2012 London Olympics Individual leaders.

The 2012 London Olympics have been full of excitement, buzzer beating shots, blowout and even some historic performances, However, there are some players in particular that showed they belong in a different class than all the rest.

Scoring leaders  

1. Pau Gasol   (SPA)            20. 6 PPG

2. Patty Mills   (AUS)           20.2  PPG
3. Luis Scola    (ARG)          20.2  PPG
4. Emanuel Ginobili  (ARG)   20.0 PPG
5. Kevin Durant       (USA)   18.6   PPG

Rebounds 

1. Yi Jianlian             (CHI)    10.2 RPG

2. Salah Mejri          (TUN)   10.0 RPG

3. Ike Diogu             (NIG)    9.0 RPG

4. Ben Romdhane      (TUN)  8.6 RPG

5. Anderson Varejao   (BRA)  7.4  RPG

Assists

1. Marcelinho Huertas         (BRA)  6.2 APG

2. Pablo Prigioni                 (ARG)   6.0 APG

3. Sarunas Jasikevicius        (LIT)     5.8 APG

4. Chris Paul                      (USA)    5.8 APG

5. Deron Williams              (USA)     5.6 APG

Steals 

1.  Chris Paul               (USA)   2.2 APG

2.  Emanuel Ginobili    (ARG)    2.0 APG

3.  Andrei Kirilenko    (RUS)     2.0 APG

4.  Al Farouq Aminu    (NIG)    2.0 APG

5.  Matt Nielsen          (AUS)    2.0 APG

Blocks

1.  Salah Mejri     (TUN)     3.4 BPG

2.  Yi Jianlian        (CHI)      2.2 BPG

3.  Serge Ibaka     (SPA)     1.8 BPG 

4.  Nicolas Batum (FRA)     1.6 BPG

5.  Kevin Seraphin (FRA)    1.6 BPG

Credit:  London 2012 Website

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Olympics day 4.

France - Tunisia

1st Quarter


With 4:11 remaining in the quarter, Tony Parker has 5 points while Tunisia has 4 and France leads 11 to 4.  Tunisia can barely make a basket in this game, they have been blocked a couple of times, but also have missed wide open shots, just unacceptable.

At the end of the quarter, France leads 20-15.  France shot 50% from the field, while Tunisia shot 33% . Tony Parker scored 5, Nicolas Batum had 7 and Kevin Seraphin had 4.  Ben Romdhane scored 6 for Tunisia.


2nd Quarter


Less than two minutes gone in the second, Ben Romdhane keeps impressing, he had a blocked shot and went end to end and hit a layup and also got fouled. Tunisia is now only losing by a single point. Romdhane has 9 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block. 


Tony Parker got an extended rest, he came back with 5:20 left to go in the 2nd quarter and he took over, in those five minutes he managed to scored two baskets and dished  out two assists to help France get a 35-27 lead at the end of the half. Parker finished the half with 9 points (4-7 FG), 3 assists and a steal.  Ben Romdhane (4-10 FG) lead all scorers with 11.

3rd Quarter


With 4:28 remaining in the quarter France seems ready to put this game away for good,  they have a 50-35 lead,  they have outscored Tunsia 15 to 8.  


Tony Parker almost outscored Tunisia by himself, Tunisia ended up with 16 points in the period while Parker had  13.  France took a 60-43 lead with 10 minutes left to play.  Parker has 22 points and has only missed three shots in twelve attempts.  Mohamed Hadidane has been on fired for Tunisia.



4th Quarter 

Tunisia has cut the France lead to eleven with Parker resting on the bench and 6 minutes left to play.    The lead was cut down to seven points, but Nicolas Batum made a three followed by a steal and layup from Nando De Colo to take the lead back to 12.

With 1:05 remaining in the game, Tunisia isn't going away easily as they're down 7.  Tunisia has outscored France 21-11.  Tunisia scored yet another basket to cut the lead down to 5, however, France missed a shot and got an offensive rebound, which lead Tunisia to commit three fouls just to get France to go to the line with 16 seconds left in the game.

Nando De Colo made both free throws and France is leading 73-66 with 16 seconds to go.  Hahidane hit a three at the buzzer and France won the game 73-69. Tunisia outscored France 26 to 13 in the quarter and that wasn't enough. 

Final Stats: 

France
Tony Parker - 22 Points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists.
Nicolas Batum - 19 points, 8 rebounds.
Kevin Seraphin - 10 points

Tunisia
Ben Rondhane -  17 points, 8 boards. 
Mohamed Hadidane -  20 points.
Salah Mejri -  11 points 

I saw the NBC feed of the game and wanted to point out some stuff the announcers said because they were just out of it.

• Kevin Seraphin reminded them of Detroit Piston's Rick Mahorn. 
• Nando De Colo looked like a poor man's Danny Ainge (Nando hasn't even played a minute of NBA basketball yet) 
• They said it was the third quarter when it was actually the 4th.
• While praising Salah Mejri's potential, they compared him to Dan Gadzuric, not the ideal comparison if you want to praise someone's potential.
  

