Anybody with a pulse has probably been keeping up with what’s been going on at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

The United States basketball team destroyed Spain today 119-82 to advance to the medal round. This should come as no surprise. The U.S. has been abusing the competition since they got off the plane in Beijing and will no doubt bring home the gold and make up for the sins of the 2004 team that had to settle for the bronze.

Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmello Anthony and other members of the “Redeemed Team” are showing the rest of the world that you don’t mess with the U.S. when it comes to basketball.

Ok, so we’ve sent our best professionals to go and beat up on countries like Spain, Greece, China and Angola.

Big deal!

We used to send our best college players to do that. We did for decades and were very successful. But after we came home with the bronze in 1988 with college players, the powers that be thought it was time to send in the big guns and create the ultimate “Dream Team”. That team featured the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. It may have been the biggest one-sided battle against the world since the U.S. invaded Grenada 25 years ago.

The U.S. has always been a basketball country and always will be. Having said that, I think that if we went back to sending our best college players to Beijing we still would come back home with the gold.

Imagine a college Dream Team or Redeem Team featuring Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, D.J. Augustin, Brook Lopez, Joe Alexander, Brandon Rush, Tyler Hansbrough, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Roy Hibbert, and I’ll even throw in George Hill.

Do you agree that this team would not be able to challenge the rest of the world? They may not destroy the field as the current team is doing, but they are certainly good enough to win the gold.

If we are so determined to send in our professionals, then why not add a few college players or go half pro and half college? After Beijing we would have made our point. We’re the best and everyone knows it. It’s now time to reconsider allowing some of our best amateurs back in the Olympics.

There are some incredible college basketball games on tap for this week. Here are the best ones to watch:

Wednesday February 6th: #2 Duke at #3 North Carolina - Tar Heels versus Blue Devils. Dean Dome. Nothing more needs to be said.

Thursday February 7th: #4 UCLA at #17 Washington State - terrific Pac 10 contest. Can Kevin Love and the Bruins overcome Derrick Low and the Cougars?

Saturday February 9th:#6 Georgetown at Louisville - Roy Hibbert and the Hoyas face a tough road challenge against the Cardinals at Freedom Hall.

There are some fabulous match-ups on the college basketball schedule for this week. Here are some great games for your viewing pleasure…

Thursday December 20th - #7 Duke at #9 Pittsburgh. The young Dookies will face a huge test as they travel to Madison Square Garden to face the Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and the Panthers. Both teams have played pretty easy schedules up to this point, so this game will be a great gauge of just how good they really are.

Saturday December 22nd - #4 Georgetown at #2 Memphis. A fantastic top-5 battle will take place at the FedEx Forum in Memphis when Roy Hibbert and the Hoyas come to town to face Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose and the high-flying Tigers. If there is one game you watch this weekend, it is this one. Hibbert is the premier center in all of college basketball, and Rose is making a big splash in his freshman season.

If a battle of top-5 teams isn’t enough to satisfy you, may I also recommend watching #5 Texas at #10 Michigan State. The Longhorns have successfully survived the graduation of Kevin Durrant, thank you very much, with D.J. Augustin leading the charge. The Spartans are always tough to play at the Jack Breslin Arena, and the Longhorns know they will be in for a battle.

We’re nearly a third of the way into the college basketball season, and with the conference battles set to begin in a few weeks, let’s do a quick review of the teams that many analysts and prognosticators picked to go to the Elite 8. Read more

The highly anticipated AP pre-season All-American team has been announced, and its members shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone:

PF Tyler Hansbrough - North Carolina
C Roy Hibbert - Georgetown
G Chris Lofton - Tennessee
G Drew Neitzel - Michigan State
G Darren Collison - UCLA

What blows my mind is that Hansbrough was not a unanimous selection to the team - one AP voter didn’t vote for him on the 1st team. Whoever that voter is should have his AP credentials and voting privileges revoked immediately. Hansbrough will be the Player of the Year, in my opinion, and very well could lead North Carolina to the championship this season.

2006 may have marked the rebirth of Georgetown as a perennial national championship contender, and the Hoyas signed head coach John Thompson III to a six year contract extension through 2013. The Hoyas won the Big East regular season championship, the Big East tournament, reached the Final Four and ended the year with a stellar 30-7 record (13-3 in the Big East).

With center Roy Hibbert and power forward Patrick Ewing Jr. coming back for their senior seasons, Thompson III and the Hoyas are a solid top-10 team that once again could challenge for the national championship.