in the first wave of replacements: Cleveland's LeBron James, New York's Stephon Marbury, New Jersey's Richard Jefferson, and the Phoenix tandem of Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.
So, are we even going to being playing for a medal?