Russia - Spain

1st Quarter


After 91 seconds, Spain has a 7-0 lead, Pau Gasol has 5 points already, this lead Russia to call their first timeout.


Spain is leading 18-2 with 5 minutes remaining in the game, Spain, a team that doesn't create points from turnovers, already have 10 points from Russia's mistakes.  Spain's size has made all the difference in the world, Russia doesn't seem to react well against it.


Russia improved offensively hitting 3 three pointers, but they couldn't keep Spain from scoring either. At the end of the first quarter, Spain has a 28-11 lead.    

• Pau Gasol matched Russia's total first quarter points of 11.
• Juan Carlos Navarro returned from his injury and scored 4 points.
• Spain shot 58% from the field in the 1sr quarter, Russia allowed 38% in the other games.
  

2nd Quarter


Midway through the second quarter, Spain lead remains double figures (12) Everyone has been getting into the act for them, Sergio Rodriguez went coast to coast for a  layup & Sergio Llull banked a three pointer.


With their defense finally woken up and 11 points from Vitaly Fridzon, the 18 point lead Spain once had in the first quarter has been now cut to 8. At the end of the 1srt half, Spain leads 40-32. 

• Russia outscored Spain 21 to 12.
• Fridzon lead all scorers with 14. Pau Gasol had 11, Marc Gasol contributed with 8.
• Andrei Kirilenko has only 2 points.
  

3rd Quarter



Khryapa has made 3 three pointers in the quarter in less than 6 minutes, Vitaly Fridzon's still hot from the first half and Spain's lead is down to two.  Spain has only been getting offense by Pau Gasol, the others haven't helped much.


Russia has been remarkable, they outscored Spain 24 to 13 in the period, they played outstanding defense and were able to knock down shot after shot. Fridzon, Khryapa & Mozgov were Russia's best players in the period.  After the third, Russia leads 56-53.



4th Quarter 

With 6:48 remaining Spain has a 63-57 lead. Juan Carlos Navarro made a three pointer, Sergio Rodriguez hit two free throws and had some nice passes.  Russia started the quarter 0-5.

Just when Spain had a comfortable 7 point lead, Russia came back with two baskets in a row by Timofey Mozgov and Andrei Kirilenko.   There's only 3 minutes left to play


Russia was down three,  but Victor Khryapa tied the game by hitting his fourth three pointer of the game. Rudy Fernandez missed a three at the other end, Timofey Mozgov grabbed the rebound off the missed shot and the dunk that put Russia up by 2 with 18 seconds remaining.

Russia leads 75-73 and Pau Gasol will go to the line for a chance to tie, he missed the first free throw, made the second one. The Russians have a one point lead with 5 seconds left.  


Spain fouled Vitaliy Fridzon to stopped the clock, he hit both. Spain with no timeouts left, couldn't inbound to a three point shooter, so it ended up in Marc Gasol hands, when he tried to pass the ball, it got deflected and time expired. Russia beats Spain 77-74.  Russia closed the game on a 17-5 run.


Final Stats:


Russia

Vitaliy Fridzon 20 points
Timofey Mozgov 12 points, 9 rebounds.

Spain 

Pau Gasol 20 points
Marc Gasol 10 points

USA - Lithuania

1st Quarter


With less than 5 minutes to play in the quarter, the United States only lead by five points. Linas Kleiza has been on fire, he scored 13 out of Lithuania's 25 points,  he's keeping them in the game.   Carmelo Anthony is still shooting the lights out, he came off the bench and scored 10 points.  At the end of first, USA leads 33-25.


2nd Quarter


Both teams are scoring at will, Linas Kleiza has 15 points. With 3:36 left in the quarter, Lithuania is down by just 5.  Lithuania has moved the ball well, have hit open shots and have contested shots against the American team. Team USA is falling in love with the three point shot and aren't making as many as they did against Nigeria.



After the first 20 minutes, team USA leads Lithuania 55-51.  Former teammates Carmelo Anthony and Linas Kleiza are leading their team in scoring, Melo has 14 while Kleiza has 16





3rd Quarter

Lithuania had a 5-0 run to get a one point lead over team USA, but team USA responded with a 7-0 run in less than 40 seconds  to go up by 6.

Lithuania has been in the penalty for awhile but team USA is missing a lot of free throws, they are also forcing a lot of shots, especially Carmelo Anthony & Kobe Bryant.
  
Deron Williams hit a driving layup at the buzzer giving team USA a 78-72 lead at the end of three.

4th Quarter 

Team USA insists on shooting threes, even though they keep missing. They are 7-28 from beyond the arc. Coach K has gone to a small lineup to have more offense at the same time, but this is helping Lithuania as they're taking the ball to the hoop every chance they get, especially Martynas Pocius.

Just when Lithuania got a brief 2 point lead, Lebron James took over, he had three field goals along with a Deron Williams three to give them a 9 point lead with two minutes remaining.

