Gordon and Deng to Join Hinrich and Noc, On the National Stage Options

[Chisoxfn]

We all know about Hinrich playing for the US national squad and Noc plays for Argentina's but it appears that Great Britain (England) is making an effort to put Gordon and Deng on there squad. It would be cool to have multiple guys playing in the international spotlight.

Obviously I'd hate to see any of our guys get hurt, but I think that type of play would help our young players continue to mature. I also think playing in that type of spotlight will take the pressure off of bigger games (since playing on the national stage is a big deal) and make them more prepared for the playoffs.

Great Britain has a new American coach, Chris Finch, who was in Vegas scouting some of his players (such as Portland draftee Joel Freeland and free-agent hopeful Pops Mensah-Bonsu) while also continuing his attempts to secure Chicago's Luol Deng and Ben Gordon as national team teammates.

Deng and Gordon both have London backgrounds and have been invited to join the newly formed G.B. squad as early as this fall as the Brits attempt to climb sufficiently high on the world ladder to claim the automatic bid that awaits them for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The host nation is guaranteed a spot in the 2012 field, but the British Olympic Association and the sport's world governing body (FIBA) will allow Finch's team to use that spot only if the team proves itself to be competitive, starting with a legitimate run at qualifying for the 2009 European Championships.