Add one more Sun Devil to the roster of 2012 Olympians.
Eric Boateng.
The
former Arizona State center was one of 12 players named to represent
Great Britain in the Olympics basketball tournament in Boateng's
hometown of London.
The lone NBA player on the British team is
Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng, a native of Sudan, England. The
remainder of the roster is composed of players competing in European
professional leagues. It will be only the second appearance for England
in the Olympics basketball competition -- joining 1948, the last time
London hosted the Games.
Boateng, 26, is one of two cetners on
the roster and is listed on the depth chart as a backup to 32-year-old
Robert Archibald. Boateng plays professionally for the Peristeri team in
Greece; Archibald plays for Zaragoza in Spain.
Boateng started
his career at Duke before transferring to ASU for his final three
college seasons. He averaged 8.8 points and 7.2 rebounds as a senior in
2009-10.
The Denver Nuggets invited him to training camp in 2010,
and he played briefly for the Austin Toros of the NBA D-League before
signing with Peristeri in November.
Archibald, who played
collegiately for the University of Illinois, played in 44 games for four
NBA teams from 2002 through 2004, including one game for the Pheonix
Suns in 2003-04.
The team is coached by Houston Rockets assistant Chris Finch.
