Three Former Wildcats among Finalists for 2016 U.S. Olympic Team

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Former Kentucky men’s basketball stars DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and John Wall have been named finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team by USA Basketball. The trio, all of whom played under current UK head coach John Calipari, are among 30 players vying for a spot on the final 12-man roster that will compete in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August.

The official 12-member team will be announced later this year. Also, the USA National Team’s complete training schedule will be announced at a later date as well.

All three former Wildcats have prior USA Basketball experience.

Davis, who led Kentucky to a national championship in 2012, collected gold medals with USA Basketball as a member of the 2012 Olympic team and the 2014 FIBA World Cup team. The 2015 All-NBA First Team and NBA All-Star selection averaged 12.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for the 2014 USA World Cup Team. 

Cousins, an All-NBA Second Team member and NBA-All-Star in 2015, was a part of that 2014 FIBA World Cup team that went 9-0. He came off the bench for that team and averaged 9.6 points and 5.6 rebounds, in addition to a team-best .702 field-goal percentage.

Wall is looking to make his first Olympic team after back-to-back NBA All-Star appearances and All-NBA honorable mention honors in 2015. He’s a past member of the USA Basketball Select team and has participated in the USA Men’s National Team mini-camp in the past.

The current Wildcats remain on the road for their next game, a Thursday night trip to Fayetteville, Ark., to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET tip on ESPN.

For the latest on the Kentucky men’s basketball team, follow @KentuckyMBB on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and on the web at UKathletics.com.