How many CP3s will be Olympic bound?
The Olympic Games can’t have too many CP3s.
Or can they?
Watch my latest video commentary or read below:
USA Basketball has finally made the roster for the men’s Olympic team official.
Chris Paul’s a part, and rightfully so. The Hornet point guard will go to Beijing with Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Deron Williams. CP3 deserved to be part of that team.
But what about the other CP3 that is also beloved in our fair state?
Oklahoma center Courtney Paris is still among the possible candidates for the Olympic women’s basketball team. USA Basketball has already announced nine of the 12 players who will be on the team, and it expects to name the final three by the end of the month.
Will Paris make the cut?
It’s possible, but the odds don’t look great.
USA Basketball has already selected two centers — Lisa Leslie and Sylvia Fowles — and Tina Thompson is listed as a forward but can definitely play the post.
Leslie is an Olympic veteran, having been a member of three gold-medal-winning teams. Even though she’s almost 36 years old, she is still one of the best players in the women’s game.
Fowles is an Olympic newbie, but she is one of the game’s best young centers. She is in her rookie season in the WNBA after a stellar career at LSU.
As for Thompson, she is an Olympic veteran like Leslie. She was a member of the 2004 team that won gold in Athens.
No doubt, Paris is a great player. There has never been a women’s player with the combination of size and skill that Paris has. Never before has someone as big as Paris been as agile and mobile as she is. Frankly, most women who’ve played at her size have been stiffs. At 6-foot-4, 200-plus pounds, Paris scores, rebounds and defends like a player much smaller.
But still, she seems like an Olympic long shot. If you look at the three post players already selected, they’re all lean and lanky. Leslie is 6-5, 170 pounds. Fowles is 6-6, 200 pounds. And Thompson, the pseudo-center, is 6-2, 178 pounds.
With post players built like that, you have to think USA Basketball is building a team with a need for speed. There is definitely a nod toward up-tempo, fast-paced play.
Paris thrives more on half-court teams, squads that set up the offense and pound it inside to her. There’s nothing wrong with that style, but it might just mean that Paris isn’t a fit on this year’s Olympic team.
Renee Brown, the selection committee chair, said that USA Basketball still wants to add at least one more post player to the roster. The final spots are expected to be named by July 1.
One CP3 is already going to Beijing. Will there be another?
Stay tuned.
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Hey Jennie I have a question for you. Do you know how I could get a photo of Darrel Royal wearing the Gold Hat Trophy during his playing days at OU, after the Red River Rivalry game? I have seen it before but have had no success looking through Goggle and Yahoo. My brother is going to get his autograph for me in Austin and I wanted on that photo. Any info you could give would be appreciated.