Final score:  Team USA 99, Lithuania 94.

Final Stats:

Team USA
Lebron James     20 points
Carmelo Anthony  20 points
Chris Paul  7 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals.

Lithuania
Linas Kleiza  25 points


Brazil - China


1st Quarter


China was held scoreless for the first three minutes of the game and with 4:58 remaining in the first, they only have scored 3 points.


Brazil's 5 out 7 from three point land. Everyone got into the action,   Leandro Barbosa made two triples and one apiece for Marcelo Huertas, Guillherme Giovannoni and Marquinos.  After one Brazil leads 25-9.


2nd Quarter

ZZZZZZzzzzzzZZZ. Brazil outscored China 17 to 12 in the period and now lead 42-21.  Both teams had long droughts without scoring a single point, it was almost embarrassing at one point.



3rd Quarter


Five minutes have passed and China has scored only four points, Brazil has scored 11.  Brazil has double China in scoring, they lead 52-26.

Brazil finished the third quarter with a 70-38  lead over China.


4th Quarter 

Blowout city. Brazil won by over 1000 points.

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Quick Recap: Olympics Day #3

United States 156, Nigeria 73 

Just when we all thought the debate regarding who was the best USA team of all time was over, something like this happened. Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points, including 10-12 from three,  in 14 minutes of play to set a record for most point scored in a game by a Basketball player from the United States in an Olympic game, the previous record was 34 by no other than former Knick Stephon Marbury.  More records were set, largest margin of victory ever (83), most three pointers in a game (29) & three points attempts (46) Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant started hot in the first quarter, but no one was hotter than Anthony.  The only positive for Nigeria was former NBA player Ike Diogu had a nice showing with 27 points and 7 rebounds.

France 82, Lithuania 74


Tony Parker had his best game of the Olympics so far with 27 points (2 three pointers, 7-10 from the FT line), and 5 rebounds. Nicolas Batum contribute with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Lithuania was very cold in the 2nd half (France's defense had something to with that) but they also missed some shots they normally make, you can read more about this game here.


Australia 81, China 71

Wang Shipeng made 7 three pointers for China, he finished with 21 points, but they weren't enough to beat an Australia team that was hungry for a win.  Patty Mills got rid of his poor three point shooting, he went 4 out of 8 from downtown and 21 points, David Andersen had 17 and 7.


Argentina 92, Tunisia 69 

Argentina started really poorly, after one quarter of play they were behind 28-14.. Yes, they were losing by 14 against Tunisia.. But they quickly recover from the 2nd quarter on to defeat them by 23 points.  Manu Ginobili was perfect from the three point like (4-4) and 24 points, 6 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals.  Luis Scola had a double double of 20 & 10, Carlos Delfino scored 21 points.  Salah Mejri had 19 points, 14 boards and 7 rebounds for Tunsia.


Russia 75, Brazil 74 

This was definitely the game of the day, Russia was leading almost all game until suddenly Brazil tied the game in the 4th quarter and went up by 5, but Russia didn't panic, they remained playing with composure.  Alexey Shved made a three pointer to tie the game, Marcelo Huertas gave Brazil a one point lead with a few seconds to go, however, Russia had one final timeout to draw a final play and they did just that. Vitaly Fridzon made the three pointer (and getting fouled in the process, which they didn't called) to give Russia the win.  For Brazil,  Larry Taylor played really good, he scored 12 points (5-7 FG) off the bench and Leandro Barbosa scored 16.  Andrei Kirilenko finished with 19 and Alexey Shved with 16 for Russia.



Spain 79, Great Britain 78 

Spain played poorly for the second game in a row, it could be because of the absence of star player, Juan Carlos Navarro, who sat down due to an injury he has fought during the entire season (Plantar)  or maybe they were underestimating their opponents.  Spain took a 9 point lead in the first half, only to see it slip away and almost came out with the defeat. Luol Deng and Joel Freeland played outstanding when it mattered most for Great Britain. Deng finished with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 1 steal. Freeland with 25 points, 7 rebounds.  Spain was lead by Pau Gasol 17 points and his brother Marc had 12. 

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Quick Recap: Olympics Day #2

Russia 73 - China 54

Russia had yet another strong defensive effort against  China, they allowed the Chinese to score just 54 points (Yi Jianlian had 30 against Spain)  in the game and didn't let them reach 20 points in any of the quarters.  Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved, Sasha Kaun and Timofey Mozvov had 53 points between them while China had 54.  Yi Jianlian, China's best scorer, only had 16 points.

Spain 82 - Australia 70

Spain didn't started the game that well, they missed Juan Carlos Navarro's offense terribly in the game. Australia kept the game close for two quarters, but Rudy Fernandez exploded in the third quarter, he made three shots from downtown, he finished with 17 points and the Gasol brothers combined for 29 points.  Patty Mills shot 5-16 from the field and only scored 11 points.

