Hinrich pulls out of Team USA Options

[DutheDoduhon21]

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2972841

Kirk Hinrich joined Greg Oden and Shane Battier in pulling out of U.S. training camp Monday, removing what may have been one of the toughest roster decisions the team would have faced.


Seattle forward Nick Collison also was added to the squad, leaving the Americans with 16 players as they return to Las Vegas for practice starting Wednesday. The roster must be trimmed to 12 the day before the FIBA Americas tournament begins on Aug. 22.

Hinrich and Battier withdrew for personal reasons. Oden, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft by Portland, had his tonsils out last month and opted not to take part in camp.

Hinrich played in all nine games for the Americans last year in the world championships, starting three of them. But with Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups joining the team this summer, the Chicago guard was likely going to have a tough battle with Utah's Deron Williams for the third point guard spot.

Hinrich played only 13 minutes last month in the intrasquad scrimmage to close minicamp. Only J.J. Redick played less.

Battier also was a frequent starter in Japan. He was in minicamp but wasn't expected to return this week because of a family matter, with Detroit's Tayshaun Prince or Mike Miller of Memphis possibly taking his spot.

The Americans will train from Aug. 15-20 at a Las Vegas high school, scrimmaging against a select team of young NBA players. They face Venezuela in the opener of the 10-nation regional qualifying tournament, needing to finish in the top two to clinch a spot in the 2008 Olympics.

The rest of the players expected in camp include: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Michael Redd.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

im really surprised, hinrich is no quitter, maybe its because he just got married, or he thought he wasnt going to make the final roster. can he still make the olympic team or is this the end?

[b-riann]

good decision by kirk. he more then likely wouldnt have made the team anyway, so now he can rest up for a title run. this also prevents any injury question for kirk.

[sport1016]

This along with battier's withdrawl reek of team usa maybe telling them to bow out.

It's very likely they want to give the 12th roster spot to durant partially to give him experience on the team and continuity between teams as the years go on, but mostly because the 12th man will get basically no minutes and its a little bit of an insult to guys like kirk and battier who are vets and played big minutes and started last summer. For Durant, that'd be more like an honor.

Ah well. At least he ll be fresh and probably have a chip on his shoulder

[eddog2]

That team is better without him.

[ZoomSlowik]

That team is better without him.

Well, compared to the three ahead of him yeah, but that's not saying much. He's still a great fit for the international game because he can hit long-range jumpers pretty consistently, especially with the line being closer to the basket. He's a much better fit for the international game than some of the past PG's like Marbury and Baron Davis. Unfortunately for him so can Deron and Billups, and Kidd is a perfect complement to guys like Kobe, Lebron, and Carmelo as well as being a decent outside shooter. There are a lot of other countries that take him in a heartbeat.

[madisonsmadhouse]

I am torn, because I would love to see as many Bulls as possible on these teams, but at the sametime, I know that they will stay fresher for the Bulls if they don't play overseas.

[Balta1701-B]

I just learned that I had the same wedding date as Kirk Hinrich. Sweet!