Melo can back-up Tyson Chandler on Team USA

Nicknamed Melo, Camerlo Anthony proved his versatility on the basketball field in U.S.A`s 113-59 victory against the Dominican Republic in an exhibition game played at UNVL`s Thomas & Mack Center, on Thursday. This comes as good news for Team USA, as they hope to win the gold again in London this year.

After Amare Stoudemire`s back injury from late March, Knicks` couch decided to use Camerlo Anthony on the starting power forward position, and it seems like it was a good choice, as he finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds.

With Dwight Howard recovering from the back surgery, and Tyson Chandler being the only true center available for Team USA, Anthony took a moment and discuss about the attributes of these players:

“Right now, I can definitely say we’re a very athletic team, probably more athletic than we were in ’08. The guys that we have can play multiple positions and do a lot of different things.”

Considering his strength and ability to score in the post, Anthony, who is 6 ft 8 in and 230 lbs, will clearly be able to battle with the big players during the Olympics. The biggest problem for Team USA seems to be Spain, team which has NBA players Pau and Marc Gasol in their roster. However, there was no discussion between Anthony and Coach K about any revised role. The 28-years-old also discussed about Blake Griffin`s absence:

“At this point, I really don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s sad. I’m sad to hear Blake’s situation. Nobody even knew. He was still dunking, he was still running, jumping high.”

Joined by France, Lithuania, Nigeria, Argentina and Tunisia, Team USA is part of the Preliminary Round Pool A of the tournament which will begin on July 29 in London. In Pool B we can find Great Britain, Brazil, China, Australia, Russia and Spain. Four teams from each pool will advance in the quarterfinals, which will take place on August 8, and will decide the teams that will advance in the semifinals for August 10. Who will win the gold medal will be decided on August 12.

After winning gold in Beijing in 2008, Anthony declared that it was an amazing experience that he hopes to repeat again:

“When we won it, it was kind of a feeling that you can’t really explain. Everybody was excited. It really didn’t hit you until the national anthem came on and they raised the flag, and the whole arena was singing the national anthem. That’s when it really hit you.”