Lithuania 72 - Nigeria 53

Lithuania took advantage of Nigeria's poor shooting right from the start. Nigeria made 1 out of 16 three pointers and shot a bad percentage from the line.  Lithuania was lead by Linas Kleiza 11 points and Darius Songaila 12, however, Jonas Valanciunas kept struggling for the second straight game. Ike Diogu had another double double for Nigeria with 12 points and 10 boards.

Brazil  67 - Great Britain 62


Tiago Splitter lead Brazil with 21 and 6, this game was much closer than what everyone was anticipating, the Brazilians scored just 4 points in the first quarter and shot horribly from the three point line, they made 3 out of 22 attempts.  Luol Deng had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.

France 71 - Argentina 64

This was the first time Spurs teammates, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, played against each other and they both had  very good games.  Ginobili scored 26 points to lead Argentina in scoring, but Tony Parker saved his best for last, despite shooting a horribly 4 for 17 from the field,  Parker had 11 out of his 17 points in the 4th quarter to beat Argentina. Luis Scola struggled against France's athleticism, he finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

USA 110 - Tunisia 63

The Americans weren't playing a smart game in the beginning of the game and it showed, Tunisia had the lead more that once in the first quarter, including a 15-13 lead.  Coach K had enough of his team coasting and once he brought the bench into the game, the game was over for Tunisia.  Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love had 16 points and Kevin Durant had a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Makrem  Ben Romdhane had a good game with 22 and 12 for Tunisia.

Standings

Group A

United States                    2-0                              France                                1-1

Argentina                          1-1                              Lithuania                             1-1

Nigeria                             1-1                              Tunisia                                 0-2

Group B

Spain                              2-0                                China                                 0-2

Brazil                              2-0                                Australia                             0-2    

Russia                             2-0                                Great Britain                       0-2

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Olympics Day #2 Group A: Argentina - France instant recap.

1st Quarter

France leads 19-12 after the first 10 minutes. Nicolas Batum got a dunk in the first possession and that seemed to get him going, he added two three pointers along with the dunk for 8 points in the quarter. Tony Parker has been struggling with his shot, but still has taken the ball to the hoop, penetrating and dishing the ball to teammates.  Gelabale contributed with a three pointer and Turiaf played good defense on Luis Scola.


Argentina couldn't get any offense whatsoever, Luis Scola and Manu Ginobili each scored 4 points apiece, Carlos Delfino couldn't knock down a three pointer.  Argentina had long droughts without scoring & Scola couldn't get into his spots like he did against Lithuania.



2nd Quarter

Argentina started the quarter with a 6-0 run until Nando de Colo made a three pointer and stopped the run. After the first five minutes, Argentina has outscored France 12 to 5, looked like Argentina was closing the gap, but Kevin Seraphin started dominating the inside and France took a 9 point lead in the quarter.   Despite the lead, Argentina hung around, they didn't get anyone going and made  just one three pointer.  But they made some free throws, tough defense and that was enough.  France leads 32-29 after two quarters of play.

Halftime Stats:
Manu Ginobili (ARG)  8 points
Luis Scola (ARG)        6 points.
Tony Parker (FRA)      4 points, 2 assists.
Nicolas Batum (FRA)  10 points & 6 rebounds.
Kevin Seraphin (FRA)  6 Points

3rd Quarter

The energy level picked up during this quarter, Gelabale continued his hot shooting by making yet another three and a two point field goal, Nando De Colo also made his second triple of the game.  Argentina got more contributions from  Scola, Prigioni and Ginobili, they have been playing with more efficiency than in the first half. 

Manu Ginobili scored 12 points in the quarter, he took over the game, he hit a three, drove to the basket for layups and also made his free throws.  France still leads the game,  55-53 at the end of three.  Manu and De Colo (Both Spurs) are leading their respective teams in scoring.

4th Quarter

After two minutes without any scoring, Nicolas Batum returned from the bench and immediately hit a three pointer, followed by a jump shot by Gelabale.  Manu Ginobili answered France run's by hitting a three, but Tony Parker made two straight baskets to give France a 6 point lead with less than 4 minutes to play.

France took a 67-58 lead and after a few unsuccessful tries Manu Ginobili made a three pointer, Scola got fouled twice and with 1:14 left to play, France lead has being cut to  5.    Tony Parker missed a jumper that would have given France the chance to be up 7 and he didn't, however, after missing the jumper he redeemed himself by stealing the ball right out of Scola's hand and then lobbing the ball to an alley oop to Kevin Seraphin.

Argentina couldn't convert three pointers to bring the lead down, France made their free throws and also got the win  71- 64.   Argentina only scored 11 points in the whole 4th quarter, Tony Parker had 11 in the quarter for France.  Manu Ginobili finished with 26 points

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Quick Recap: Olympics Day #1

Nigeria 60, Tunisia 56. 

Nigeria and Tunisia played in their first ever Olympics, but only one team could come up with their first ever win and that was Nigeria.  Ike Diogu had a double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, his teammate Al Farouq Aminu almost got a double double himself, but failed to grabbed that 10th board, he ended up with 10 points and 9 rebounds.

