Utah Jazz: Team USA eyeing Jazz duo

CHICAGO — With the chance of giving the Utah Jazz their first dynamic Olympic duo since Karl Malone and John Stockton a dozen years ago, Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams have the eyes of USA Basketball's top brass Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski.

And maybe the right ties, too?

Boozer and Williams are two of the 33 players currently on the U.S. Men's Senior National Basketball Team roster, hoping to be named to the Olympic squad to compete this summer in Beijing.

"I admire what these guys have done — those two guys are going to be in the mix," said Krzyzewski, the Duke University head coach who doubles as the same for Team USA, during Tuesday's session of the 2008 Olympic Media Summit.

Boozer played his three-year collegiate career at Duke for Krzyzewski, who this summer coached the United States — with Williams as a reserve guard — to a 10-0 record at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Las Vegas.

"He's sugar-coating this," interrupted Colangelo, the Phoenix Suns chairman and U.S. team's managing director, with a quick quip. "The fact is that Boozer played for him at Duke, and Deron Williams played at my alma mater, the University of Illinois, so they have great shots."

Of course, Boozer and Williams' top priority is their day jobs — leading the Northwest Division champion Jazz into tonight's regular-season finale at San Antonio, followed by the NBA playoffs.

And Colengelo, Krzyzewski and staff won't pare down the roster to 15-18 finalists until a couple of weeks after the NBA Finals.

The Olympic roster of 12 players and three alternates is due June 30, with the team returning to Las Vegas in July for a week's worth of practice and an exhibition game before leaving for four exhibitions in Asia prior to its first Beijing Olympics contest on Aug. 10.

Krzyzewski and Colangelo say Boozer won't be discounted by his U.S. team absences the last two summers. He missed the '06 World Championships because he was still nursing his prolonged hamstring injury, and he asked to be excused last year because his wife, CeCe, was expecting twins.

"Carlos will be contesting for a spot, even though he didn't play the last two years," Krzyzewski said. "He did play in the 2004 Olympics, and he was willing to play last year.

"He is one of the best players. Obviously, I coached him in college, but that's not why — if he's picked — that he'll be picked."

And Krzyzewski was doubly pleased with Williams last summer in Vegas.