USA Basketball is expected to invite former Texas star Kevin Durant to the July practices ahead of the Tournament of Americas, a source close to the situation told ESPN.com.
Durant declared for the NBA draft earlier this month after winning all of the college player of the year awards after his freshman season.
Ohio State freshman Greg Oden, who was invited last summer but was hurt, also is expected to participate, regardless of whether or not he declares for the draft.
The Tournament of Americas is a qualifying tourney for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Team USA will have new faces, as Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets, Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers are all expected to play. So, too, is Milwaukee's Michael Redd, but injuries could keep Miami's Dwyane Wade, New Orleans/Oklahoma City's Chris Paul and Washington's Gilbert Arenas, who was one of the last players cut last year for the World Championships, out of the tournament.
The team is coached by Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and assisted by Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, Nate McMillan of the Portland Trail Blazers and Mike D'Antoni of the Phoenix Suns. Last summer, the U.S. lost to Greece in the World Championships in Japan before beating Argentina for the bronze.
Durant's inclusion, though, is another reminder of how fluid the rosters are for the Olympic quest. Team USA always has been open to making tweaks, but wants a core group of players to make three-year commitments for each Olympic cycle. If Durant and/or Oden don't make the 2008 team, assuming the U.S. qualifies, they likely will be anchors in 2012.
Final nuggets
• Reports out of the Midwest are that the Big Ten will go from 16 to 18 league games next season. That kind of move was predicted by Big East coaches when that league moved from 16 to 18. That means three of the six high-major conferences -- Big East, Big Ten and Pac-10 -- will play 18 league games (although only the Pac-10 is a true round-robin). The ACC, SEC and Big 12 should follow suit to ensure even more equity across the biggest conferences, but that may be unlikely in the near future.
• How about Billy Donovan's Marshall staff? Donovan has won two national titles at Florida; in his first year at VCU, Anthony Grant beat Duke in the first round of the NCAA Tournament; Donnie Jones just got the head coaching job at Marshall; Matt Brown just got the head job at UMKC; and John Pelphrey is the new coach at Arkansas.
"Not a bad year at all," Grant said.
• Donovan made a home visit to Jai Lucas, the top unsigned point guard, on Tuesday. The Gators are trying to lure Lucas and Patrick Patterson, the top unsigned forward, in the final weeks of the spring signing period.
• Florida assistant coach Larry Shyatt has been Donovan's buffer in fielding phone calls to be Jones' replacement. Shyatt said he's taken 100 so far.
Andy Katz