Brazil 75, Australia 71. 

Brazil's depth demonstrated  it will play a key role for them in this tournament.  Barcelona Regal's player, Marcelinho Huertas, had a double double with 15 point & 10 assists, Leandro Barbosa scored 16 and Anderson Varejao finished with 12 points and 7 boards.  Australia made a good come back in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to two points, but couldn't take the lead.  Patty Mills scored 20 points,  David Andersen 14 points, 8 rebounds & Joe Ingles scored 15 for Australia.


USA 98, France 71. 

The United States won the first quarter by a single point, and that was taking France's best punch of the day.   Lebron James finished with 9 points,  8 assists, 5 boards & 2 steals. Kevin Durant scored 22 points and grabbed 9 boards.  Tony Parker had a bad game with only 10 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist for France.


Spain 97, China 81. 

Pau Gasol had 21 points & 11 rebounds, Juan Carlos Navarro scored 14,  Jose Calderon scored 12 and Spain was too much for China. Spain started off slow in the first period and was only up by two, but they changed that in a hurry by scoring 34 points in the 2nd quarter and they didn't looked back.  China's only consistant scoring came from Yi Anlian he played fantastic on the offensive end, hitting mid range jumpers and some impressive dunks, he finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds.

Russia 95, Great Britain 75. 

The Andrei Kirilenko and Alexey Shved show was a phenomenal display of basketball.  Kirilenko had 35 points (14-17 FG) & 4 rebounds. Shved almost got a triple double, he finished the game with 16 points, 13 assists and 6 rebounds.  Great Britain was no match for Russia, there only was so much Luol Deng could do for Great Britain. Deng had 26 points, but shot poorly from the field.

Argentina 102, Lithuania 79. 

 Argentina's golden generation proved they will keep playing with everything they have, just like they've shown us many times before. Luis Scola scored 32 points, Manu Ginobili had a double double with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Carlos Delfino had 20 points (Including six three pointers)  Argentina lead 51-39 at the half, but Lithuania couldn't stop them from scoring and lost the game by 23 points.   Linas Kleiza scored 20 points and 7 rebounds & Paulius Jankunas contributed for 14 points for Lithuania. 

Standings

Group A

United States                    1-0                              France                                0-1

Argentina                          1-0                              Lithuania                             0-1

Nigeria                             1-0                              Tunisia                                 0-1

Group B

Spain                              1-0                                China                                 0-1

Brazil                              1-0                                Australia                             0-1    

Russia                             1-0                                Great Britain                       0-1

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London Olympics Preview

The 2012 London Olympics start on Sunday the 29th until August 12.  Twelve teams will be divided by two groups of 6 and only 4 of them will advance to the quarter finals.

Group A : USA, France, Argentina, Lithuania, Tunisia & Nigeria.
Group B:  Spain, Brazil, Australia, China, Great Britain, Russia.

*I predict the ones in bold to advance to the quarter final stage.

Here's some information about all participant teams.

Argentina

  
*Argentina obtained it's first and only gold medal in basketball during the 2004 Athens Olympics by defeating Italy 89-64.

Argentina hopes to get back to the elite level they were at during the 2004 Olympics, which they got the gold medal.  Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Carlos Delfino and Andres Nocioni are the only four members left from that squad, but they remain very effective.  Although they haven't confirm or deny it, many people think this is the last run for them, they are the best group of basketball players Argentina has ever seen, they are called  "The Golden Generation"


Roster

Centers
Juan Gutierrez
Martin Diario Leiva

Guards 
Emanuel Ginobili
Pablo Prigioni
Carlos Delfino
Facundo Campazzo

Forwards
Luis Scola
Andres Nocioni
Leonardo Gutierrez
Marcos Mata
Martin Diario Leiva
Federico Kammerichs
Pancho Jasen

Coach: Julio Lamas 

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Fabricio Oberto, Roman Gonzalez, Paolo Quinteros & Antonio Porta.

 *Fabricio Oberto played in the 2011 Fiba Americas Championships, but couldn't participate in the Olympics due to personal problems.

How they got here:  Argentina won the 2011 Fiba Americas played in Mar Del Plata, just in front of their own fans.  Argentina went 9-1 in the tourney, the clincher game was against Puerto Rico, Argentina won  81-79 and then moved on to face Brazil in the final game.  the Argentinians beat Brazil 80-75 &  Luis Scola was named most valuable player, he averaged 21 ppg and 6 rebounds per game.

*Argentina celebrating their 2011 Fiba Americas win.

Brazil

 *Brazil's last tournament win was in the 2009 Fiba Americas Championships.

Brazil has been a very solid basketball team over the last decade. They won the Fiba Americas 2009 Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico and they also finished in second place in the 2011 Fiba Americas Championships in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.  Brazil's main problem has been consistency, they have a lot of talented players, but they have rarely played together on the same team.   The Brazilians have everyone healthy this time around, minus  Rafael Hettsheimeir, they are looking to prove they deserve to win a medal.

