The U.S. roster for the World University Games was announced Friday and include three first-team All-Big Ten selections: Talor Battle of Penn State, Evan Turner of Ohio State and Robbie Hummel of Purdue.
The team is of course coached by UW head coach Bo Ryan, so it's no surprise that three Big Ten players made the team, but it should be noted that Purdue forward JaJuan Johnson was among the players who accepted a tryout invitation but is not listed on the final U.S. roster.
Overall the team is stacked. Consider it a college All-Star team. Here's the rest of the 12-man roster:
Deon Thompson - North Carolina
Corey Fisher - Villanova
Robbie Hummel - Purdue
James Anderson - Oklahoma State
Trevor Booker - Clemson
Craig Brackins - Iowa State
Da'Sean Butler - West Virginia
Lazar Hayward - Marquette
Quincy Pondexter - Washington
Jarvis Varnado - Mississippi State
If I had to take a blind pick at who my starting five would be (ignoring the unknown progress these players have made in the off-season) I would probably go with Battle as my point guard, Anderson as my shooting guard, Turner as my small forward, Butler as my power forward and Brackins as my center.
Quite frankly the guards are no brainers. Battle is a skilled point guard who gives you 20 points per game and Anderson has great size at 6-6 and averaged 18.2 ppg last season. The forwards are a little harder to choose, but Turner is probably the most NBA ready player on this team so he has to be your small forward. There are a lot of options at power forward. I would be surprised if Ryan doesn't go with Hummel as a starter because he is Ryan-type player who brings a ton of leadership to the team. But you can't ignore Butler's size and ability to score. He averaged 17.1 ppg last season, while Hummel put up 12.5 while battling a back injury all season. Hummel is one of my favorite Big Ten players, but I'd go with Butler. Meanwhile, Brackins is a no-brainer at center. At 6-10 he's the tallest player on the team and he put up 20.2 ppg last season for the Cyclones.
Surprisingly, Kansas forward Sherron Collins, one of the top players in the country, was left off the roster after accepting a tryout. South Florida's Dominque Jones also failed to make the team.
The tournament will be held July 2-11 in Serbia with 24 teams competing for the gold medal.