I'm a big hoops rube, so here's my take....they always pick the 'best athletes' for teams like this....at least the best athletes who would go to Athens, thus no real 'superstars' other than Duncan......but in the international game, they don't need high-flyers, they need shooters and ball players......having Shawn Marion, Lebron James, Duwayne Wade etc, aren't great against a tight zone defense--especially one that doesn't have to move (in the NBA, you can only stand in the zone for 3 seconds if you're not guarding someone--the international zone defense typically is like we all played in high school/college, I think).

So, IMHO, they need to pick shooters......they need a couple of guys to stand out at the 3 point line to get the kick out pass after pentration by the PG and make jumpers. You can't get too much slashing in the international game, it's more fundamental ball. That's why international guys like Tony Kukoc, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stoyakovich (sp?) all are/were complete players--dribble, rebound, pass, shoot. Not dunkers.

I would love to see the USA take an entire team over there. Take the Pistons in full, or even a upper echelon NCAA team in it's entirety. They know each other, they've got a system for offense and defense........they would be better than 12 great athletes...

Or else, don't take NBA players, just take the best college guys and have at it.