 *Hettsheimer averaged 9 ppg and 4 rpg in the 2011 Fiba Americas, he won't be participating in the 2012 Olympics due to injury.

Consistency problems

2007 Fiba Americas Champiionships in Las Vegas.
Leandro Barbosa, Marcelo Huertas, Tiago Splitter & Nene represented their team, however, Anderson Varejao wasn't available.

2009 Fiba Americas Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao, Tiago Splitter and Marcelo Huertas were available,  Nene didn't participate. 

2010 World Championships in Turkey
Same situation as 2009, Leandro Barbosa, Anderson Varejao, Tiago Splitter and Marcelo Huertas were available to play, Nene wasn't.

2011 Fiba Americas Championships in Marl Del Plata, Argentina.
Marcelo Huertas and Tiago Splitter got Brazil the Olympic clincher. Leandro Barbosa, Nene and Anderson Varejao sat out the tournament.


Roster

Centers
Caio Torres
Maybyner Nene

Guards
Leandro Barbosa
Alex Garcia
Marcelinho Huertas
Marcelo Machado
Raulzhinho Netto
Larry Taylor

Forwards
Anderson Varejao
Tiago Splitter
Guillherme Giovanonni
Marcus Vieira

Coach: Ruben Magnano  (Coached Argentina in the 2004 Olympics)

 
Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Everyone, this group of players haven't been in the Olympics.

How they got here:  Brazil got the second spot in the London Olympics by ending in second place  in the 2011 Fiba Americas.  Brazil  finished with 8 wins and only  2 losses, their 83-76 win over the Dominican Republic in the semifinals clinched their Olympic spot.  Marcelo Machado scored 20 points and 5-8 from downtown in the victory.  This will be Brazil's first Olympic appearance in 16 years.

 *Most of the Brazilians got Mohawks as a result of clinching a spot in the 2012 Olympics.

United States

 *The 2008 "Redeem Team" brought back the gold for the Americans, they had an 8 year drought without any Olympic gold medals. Dwyane Wade and Lebron James lead them in scoring with 16 PPG each.

After losing their first game ever in the Olympics with NBA talent in a 92-73 loss to Puerto Rico in Athens 2004 and finishing with a bronze medal, the United States knew they had to changed their approach to a more serious one.  If they still had any doubts, Greece showed them enough was enough by beating them 101-95 in the 2006 World Championships in Japan and with that, the americans ended up with another bronze medal.

Starting in 2008, the United States brought their best players on every competition and they have gone undefeated since then.   They won the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and the World Championships in Turkey 2010.

They are expected to win every single game and bring yet another gold medal to the states, it will be a huge disappointment if they fail to get anything but the gold.

Roster

Centers
Tyson Chandler
Anthony Davis

Guards:
Kobe Bryant
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Russell Westbrook
James Harden

Forwards:
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Love
Lebron James
Carmelo Anthony
Kevin Durant

Coach: Mike Krzyzewski

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:   Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Michael Redd, Carlos Boozer, Tayshaun Prince, Dwight Howard & Jason Kidd.

 

How they got here: By winning the 2010 World Championships in Turkey, the United States clinched a berth to play in the 2012 London Olympics.  Team USA brought their "B" squad that featured Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Chauncey Billups, Lamar Odom and many others.

*Kevin Durant lead the United States in the 2010 World Championships in Turkey with 23 PPG and 8 rebounds.

Spain 

Spain have been the kings of Europe basketball the last few years (Runner up in Eurobasket 2007 and winners of  Eurobasket 2009 and 2011 ) and also team USA biggest threat so far.

                         *Spain won Eurobasket 2009 in Poland. Pau Gasol averaged 19 PPG and 8 RPG.

*Spain won Eurobasket 2011 tournament in Lithuania. Juan Carlos Navarro (Middle) won the Most Valuable Player award. Navarro averaged 19 PPG and 3 APG.


Spain has done almost everything, the only thing they haven't done so far, it's getting a gold medal in the Olympics.  Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are the best front court in the world right now, Spain has the ability to play using their big men or use Juan Carlos Navarro from the perimeter, JCN is a living legend, one of the best Spaniards basketball players of all time.  If any team can beat team USA for just one day only, it's them. Spain came close to beating the United States in Beijing 2008, 118-107,  in perhaps the  best gold medal game in the history of the Olympics, can they win it this time?


Roster

Centers
Pau Gasol
Marc Gasol

Forwards
Serge Ibaka
Felipe Reyes
Victor Claver

Guards
 Jose Calderon
Juan Carlos Navarro
Rudy Fernandez
Fernando San Emeterio
Sergio Rodriguez
Victor Sada
Sergio Llull

Coach: Sergio Scariolo

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Alex Mumbru, Carlos Jimenez, Ricky Rubio, Berni Rodriguez, Raul Lopez and Jorge Garbajosa.

*Ricky Rubio suffered a torn acl in March 2011 in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, he missed the last 2 months of the NBA season and will miss the Olympics as well. 

