USA vs Great Britain: Players to Watch During Uneven Exhibition

USA versus Great Britain is not going to be exciting.

Good for the Brits' basketball team for qualifying for the Olympics for the first time since 1948, but they still aren't even close to having enough talent to even keep up with the Americans. 

The Americans struggled with Brazil in their second exhibition, but this Great Britain squad couldn't even hold a candle to the Brazilians. 

So if you are planning on watching the up-coming exhibition for the excitement factor, you should probably set your DVR to record something else.

With that being said, there will still be some intriguing individual players to watch. Let's take a look. 

Pops Mensah-Bonsu, F/C, Great Britain

You might remember Pops from his days at George Washington, or from his short stints with (deep breath) Dallas, San Antonio, Toronto, Houston or New Orleans, all of whom he played with in a span of four years. 

Mensah-Bonsu was never able to establish a solid role in the NBA, but he has established himself as a constant double-double threat overseas.

He isn't overly talented, but the 28-year-old has the strong body and energy to at least annoy the Americans in the frontcourt, similar to what Anderson Varejeo did. 

Anthony Davis, PF, USA

Let's face it, we know what all the Americans can do, and this game isn't going to tell us anything new.

All the Americans except for Davis, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, that is. The former Kentucky Wildcat showed early flashes of brilliance against the Dominican Republic during America's first exhibition game, and he'll likely get more time to prove himself in this one.

Davis is a defensive mastermind, but he also made it clear last week he can contribute on the offensive end, especially from the outside.

Hopefully Davis gets to put his unique talent on display a little bit more against Great Britain. He's really the only unknown on this squad. Might as well see what he can do. 

Luol Deng, SF, Great Britain

The Chicago Bulls star had a down year in 2011-12, and it will be important to see how he does against all of this NBA competition. Deng isn't much of a one-on-one player, but he will likely have to handle much of the offense.

And he'll likely have to do a lot of it against LeBron James.

If Deng struggles, you probably shouldn't read too much into it, as he will understandably be overwhelmed. If he manages to put up a solid effort, it will be a good sign for Bulls fans.

Deng needs to prove himself in 2012-13. This is a good start. 

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