Utah Jazz: Chinese pick and roll
Jazz duo wait for call to don Stars and Stripes
The bad news? There will be no last-ditch chance to prove themselves and impress the USA Basketball coaches and officials who are selecting the Olympic squad.
Earlier this week, USA Basketball announced that rather than whittle its 33-member U.S. Select roster of Olympic hopefuls down to a more manageable 16- to 18-player group invited to a training/tryout camp June 28-29 in Las Vegas, it instead would select its 12-player roster going into the Vegas mini-camp.
The Olympic roster also allows three alternates.
Neither Boozer nor Williams are guaranteed locks on — or off — the squad, despite previous international experience and NBA-star credentials.
A reserve on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that settled for the bronze medal, Boozer was named a 2008 NBA All-Star and third-team All-NBA selection. Williams, who played last summer on the U.S. team that won the FIBA Americas Championship and earned the United States its Bejing Games invite, missed All-Star honors but one-upped Boozer by being named second-team All-NBA at the end of the season.
But Williams is part of a point-guard logjam that includes the Dallas Mavericks' Jason Kidd, the New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul and the Detroit Pistons' Chauncey Billups. Three point guards — and possibly only two — are expected to be on the U.S. squad.
Meanwhile, Boozer hopes team officials overlook his less-than-stellar playoff finish and consider him worthy against the likes of frontcourt big men Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors), Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers), Tyson Chandler (Hornets), Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic), Brad Miller (Sacramento Kings) and Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers) and Amare Stoudamire (Phoenix Suns).
In Boozer's mind, however, Utah's pick-and-roll tandem are Beijing-bound.
"Yeah, I'm sure we'll both make it," Boozer said, the day after the Jazz were eliminated in the playoffs' second round by the Lakers.
No matter that it means a shorter offseason and additional wear and tear on one's body, with several stateside training sessions and a handful of pre-Olympic exhibitions on tap even before the Beijing Games get under way.
"But you've got to remember you've got a chance to play for your country, and that doesn't come along for athletes very often," Boozer said. "We don't take that very lightly — we relish the opportunity — and that's something both me and Deron will do and be very excited to be a part of that team.
Recent comments
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