Anthony Davis Will Be Member Of Team USA

 New Orleans Hornets rookie Anthony Davis acknowledged his disappointment last week when he was unable to make the 12 man USA Olympic basketball roster. He was selected as an alternate.

Davis' disappointment has been replaced with great excitement, and great opportunity. A spot is open for Davis after power forward Blake Griffin tore a miniscus in his left knee at team USA training camp. Davis' phone rang and the voice on the other end was USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo. He asked Davis to report to Las Vegas immediately on Thursday.

Not only did Davis report, but he got playing time in Thursday night's 113-59 exhibition win over the Dominican Republic national team. The Hornets rookie played 10 minutes, all in the 4th quarter, scoring 9 points, including a 4 point play.

Davis is yet to be an official member of team USA, but it's only a formality at this point. Just like when the Hornets won the draft lottery, it took until draft night for New Orleans to officially welcome Davis to the Hornets. The only thing left for the Olympic team to do is wait on Griffin's official withdrawal.

“Until we get official word, and we know what the reports are, but not to us — if that’s official, then Blake has to withdraw because he is an Olympian, and when and if that takes place, that’s when we can officially add Anthony Davis to our roster,” Colangelo said after the victory.

Considering Griffin will have arthroscopic surgery early next week, it's safe to say his withdrawal will be coming soon.

Playing on the USA Olympic team will be a great opportunity for the 19 year old power forward. Davis will be able to play with and against some of the best in the world. This will serve him much better in his assimilation to the NBA game than playing in the Summer League.

Davis will now travel with the team to Washington D.C. today for an exhibition against Brazil on Monday.