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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 07-13-2021, 06:36 PM:

The University of Kentucky’s Olympic basketball representation began in 1948 when five UK Basketball stars and their head coach competed for the United States in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Known as the Fabulous Five at Kentucky, Cliff Barker, Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, Wah Wah Jones and Kenny Rollins were selected as Olympians and Adolph Rupp served as the team’s assistant coach, only months after winning Kentucky’s first ever NCAA basketball championship.

Billy Evans | 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games

#BlueGotIn two Olympics later in Melbourne in 1956 with former Kentucky star Billy Evans among the 12 Americans competing for basketball gold. A member of UK’s undefeated 1953-54 season, Evans was drafted by the Rochester Royals in the fifth round of the 1955 NBA draft, but joined the Air Force instead.

Adrian Smith | 1960 Rome Olympic Games

With a margin of victory of 42.4 points per game, the United States’ 1960 Olympic team is considered one of the best collections of amateurs to ever play together. Made up of stars from the college and AAU amateur leagues, one Army All-Star was selected in Adrian Smith, a former NCAA champion at the University of Kentucky. Smith was the only member of the Armed Forces to play for the 1960 team and one of five double-digit scorers in the gold medal run, along with Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Jerry West and Terry Dischinger.

A native Kentuckian from Graves County, Smith was one of Rupp’s Fiddlin’ Five on the 1958 title team.

Sam Bowie | 1980 Gold Medal Series*

The Olympic team didn’t have another Kentucky Wildcat until 1980, the third Olympic Games since Team USA transitioned to college athletes only, with Kentucky freshman Sam Bowie in the paint for the Dave Gavitt-coached Americans. However, the U.S.A. boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games due to Cold War conflict with the Soviet Union, and the youngest team in Team USA’s history never competed for Olympic gold.

To make up for the missed Olympics, Bowie and his American teammates played a five-game series of exhibitions against NBA talent in various stops around the country. Bowie was second on the team in scoring and first in rebounds and blocks as the young college stars beat the NBA All-Stars in four of the five Gold Medal Series games.

Bowie went back to Lexington for an All-American sophomore season before injuries kept him sidelined in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons. He returned in 1983-84 for another All-American campaign despite two years away from the game. He was selected second overall in the 1984 NBA Draft, one spot ahead of Michael Jordan.

Tayshaun Prince | 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Tayshaun Prince became the ninth Wildcat to win Olympic basketball gold in 2008 as a member of the “Redeem Team.” By this time USA Basketball had already made the switch from college stars to NBA superstars, and Prince was selected as a defensive specialist with four straight All-NBA Defensive Team selections and an NBA championship to his name.

Tasked with bringing the gold back to the States after disappointing bronze finishes in the 2004 Olympics and 2006 FIBA World Cup, Team USA went undefeated in Beijing and beat Spain in an exciting gold-medal game to complete the run. Prince hit six of his 11 three-point attempts for the fourth-best 3-point percentage in Olympic basketball history.

Anthony Davis | 2012 London Olympic Games

Anthony Davis played for the U.S. Olympic team in the summer between his national championship season at Kentucky and his rookie debut in the NBA, filling in for the injured Blake Griffin in London. Only 19 years old at the time, Davis averaged 3.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and shot 64.7 percent from the field in limited minutes for a team that had Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony leading the scoring, and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler protecting the rim inside. That team won Olympic gold with a margin of victory of over 30 points.

Davis was expected to suit up for the Americans again in the 2016 Rio Games, but a shoulder injury kept him back home in recovery. He will not compete in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo either, again with lingering injury issues from the NBA season.

DeMarcus Cousins | 2016 Rio Olympic Games

The 2016 Olympic team returned only two players from the 2012 gold-medal victory in London, and one of the newcomers was former Kentucky fan favorite DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins was selected to play for America in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games after two All-NBA seasons in Sacramento in 2015 and 2016, the latter with a career-high average of 26.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

Prior to the departure for Rio, Cousins was the only player to average a double-double in the team’s five exhibition games. Once in Rio, he started five of the eight games and won gold as the team’s second-leading rebounder with a scoring average of 9.1 points per game.

Devin Booker and Bam Adebayo | 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

Team USA will play its first game in Tokyo on Sunday, July 25 against France in the first game of group stage play. Kentucky alums Bam Adebayo and Devin Booker made the final 12-man American roster, marking the first Olympic selections for both young NBA stars.

Adebayo had 11 points and five rebounds in Team USA’s first exhibition loss, followed by six points and three boards in the second. Former Wildcat Keldon Johnson also played in that game, called up to help from the USA Select Team until the full roster is available.

Devin Booker will join the team once he is done in the NBA Finals as Team USA pursues its 16th gold medal.

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Posted by Tiptree (Member # 844) on 07-14-2021, 07:52 PM:

Three is something wrong with this Olympic team. not sure what it is, but losing the first two games is indicative of serious problems.