The chase for Olympic basketball gold has changed dramatically since the introduction of NBA players into Olympic competition 20 years ago. The United States won bronze in 1988 with a roster consisting exclusively of college stars before the shift in rules paved the way for the creation of the Dream Team in 1992.
But what if college players still represented the U.S. today? Who would be selected, who would start, and could the team win even if other countries were still allowed to use professional athletes?
With the London Olympic games quickly approaching, legendary Duke basketball coach Mike Kryzewski will select 12 superstars from a pool of 20 finalists for the final roster. Winning with NBA players will be difficult enough. But if Coach K and the U.S. were limited to college players, their chances would be greatly diminished. A number of other countries have come too far to be beaten by a bunch of collegians.
But that is not to say the feat would be impossible. Let's create a make-believe scenario. Here's how I would build Team USA if I were able to pick from every NCAA athlete available.
My starting five would begin with Kentucky's freshman big-man Anthony Davis at center. The 6-feet-10-inch low-post monster leads the nation with 4.9 blocks per game to go along with a fine offensive repertoire, which has made Davis into a strong candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NBA draft.
Next, I would snag Kansas' Player of the Year front-runner Thomas Robinson as power forward, where his 18.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game would give the team another tenacious rebounder and more toughness in the paint.
My pick for the third spot would be North Carolina's Harrison Barnes . The silky smooth Barnes brings his impeccable athleticism from the Tar Heels' up-tempo style to this team chock-full of superior athletic specimens.
In the back court, let's insert Connecticut's Jeremy Lamb and my sleeper pick of this team, Scott Machado. Lamb is another Player of the Year candidate, who has stepped up admirably for the reigning national champions after the Huskies lost 2011 March Madness hero Kemba Walker to the NBA.
Machado is a little-known point guard, who plays for Iona and leads the nation in assists with 10.0 points per game. The corps of elite floor generals is thin in college hoops this year, and this team needs somebody to distribute the ball and stay out of the way. Machado can do just that and allow the rest of his teammates to get as many touches as possible.
Any great team needs depth and versatility off the bench. For frontcourt depth, I would turn to Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, North Carolina's Tyler Zeller and Virginia's own Mike Scott.
All three of these players combine size, skill and genuine leadership qualities. These selfless bigs can contribute high-energy minutes off the bench and provide extra fouls if any of the starters get into foul trouble.
To round out the roster, my final selections are Duke's Austin Rivers, West Virginia's Kevin Jones, Missouri's Marcus Denmon and Murray State's Isaiah Canaan. Each of these guys can handle a specialized role for key late-game situations.
Rivers is the change-of-pace alternative to Machado at the point. With his game-winner last week at North Carolina, the Blue Devil freshman is familiar with Coach K's system and evidently has nerves of steel. Plus, with a pair of Tar Heels on the roster, we have to keep Kryzewski happy or risk losing the most important person on this team, the coach himself - especially since assistant Jim Boeheim's No. 2 Syracuse team hasn't received any love either.
Jones is the lockdown defender and aggressive rebounder for closing out a win when leading in the second half, while Denmon is the all-purpose energy guy.
Canaan is the spark-plug role player in case the offense goes stagnant. Canaan's 48.6 percent shooting touch from behind the arc for surprising Murray State has not received enough recognition this season.
Finally, North Carolina's John Henson and Ohio State's William Buford head the long list of snubs in my selections. I can't bring myself to pick three Tar Heels. If they were that good, the team wouldn't have four losses this season. Canaan gets the nod ahead of Buford by a coin flip; we shouldn't disregard Buford's pure shooting stroke.
Now, while this hypothetical scenario was certainly entertaining, it's all mere fantasy, so we will have to settle for watching these college stars squaring off against each other instead of coalescing as one unit. It seems there's a lot to look forward to with March Madness right around the corner.
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