Morehead State University alumnus Kenneth Faried was named as one of the 30 finalists for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team by USA Basketball.
The player selections were approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors. The official 12-member 2016 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team roster will be announced later.
Faried was taken in the first round of the June 2011 NBA Draft. He was the eighth first-round pick in Ohio Valley Conference history and the first ever for Morehead State.
Faried was the 17th player in Eagle history to be drafted and the first player to be taken from MSU since 2004 (Ricky Minard).
The two-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and three-time OVC Defensive Player of the Year, Faried led Morehead State to a pair of OVC Tournament championships in three years.
He established the NCAA modern-era (post-1973) career rebounding record with 1,673 rebounds. Faried’s 86 career double-doubles place him just one behind only Tim Duncan in doubles-doubles in NCAA Division I history.
Faried was named the NABC Defensive Player of the Year and earned seven different All-America honors. The Eagles tied a school record with 25 wins in 2010-11. He led the team with 17.3 points and 14.5 rebounds per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field.
Besides Faried, the finalists include: LaMarcus Aldridge (San Antonio Spurs); Anthony; Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors); Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards); Jimmy Butler (Chicago Bulls); Mike Conley (Memphis Grizzlies); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors); Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Sacramento Kings); Paul George (Indiana Pacers); Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors); Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers);
James Harden (Houston Rockets); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz); Dwight Howard (Houston Rockets); Andre Iguodala (Golden State Warriors); Kyrie Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers); James; DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers); Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs); Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers); Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors); John Wall (Washington Wizards); and Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder).
Leading the 2016 USA coaching staff is Duke University's Mike Krzyzewski. Serving as USA assistant coaches will be Jim Boeheim (Syracuse University), Tom Thibodeau and Monty Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder).
Ten members of the 2014 USA World Cup Team that finished 9-0 and captured gold in Spain are among the list of finalists, including Cousins, Curry, Davis, DeRozan, Drummond, Faried, Gay, Harden, World Cup MVP Irving and Thompson.
The USA National Team's complete training schedule for 2016 will be announced at a later date.
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games will be held Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
