Tayshaun Prince won’t be on next Olympic team

Although he’s still part of USA Basketball, it looks like Tayshaun Prince won’t make the cut for the 2012 Olympic Team. From ESPN’s Marc Stein:

"ESPN.com reported on Jan. 6 that four players from the 2008 Olympic team had already been ruled out of consideration for 2012 (Chicago’s Carlos Boozer, Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince, Phoenix’s Michael Redd and Dallas’ Jason Kidd) and that Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin was “likely” the only player to be considered who wasn’t part of the 2008 Olympic squad or the 2010 World Championships roster. SheridanHoops.com subsequently reported that Portland’s LaMarcus Aldridge will join Griffin on USA Basketball’s list of finalists."

That’s honestly not a big surprise. Prince played on the 2008 Olympic team at a time when USA Basketball was trying to rebuild itself after the 2004 disaster and wanted to add a few role playing, versatile guys like Prince who wouldn’t need big minutes or have a big ego to contend with as the team tried to recapture gold. But Prince is older now and the league has also been infused with several new young stars, making the roster selection process more competitive. It’s still pretty cool that he got to be a part of that 2008 team.