France

                                  *France is going to their first Olympics since 2000.


France is a team full of NBA experienced players, Tony Parker is their main player.  He took the team on his shoulders and made sure France wasn't going to miss another Olympic appearance.

This version of France will have Nicolas Batum, Ronny Turiaf, Boris Diaw, Kevin Seraphin and the latest French player to make it into the NBA, Nando De Colo.  However, one important player that won't be joining France in the Olympics will be center Joakim Noah, Noah injured his ankle during the Chicago Bulls first round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the playoffs.  Mickael Pietrus, Rodrigue Beaubois and Ian Mahinmi  won't be available for team France, those three players have been in and out of lineups with injury problems.


Roster

Center
Ronny Turiaf
Ali Traore

Forwards
Nicolas Batum
Boris Diaw
Mickael Gelabale
Yakhouba Diawara
Kevin Seraphin
Florent Pietrus

Guards 
Tony Parker
Yannick Bokolo
Fabien Causeur
Nando De Colo

Coach: Vincent Collet

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Did not qualified to Athens 2004.

How they got here:  France finished in second place in the Eurobasket 2011 tournament played in Lithuania. France only loss came to Spain in the final game 98-85.  France beat Russia 79-71 in the semifinal game to clinched a spot in the Olympics. Tony Parker averaged 22 PPG and 5 APG & Joakim Noah made his debut with team France and averaged 9 PPG and 8 RPG.

Australia

 Australia is a team that needs a lot of help in order to compete for a medal, they finished in 7th place in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and 10th in the Fiba World Championships in Turkey.  The only competitions they dominate are the FIBA Oceania Championships in which they've finished first in 2005,2007, and 2011 and in second place in 2009.

Roster

Center
Aron Bayness
Aleks Maric



Forwards
David Andersen
Joe Ingles
Matt Nielsen
Mark Worthington 
David Barlow


Guards  
Adam Gibson
Matt Dellavedova
Peter Crawford
Patty Mills
Brad Newley

Coach:  Brett Brown

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Andrew Bogut, Chris Anstey, C.J Brutton, Shawn Redhage, Glen Saville.

*Andrew Bogut played in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, he won't play in London due to various injuries.

How they got here:  Australia won the 2011 Oceania Championships, they went undefeated. Patrick Mills  averaged 14 PPG & 3 APG.

China

China qualified for the Olympics yet again, however, their goals of winning a medal in the Olympics remain very far away.  China didn't win a medal when Yao Ming was there, now it will be even more difficult to win one without him.  China has some talented players like Yi Anlian and  Sun Yue.

Roster

Center
Max Zhang
Zhizhi Wang


Forwards
Fangyu Zhu
Shipeng Wang
Ding Jinhui
Zhou Peng
Jianlian Yi
Li Yi

Guards  
Jianghua Chen
Aliun Guo
Wei Liu
Yue Sun

Coach: Bob Donewald Jr.

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Feng Du, Nan Li, Lei Wang,  Yao Ming & Qinpeng Zhang.

 

* This will be China's first Olympic appearance without Yao Ming in over 16 years, Yao played in his first Olympic games in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

How they got here: China went 9-0 in the 2011 FIBA  Asia Championships, Yi Anlian was their best scorer, he averaged  17 PPG.

Russia

Russia isn't a lock to win a gold medal. the silver can be a stretch, but they can absolutely win the Bronze Russia has multiple players that can score, four of them averaged double digits in scoring in the 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament:  Andrei Kirilenko, Alexey Shved,  Sasha Kaun and Vitaliy Fridzon . Russia always plays tough difficult defense on the opponents, very tough to score against them.

Roster

Center
Timofey Mozgov
Sasha Kaun


Forwards
Andrei Kirilenko
Semen Antonov
Sergey Karasev
Victor Khryapa
Sergei Monia
Anton Ponkrashov


Guards
Sasha Fridzon
Dmitriy Khvostov
Alexey Shved
Evgeny Voronov

Coach:   David Blatt

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Sergey Bykov,  J.R Holden, Victor Keyru, Nikita Morgunov, Zakhar Pashutin, Petr Samoylenko,  Alexei Savrasenko & Andrey Vorontsevich.

 

*J.R Holden retired from Basketball and won't be playing in the Olympics. Holden played with Russia in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

How they got here: After finishing a disappointing third place in the 2011 Lithuania Eurobasket Championship, Russia didn't get the spot to the London Olympics right away. However,  due to finishing third they were one of the teams invited to play at the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Venezuela.


Russia also finished in the top 3 in this tourney, but that was enough to get into London (Only 3 teams could get to London via the Olympic qualifiers)   Andrei Kirilenko had a fantastic tournament, he averaged 16 PPG, 8 RPG & 4 APG, Alexey Shved averaged 11 PPG and 5 APG.

