As Shaq so indelicately reminded Kobe the other night, a good big man is still better than a good small man.

But for reasons that have little to do with restoring Bryant's self-esteem and everything to do with restoring the United States' reputation as the sport's reigning Olympic superpower, the higher-ups in America's basketball establishment are betting otherwise.

The team USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo unveiled during a news conference Monday in Chicago was long on talent but notably short on big men — just three among the dozen players bound for Beijing and only one true center, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.

As loaded as the U.S. squad is, it still represents a calculated gamble in the international game, where the play is often more physical, the refs are less experienced and one fewer foul — five brings disqualification vs. six in the NBA — can make all the difference. And don't even ask what coach Mike Krzyzewski is supposed to do if one of those three goes down with an injury.

"When you have as many outstanding players as we have in this country," Colangelo said, "to select a group of 12 is obviously going to leave out a number of outstanding people."

The final roster spot went to Pistons' swingman Tayshaun Prince over Hornets center Tyson Chandler, suggesting that Colangelo and Krzyzewski valued versatility over size. Then again, the decision might have been influenced by the miserable experience the U.S. team had during the 2004 Games in Athens, when then-coach Larry Brown stopped just short of confirming an officiating conspiracy against Tim Duncan, his big man and best player.

"I saw every game and I don't know if there was any pattern," Brown wisecracked, "other than getting him to the bench."

Some of those questionable calls will be repeated, no doubt, if those officials see the U.S. team struggling to defend the high pick-and-roll play opponents have used in international matchups to devastating effect for the past decade. Teams like to play the United States with two of their big men taking turns setting picks, meaning the cutter often draws a smaller U.S. defender as he rolls toward the basket.

Instead of worrying about a lack of depth up front, though, both Colangelo and Krzyzewski are relying on their gut instinct that this group of players — unlike the unhappy collections of All-Stars that represented Team USA at the past two Olympics — won't be too stubborn or proud to sublimate their egos and adapt to the international style, instead of the other way around.

The myth that the NBA could pick 12 guys based on availability and sneaker politics and still mop up a basketball floor with the rest of the world should have ended after the U.S. team narrowly escaped with the gold medal in Sydney. Either way, it was buried by the embarrassing showing in Athens four years later.

"It's not about marketing or anything like that," Krzyzewski insisted about the selection process for Beijing. "It's about representing your country. These guys get it. Believe me, I would say it if they didn't. Every second I've been with them has been good."

The biggest reason for that is experience. Eight of the dozen players were part of the U.S. squad that went unbeaten in the Olympic qualifying tournament last year, including several still seething over their roles in the 2004 debacle.

"Going through that experience really helped me to learn the international game," Carmelo Anthony said

"We spoke on the plane coming back, and we decided we wanted to be respected again as a team," Dwayne Wade said.

To do that, this group will have to do more than sit back and expect Bryant, LeBron James or Chris Paul to bail them out. Spectacular one-on-one play is a nice weapon to have in reserve, but it won't carry a team through the course of a tournament. That was another note Shaq sounded in the blistering rap song he directed at Kobe.

It should be apparent to anybody who's watched the international game the past decade that the United States isn't losing to better talent, but better teams. Most of the players filling out the rosters for the rest of the world came to basketball after first playing soccer and the core principles — sharing the ball and moving without it — have made their sums greater than the equal of the parts.

There's no denying how great the individual parts on Team USA can be. But the only way they come up big will be by playing together.

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org