Mike Krzyzewski's Team USA

The Olympic Team Might Resemble Coach K's Dookies

The biggest knock on Mike Krzyzewski's Duke teams over the last few years has been a lack of balance. The Blue Devils have been excellent on the perimeter, featuring great athletes and shooters like Ron Paulus, Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer. In the paint, it's been a different story -- that talent on the perimeter has masked Duke's weakness in the front court, at least until they've run into elite competition. (Think their second meeting with North Carolina in the ACC, Clemson in the ACC Tournament, or West Virginia in the NCAAs.)

The final roster for Team USA was announced on June 23 -- and at first glance, it seems the team will have the same problem as Krzyzewski's recent Blue Devil teams. The roster will feature outstanding talent on the perimeter with Chris Paul, Jason Kidd and Deron Williams at the point and Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Michael Redd at shooting guard... but Dwight Howard is the only true center on the roster, and Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer are the only power forwards.

That will be more than enough size against some teams. But what happens when Team USA runs into, say, the host country and 7'6" Yao Ming (assuming the big fella is healthy for the games)? What happens if Howard turns an ankle or Boozer gets into foul trouble?

The potential for trouble will be mitigated -- somewhat -- if Carmelo Anthony plays the bulk of his minutes at power forward, which is reportedly the plan. But it still seems like the team would be better off with at least one more big body.

How to Fix the Roster

The complete roster is listed below. It features three "pure" point guards in Kidd, Paul and Williams, three shooting guards in Bryant, Wade and Redd, three versatile "small" forwards in LeBron James, Anthony and Tayshaun Prince, and three big men (Howard, Boozer, Bosh).

I won't argue the need for "specialists" like Redd, a dead-eye shooter, or Prince, a lock-down defender. But I don't really see the need for three point guards... not on a team with Wade -- more than capable of running the point -- and an all-world passer like James. I'd cut the third point (I'd probably cut Kidd, who looked past his prime in the NBA playoffs, but on this team it seems seniority matters, so Williams probably gets the boot) and replace him with "best available American big man willing to play limited minutes."

Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett aren't available. Rasheed Wallace would be an outstanding fit, talent-wise, but I don't see Team USA going anywhere near him. No matter. There are plenty of other choices out there. My first call would go to Tyson Chandler of the Hornets, who is as good as they come at rebounding and blocking shots. If he can't make it, I'd go down a list that would include Al Jefferson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Marcus Camby, Emeka Okafor, Kendrick Perkins, David Lee, and probably a few others that I'm forgetting.

Another option: bring back the Christian Laettner memorial "Olympic Roster Spot for a College Kid" and make someone like Kevin Love, Brook Lopez or Michael Beasley the 12th man. (Laettner -- just out of Duke -- was a member of the original "Dream Team" with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and the rest back in 1992.)

Poll:Should Team USA include college players on the Olympic roster?

1. No
2. Yes. Use a college player or two in the eleventh and twelfth spots.
3. Bring back the all-collegiate Olympic teams.
4. View Results

Got another idea on how to improve the Olympic roster? Post your thoughts in the college hoops forum.

Other Observations

Some other notes and observations on the final roster:

• The Team USA coaching staff features two hall-of-famers -- both from the NCAA ranks. Head coach Krzyzewski was inducted in 2001, and assistant Jim Boeheim -- the Syracuse head coach -- entered the Hall of Fame in 2005. The rest of the coaching staff comes from the NBA -- assistants Mike D'Antoni (Knicks) and Nate McMillan (Trailblazers).
• The NBA coaches won't have any of their own players in Beijing, but Krzyzewski and Boeheim each have an ex-player on the team. Carlos Boozer played for Duke from 1999-2002, leaving for the draft after his junior year, and Anthony led Boeheim's Syracuse Orange to the 2003 national championship in his one collegiate season.
• As usual, the power conferences dominate. Team USA features three players from the ACC (Paul, Boozer and Bosh), two from the Big 10 (Williams and Redd) and one each from the Big East (Anthony), SEC (Prince) and Pac-10 (Kidd). The only mid-major player on the roster is Wade, who played for Marqette when the Golden Eagles were still part of Conference USA. The last three players -- Bryant, James and Howard -- did not attend college.

Team USA: Final Roster

Player	Position	Pro Team	College Team
Carmelo Anthony	F	Denver Nuggets	Syracuse
Carlos Boozer	PF	Utah Jazz	Duke
Chris Bosh	PF/C	Toronto Raptors	Georgia Tech
Kobe Bryant	G	Los Angeles Lakers	n/a
Dwight Howard	C	Orlando Magic	n/a
LeBron James	F	Cleveland Cavaliers	n/a
Jason Kidd	PG	Dallas Mavericks	California
Chris Paul	PG	New Orleans Hornets	Wake Forest
Tayshaun Prince	SF	Detroit Pistons	Kentucky
Michael Redd	G/F	Milwaukee Bucks	Ohio State
Dwyane Wade	G	Miami Heat	Marquette
Deron Williams	PG	Utah Jazz	Illinois