Great Britain

The last time Great Britain went to the Olympics in a basketball competition was in 1948, if that isn't saying much, i don't know what will.  Great Britain depend on Luol Deng to do almost all the scoring for them, Joel Freeland helps on the inside more than the rest of their teammates, but they need more help, those two can't do it alone.  In last year's Eurobasket 2011, Deng averaged 24 PPG and Freeland contribute with 11 PPG, nobody else averaged double figure scoring.

Roster

Center
Eric Boateng
Dan Clark



Forwards
Luol Deng
Joel Freeland
Pops Mensah Bonsu
Kieron  Achara
Robert Archibald
Drew Sullivan


Guards 
Andrew Lawrence

Mike Lenzly
Kyle Johnson
Nate Reinking

Coach:  Chris Finch

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:   Did not qualified to Athens 2004.

How they got here:   Great Britain finished in 13th place in last year's Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania, but they got an automatic berth to the Olympics since they will be taking place in London. 

Lithuania

* Sarunas Jasikevicius is the oldest member of the Lithuanian basketball team, this will be Jasikevicius 4th trip to the Olympics (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and London 2012)

Lithuania is always a threat to compete for a medal in any event they are in    Since 2010, Lithuania has finished in the top 5 on every tournament they have played. They finished in third place in the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey, 5th in last year's Eurobasket and first in the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying tournament in Caracas, Venezuela. 

The Lithuanians have also finished 4th in the last two Olympics (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008) and they feel they have the right mix of older (Songaila, Jasikevicius, Kaukenas)  and younger players (Valanciunas, Kalnietis, Kleiza & Pocius)  to get a spot into the elite level and finally get the medial they deserve.

Roster

Center
Jonas Valanciunas
Robertas Javtokas

Forwards
Darius Songaila
Martynas Pocius
Paulius Jankunas
Linas Kleiza
Jonas Malaciunas
 

Guards  
Sarunas Jasikevicius
Rimantas Kaukenas
Mantas Kalnietis
Deividas Dulkys
Tomas Delinkaitis

Coach:  Kestutis Kemzura

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:  Simas Jasaitis, Darius Lavrinovic, Marius Prekevicius, Marijonas Petravicius, Mindaugas Lukauskis, Ksystof  Lavrinovic.

How they got here:   Lithuania finished 5th in last year's Eurobasket. However, they still had a chance to clinch in the 2012 FIBA Qualifying Tournament and they did exactly that by finishing 1st in the tournament.

Sarunas Jasikevicius  averaged 11 points and 5 assists during the FIBA qualifiers & rising star Jonas Valanciuns ended up averaging  8 points and 4 rebounds. 

 

Nigeria

Nigeria is a team that no one thought they could get into the Olympics, this is the first time they will be competing in an Olympics.  They play as a team, no egos involved and they proved it could work.  Nigeria has a lot of familiar names on their roster, Ike Diogu (played 5 years in the NBA), Tony Skinn (Starting point guard of the 2006 George Mason squad that reached the final four)  Al Farouq Aminu (Selected 8th in the 2010 NBA draft by The Los Angeles Clippers) 

  

Roster

Center
Olumide Oyedeji
Ejike Ugboaja


Forwards
Al-Farouq Aminu
Alade Aminu
Koko Archibong
Ike Diogu
Ekene Ibekwe
Derrick Obasohan
Richard Oruche


Guards  
Tony Skinn
Champ Oguchi
Ade Dagunduro

Coach: Ayo Bakare

Gone from their last Olympic appearance:   Did not qualified to Athens 2004.

How they got here:  In a surprising and shocking turn of events, Nigeria clinched the third and  final spot to play in the London Olympics by defeating the Dominican Republic, 88-73, in the 2012 FIBA Qualifying Tournament played earlier this year in Caracas, Venezuela.  Ike Diogu was determined to get the win for Nigeria with 25 points and 10 rebounds.   This is the first time in Olympic history that  two African teams will be among the twelve teams playing in an Olympics.  Ike Diogu averaged 17 PPG and 11 RPG and Al Farouq Aminu had 13 PPG and 5 RPG. in the Tournament.

Tunisia

Tunisia was the first African team to qualify to the London Olympics (Nigeria was the other)   This will be Tunisia's first Olympic games in their team history, African basketball was dominated by Angola for more than 20 years, but Tunisia beat them during last year's Fiba Africa Championships 67-56  to the surprise of everyone.  

Roster

Center
Salah Mejri


Forwards
Macram Ben Romdhane
Mohamed Ghyaza
Mohammed Hadidane
Amine Maghrebi
Radhouane Silmane

Guards 
Omar Abada
Lassaad Chouaya
Mourad El Mabrouk
Marouan Kechrid
Marouan Laghnej
Amine Rzig

Coach:  Adel Tlatli

Gone from their last Olympic   Did not qualified to Athens 2004.

How they got here:  Tunisia went 7-0 and ended up first in the 2011 Fiba Africa Championship.  Maroaun Kechrid averaged 11 PPG and Macram Ben Romdhane averaged 13 PPG & 6 RPG.


Credit: Real GM for the team rosters.

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