Prospectus

Issue date: 7/9/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Michael Goulding/Orange County Register Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams goes to the basket against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first half on Sunday, May 11, 2008. The Jazz defeated the Lakers 123-115, in Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

LAS VEGAS-After the first practice of the U.S. Olympic basketball team, Chris Bosh was seated in a folding chair about 10 feet from Deron Williams and marveling at how two guys who grew up about 30 miles from each other in the greater Dallas area are now part of the national team.

How would he have assessed the odds of that happening a few years ago?

"Slim to none," Bosh said, laughing. "You don't even think of those things when you're in high school. But it's really cool for us to have played against each other in high school, and now we have the opportunity to play together and win the gold medal."

Williams is equally excited.

"It's a great for us," he said. "It's great for the state of Texas. We're definitely proud Texans. I've known Chris since high school, and it's great to be playing on the same team with him because he's a such a great player and a great person."

Williams said that before being told how Bosh described a high school game between Bosh's Dallas Lincoln team and Williams' team from The Colony.

"We won the game, of course," Bosh said, smiling. "It was close because The Colony had a really good team. But we won, and he tried to dunk on me. He'll probably tell you that he made it, but he didn't. They called a charge. He just couldn't pull it off."

Williams didn't disagree with the result of the play. "Nah," he said. "I missed it."

But he said that because he gives up about seven inches to the 6-foot-10 Bosh, describing the play as a simple miss isn't quite accurate.

"I didn't make a fool out of myself," said Williams, the Utah Jazz's point guard, "I barely missed it. They called the charge and the ball hit off the back of the rim. He's lucky I didn't catch him with it."

Bosh and Williams will play key roles in the Beijing Olympics and both give U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski flexibility because they are so versatile. The U.S. team, which will be in New York for promotional appearances on Monday, is carrying only one true center in Dwight Howard, so the Raptors forward will back up Howard.

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