Duke seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith, North Carolina junior Tyler Zeller and Florida State junior Chris Singleton were among the 20 college players named today to the USA Basketball Men's Select Team.

Only two other conferences — the Big Ten and the Big XII — had four upperclass players named to the team, which will train with the U.S. national team later this month in Las Vegas. The Atlantic 10, Big East and SEC each have a pair of players on the team.

The Associated Press is reporting that Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma will be announced Wednesday as the new USA women's basketball coach.

Auriemma would succeed Anne Donovan, who led Team USA to a gold medal in 2008. Donovan, who once coached at East Carolina, won two medals as an athlete in 1984 and 1988. She also was an assistant on 2004 gold-medal winning squad.

Auriemma is coming off of his sixth national championship. He would lead Team USA in the London Games in 2012.

Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday, citing unnamed sources, that USA Basketball senior men's national team director Jerry Colangelo is planning to approach Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski about reprising his role coaching the U.S. for the 3-year run-up to the 2012 London Olympics.

Krzyzewski coached the U.S. during the last quadrennial, which ended in August with the U.S. beating Spain in the gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics. At that time, Krzyzewski said he would not continue but praised the move to keep Colangelo on to continue the progress USA Basketball made in the three years preceding the Beijing experience.

BEIJING — San Antonio Spur star Tim Duncan made no secret his disgust for international officiating following the 2004 Athens Olympics when he played for the bronze-medal winning USA team.

Duncan spent most U.S. games on the bench in foul trouble and thoroughly frustrated. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Carlos Boozer were teammates of Duncan's on that team. The bad taste lingered and pushed them to make the commitment to the 2008 team.

But Wade understands why Duncan didn't want anymore to do with FIBA and international ball.

BEIJING — USA women's star Lisa Leslie showed off a little on Sunday night at the men's gold-medal game. Well, a lot. She wore her four Olympic gold medals, the latest achieved on Saturday when the USA women beat Australia in a third straight Olympic gold-medal game.

She and Teresa Edwards are the only two women with four Olympic golds in basketball. Leslie, 36, retired from international competition after Saturday's game. She's off to care for 1-year old daughter Lauren and finish her WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks.

Leslie talks about her new book "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You", motivation for returning after the birth of her first child and why she never thinks about her one bronze medal. (She was wearing all four in this photo but the fourth one is hiding behind the others! The Beijing gold hangs from the red ribbon.)

BEIJING — You already knew Chris Paul has an incredible future ahead of him before he helped guide the U.S. team to the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday. The New Orleans Hornet capped off a reputation-making year, that already included a runner-up finish in the NBA MVP balloting, in Beijing.

I have to think somewhere the late Skip Prosser, Paul's coach at Wake Forest, is grinning. Here is Paul's final interview in the mixed zone at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Sunday evening.

FYI - Paul is eager to defend the USA's Olympic crown in London in 2012. Hence the photo, which show's the present, future (Paul, Deron Williams) and past (Jason Kidd) of the USA backcourt.

AP photo

BEIJING — The gold medal belongs again to the USA.

The U.S. men's basketball team beat Spain 118-107 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Sunday to secure a 13th Olympic gold medal for the USA.

Spain held on throughout the game, trailing by four with about two minutes left in the game. Dwyane Wade hit a 3 with 2:02 left then a Kobe Bryant drive and four Chris Paul free throws kept the Spaniards from getting any closer.

BEIJING — I had to hand it to Mike Krzyzewski for the unexpected gesture he made on Saturday afternoon.

We were at Beijing Normal University for the Americans' final practice prior to today's gold-medal game against Spain. And by we, I mean the press corps that has followed the USA men's basketball team throughout the Beijing Olympics.

We were upstairs above the floor watching the final minutes of warmup of that final practice and had just been asked to leave, because they were closign practice, when Krzyzewski turned to the balcony and shouts up his thanks as the rest of the team clapped and cheered for us.

BEIJING — USA guard Jason Kidd has endured all the old-man jokes he can stomach here with a young USA team that is now 17 hours away from winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

Probably. Maybe. Most likely.

Kidd still is waiting on that contract extension with the Dallas Mavericks. At 35, having not led the Mavs to the promised land in the 2008 NBA playoffs, and starting but playing second fiddle to youngsters Chris Paul and Deron Williams in Beijing, Kidd knows his NBA glory days are
numbered.

BEIJING — USA guard Dwyane Wade doesn't go many places where he's not noticed but apparently the Great Wall of China is one of those places.

Wade was visiting the drink stand at the Wall several days ago looking for something to quench his thirst when, lo and behold, he ran across a bottle of Gatorade with his mug on the front. That's where the audio clip picks up. He can tell the story better than I can.