Well, here it is: the list of 12 players who will head for Rio de Janeiro at the end of the week. Here's the story I wrote for Philly.com just now.
There are six forwards, a center, and five guards:
F Joey Dorsey (Memphis)
F Kyle Weaver (Washington State)
F D.J. White (Indiana)
F Shan Foster (Vanderbilt)
F James Gist (Maryland)
F Maarty Leunen (Oregon)
C Roy Hibbert (Georgetown)
G Wayne Ellington (UNC)
G Derrick Low (Washington State)
G Eric Maynor (Virginia Commonwealth)
G Drew Neitzel (Michigan State)
G Scottie Reynolds (Villanova)
So the last two players cut were Josh Carter of Texas A&M and Bryce Taylor of Oregon. Jay Wright said in a press release issued by USA Basketball that "we just had to decide do we want to play with some extra guards and some extra bigs and maybe not as many wings, and that’s really what it came down to."
That's definitely what he's got. Dorsey, Leunen, White and Hibbert are all post players, with Dorsey and White the pound-it types and Hibbert and Leunen better at passing out to the perimeter. Gist can play inside and outside and is a great defender.
I didn't see a lot of Weaver, but he and Foster seem to be the only two wing-type players on the list. Ellington plays on the perimeter, but he's a shooting guard (and almost certain to be a starter).
Oh, and all four point guards are really good shooters, a point that everyone's already made a ton of times.
I can't really blame him, given his and USA Basketball's desire to run an offense based around moving the ball into and then back out of the paint for perimeter shots. Having said that, Taylor shot 42.2 percent from three-point range last season and Carter shot 50 percent even from long range.
Now, keep in mind that I haven't been at practices since Sunday, but if I had to guess, I'd bet that Wright dropped the two guys who made the most mistakes since then.
I remember Wright yelling at Foster and Carter for not looking at him when he was talking. That kind of stuff makes a difference to a guy like Wright, even if it might seem annoying. It says something about a player if he's looking at you and nodding along, or shouting encouragement to other players (which Reynolds did a lot of), and stuff like that.
I definitely look forward to seeing what the Inquirer and Daily News reports have to say tomorrow.
Your thoughts?
