A 2008 Collegiate Men's Olympic Basketball Team

And this is the final installment of playing make believe with the USA Men's Olympic Basketball team, if they always made of college players. I left off with a 2004 team, that would have seemed a little short on talent compared to the other Olympic years. But this 2008 team would have a little more fire and star power. The implement of the "one and done" rule for the NBA surely helps out, in making the most talented players go to college for a year.
I think the coach would have been Ben Howland for leading UCLA back from being a solid program, to an elite program fighting for Final Four berths. And I think a lot of the talent for this team would have been on display at the 2008 Final Four and I don't doubt Howland would have brought a good number of his Bruins.


Starters 

• C/PF Kevin Love (UCLA)
• PF Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina)
• SF/SG Brandon Rush (Kansas)
• G Derrick Rose (Memphis)
• PG Darren Collison (UCLA)

Bench

• C Roy Hibbert (Georgetown)
• PF D.J. White (Indiana)
• F Michael Beasley (Kansas State)
• SF Chase Budinger (Arizona) 
• SG/SF Shan Foster (Vanderbilt)
• SG Stephen Curry (Davidson)
• G Russell Westbrook (UCLA)

 This team and the talent pool to choose from would have made for a very strong team. This group here has a good combination of talent and versatility. And there is depth and strength at every position, height and size wise. There is also a good number of upperclassmen to go with young phenoms. I even left off a couple of the Freshman stars that year in O. J. Mayo and Blake Griffin and a couple of First Team All Americans, to fill in a few role spots.
Making up these rosters were fun, whenever I found the time and got around to it. Looking at various All-American and NBA Draft lists, as well as Olympic practice teams gave me an idea of who were the players around for each year.
The biggest fault I know is that its star player heavy like the Olympic teams since they allowed professionals to play. Looking at the actual collegiate Olympic rosters of the past, many times there were a handful of stars, a few skilled role players for certain spots and a lot more mid major talent. And even throughout the history of USA Men's Olympic Basketball, there was even chances stars wouldn't turn out, like Alcindor and Walton and the other UCLA players in 1968 and 1972. Or even like Pete Maravich and others who didn't make the cut for the 1968 team.
And there is no way to know who would have been announced as coach a year or two before and what type of team they would try to build up before the the Olympics even got close.
But it's been fun and I guess I can do it again in three years...