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In a short time, Stern says, basketball has become one of the most popular Olympic sports. "To me, clearly basketball is one of the three legs of the Olympics stool," he said. "Probably the other ones are (swimming) and athletics. That's the legacy. The world understands that basketball competition comes from so many countries, and it's at the top of the Olympic ladder. "What we're seeing now is that basketball has become the hardest ticket at the Olympics." USA Today

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, David Stern, Olympics 

USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo told reporters in Las Vegas on Thursday that Griffin had an option to get his knee "scoped" at the end of the season and "opted not to get scoped." "That wasn't something that he needed at that time," Del Negro said. "That was evaluated and our doctors felt like he just needed some rest, which he took. He was fine after that. He was injured a little bit in the playoffs, and at that time, he just needed rest. He got the rest. The doctors felt and we felt that there was no surgery needed. So, that wasn't the case at all." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Clippers, Blake Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Injuries, Team USA 

Cousins, who hopes to return for future team tryouts, jokingly says he beats the heat by hiding indoors and cranking up the air conditioning. The Kings' center, in fact, was in great spirits Tuesday, fully recovered from Jerry Colangelo's earlier (and admittedly excessive) criticism. And while Cousins and his teammates were sketchy on the details, and unable to remember the exact scores or even exactly how many of the four-minute quarters they controlled against the Olympians, it was their story and they were sticking to it. "I think we beat them twice, or three times," said Irving, Cleveland's Rookie of the Year. "It was pretty balanced, more than the first couple days, I can tell you that. Throwing us out there against All-Stars is hard. It's like a video game … ." Sacramento Bee

DeMarcus Cousins, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Kyrie Irving 

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said this is Wall’s opportunity to learn and gain from the experience. “He’s one the top point guards in the league today, one of the best young point guards,”Colangelo said. “When you look at the Walls and the Kyrie [Irvings], you’re looking at the potential guards for the future. That’s why they’re here. Many, many players have used the Select Team as a springboard for making our team.” As the scrimmages have progressed, Wall is gaining more confidence and believes that he “can play at any level.” “It gives me a great chance to know what I need to work on and keep getting better,” Wall said. “It’s great to play against those players; they are the best players in our league right now. I’m just trying to get myself to that level one day.” Washington Post

John Wall, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Kyrie Irving 

“When I came along, I wasn’t happy about how people looked at us as Americans, as athletes and basketball people,” Colangelo said. “And I was determined that we were going to change that. How do you fix it? You show respect to the rest of the world’s basketball community and then you go about working to get your respect back. I knew if we do it together, it would be a fantastic experience. Well, [the players] bought in. And now if you look at our programs, the junior teams … 16, 17, 18 and 19 … they are all full, they are all loaded, they are all gold medalists. They want to play, they want to represent their country. That’s what we set out to do. And in eight years, our program is as strong as it could be right now. And I’m pleased with that.” NBA.com

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA 

Rose, who won a gold medal with Team USA at the World Championships in 2010, is out of the London Games after tearing his ACL during the NBA playoffs in April. "I have a world of respect for Derrick," Colangelo said Monday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "We had a great opportunity to get to know him well during the World Championships in 2010 and was very proud of what he did, using that as a platform to become an MVP the following season in the NBA. It's just a terrible injury that really hurt the Bulls and their season. I had him kind of slated as one of our guards. You go with the cards dealt to you." ESPN.com

Chicago Bulls, Jerry Colangelo, Derrick Rose, Team USA, Olympics 

That didn’t impress USA Basketball president Jerry Colangelo, who was blunt about it during a conference call on Saturday night after announcing the Team USA final roster. “Show respect to players, and you get respect back,” Colangelo said. “He needs to mature as a person, as a player if he’s going to have an outstanding NBA career. So before there’s discussion about him being part of our program, he has a lot of building to do… “He has a lot of growing up to do.” NBCSports.com

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball 

Nate Taylor: Jerry Colangelo, the chairman, on the USA team: "We think we're deeper than 2008 & I think we're more talented." Twitter

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Olympics 

Jerry Zgoda: Jerry Colangelo on Olympian Kevin Love: "If gets the minutes, he'll lead us in rebounding." Twitter

Minnesota Timberwolves, Jerry Colangelo, Kevin Love, Team USA, Olympics 

Chris Paul was forced to leave the opening day of training camp to get an X-ray after hurting his thumb. The Americans don’t believe the injury is serious, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo calling it a tweak of a previous injury, and they hope Paul can practice Saturday. Boston Herald

Los Angeles Clippers, Chris Paul, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Injuries, Team USA 

In a phone interview with FOX Sports Florida, Colangelo said 2008 Olympic holdovers LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony Chris Paul and Deron Williams are assured of being on the team in London along with 2010 World Championship holdovers Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler. FOXSports Florida

LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Colangelo, Tyson Chandler, Deron Williams, USA Basketball, Kevin Love, Team USA, Russell Westbrook, Olympics 

Colangelo said Davis could be selected for the team and then could be replaced by an alternate if his injury continues to hamper him. Or he said, if Davis doesn't make the team, the possibility would exist to replace a player if there is another injury. "I'll tell all of them to stay ready just in case," Colangelo said of the three players chosen as alternates. FOXSports Florida

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Olympics, Anthony Davis 

Chris Tomasson: Jerry Colangelo said Lamar Odom dropped out of Team USA today. He said Jeff Schwartz, Odom’s agent, called him today to tell him that. Twitter

Los Angeles Clippers, Lamar Odom, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Injuries, Team USA, Jeff Schwartz 

Chris Tomasson: Jerry Colangelo: "We will not be adding anybody (to replace Odom). We feel good with what we have.'' Twitter

Lamar Odom, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Team USA, Olympics 

Colangelo discussed the nature of forming an Olympic team, in that he starts watching players early in their careers. One guy he likes should sound familiar to Wizards fans. “Beal is a terrific player and has a bright future in the NBA. We’ve got our antennae up on all these young players coming up the pike. We’ll be watching him as he comes into the league and his name is on the board.” CBS Washington

Washington Wizards, Jerry Colangelo, Bradley Beal 

"I heard that Anthony Davis sprained his ankle yesterday but I don't know how serious it is," Colangelo said. "It was in a workout. I'm not going to worry about that unless I'm advised at this point." Sulia

New Orleans Hornets, Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, Injuries, Team USA, Olympics, Anthony Davis 

Today, for the first day since the inception of the franchise in 1968, Colangelo is no longer a part of the franchise that he founded, raised, managed, coached and owned with a passion that made it the fourth-best all-time winning percentage in NBA history and put him in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Jerry Colangelo, Owners 

When Colangelo sold the franchise to Robert Sarver and his investors for $401 million in 2004, part of the agreement was that Colangelo would remain chief executive officer for three years and chairman for another five years at $2 million annually. That contract ended Saturday, coincidentally on the day that could also be Steve Nash's final official day with the Suns. Arizona Republic

Phoenix Suns, Jerry Colangelo, Owners 

Colangelo, who works out daily with no health issues, plans to continue with USA Basketball through the 2016 Olympics. He has received inquiries about returning to NBA ownership and suggestions from Commissioner David Stern to do so but appears to be content with his NBA presence as a Suns fan. Arizona Republic

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball, David Stern 

Chris Tomasson: USA Basketball will name the 12-man Olympic team in a selection show at 7 p.m. EDT July 7 that will be televised by NBA TV. Twitter

Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball