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What should the USA Select team's starting five be?

Jeff Eisenberg
Senior writer

USA Basketball on Thursday announced the 20 members of the Select team that will practice against the national team later this month in Las Vegas in preparation for the FIBA World Championships.

The team is comprised entirely of juniors and seniors including obvious candidates like Duke's Kyle Singler and Purdue's JaJuan Johnson and under-the-radar prospects such as Northwestern's John Shurna and Temple's Lavoy Allen. Washington's Lorenzo Romar and Villanova's Jay Wright will coach.

SportsIllustrated.com's Luke Winn asked 20 of his Twitter followers who they thought the starting five should be on the Select team. In case Romar and Wright need any help divvying up playing time, here are the results of Winn's poll as well as my selections for a first and second team:

USA Select Starting Five:

PG: Nolan Smith, Duke, Sr.

Comment: You can't go wrong with Jacob Pullen's scoring, Kemba Walker's speed or Jimmer Fredette's shooting, but Smith might be the best all-around package.

SG: LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor, Sr.

Comment: Hate to keep Pullen out of the starting five, but it's hard to play a 6-foot shooting guard at this level.

SF: Kyle Singler, Duke, Sr.

Comment: He's probably the biggest no-brainer starter among this group, as evidenced by the 18 of 20 votes he received in Winn's poll.

PF: Marcus Morris, Kansas, Jr.

Comment: After playing in Cole Aldrich's shadow last year, Morris is primed for a breakout season.

C: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue, Sr.

Comment: His transition scoring and shot-blocking is a perfect complement to Morris' back-to-the-basket game.

USA Select Second Team:

PG: Kemba Walker, UConn

SG: Jacob Pullen, Kansas State

SF: Chris Singleton, Florida State

PF: Trey Thompkins, Georgia

C: Lavoy Allen, Temple

Others on the USA Select Roster: Jon Leuer (Wisconsin), Scoop Jardine (Syracuse), Jimmer Fredette (BYU) Tyler Zeller (North Carolina), Scotty Hopson (Tennessee), William Buford (Ohio State), John Shurna (Northwestern), Shelvin Mack (Butler), Mike Tisdale (Illinois) and Chris Wright (Dayton)