Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant and No. 1 draft pick Derrick Rose were among the players chosen Wednesday for the select team roster that will scrimmage against the U.S. Olympic team next week.
Ten players were picked for the team, which will be coached again by Oklahoma City’s P.J. Carlesimo, who ran last year’s squad. Two additional players will be selected from the Las Vegas summer league, which ends Sunday.
The Americans will train for four days in Las Vegas before playing an exhibition against Canada on July 25. The U.S. team then plays four more exhibitions in China before opening the Olympics on Aug. 10 against the host Chinese.
Also chosen for the select team were: Memphis rookie O.J. Mayo, Portland forward LaMarcus Aldridge, Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala, Sacramento guard Kevin Martin, Atlanta center Al Horford, Oklahoma City’s Jeff Green, Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey and Houston’s Luther Head.
Some may end up playing on a U.S. team in the 2010 world championships or 2012 Olympics. Durant seems most likely: He was on the national team roster and played with the Americans last summer, where he was one of the final cuts before the Olympic qualifying tournament.
“We’re looking for this select group to really compete and help prepare our senior team for Beijing,” USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. “I’ll also repeat something I said last year. Some of these players have represented USA Basketball in the past and there are others who will. This is an opportunity for them to get into the USA Basketball pipeline.”
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