After a rash of injuries has put a sizable dent in the American basketball roster for the Olympics this summer, USA Basketball has made the decision to add James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Anthony Davis of the University of Kentucky, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports has learned.

Yahoo! Sports has received confirmation that USA Basketball will add Thunder F James Harden & Kentucky F-C Anthony Davis, a source said.

—
Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) May 03, 2012

LaMarcus Aldridge, Chauncey Billups, Dwight Howard, Kevin Love and Derrick Rose are among the notable members of Team USA to come down with significant injuries in the last two months. The program was in desperate need of another guard and another big man, and these additions appear to fit those needs.

“After reviewing our roster, we think these two additions strengthen our National Team program immeasurably,” USA Basketball director Jerry Colangelo told Spears.

Andrew Bynum, Josh Smith and Rajon Rondo are among the American stars still on the outside looking in at the roster for Team USA; more additions to the roster could still be to come. Preliminary rounds of this summer’s Games don’t get underway until July 29.

Kentucky freshmen Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and sophomores Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb have all declared for the NBA Draft, according to USA Today.

“This is a players’ first program,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said, according to USA Today. “During the season, it’s about the team. … When the season is over, it’s about moments like this.”

The five, led by Davis (14.3 points per game) combined to score 61.2 points per game for the Wildcats. Senior Darius Miller will join the five players in going to the draft – the six total players combine for 92.3% of the team’s points, according to ESPN.

Draft Express projects Davis as the first overall pick.

The national champion University of Kentucky basketball team will have a different look next season — likely totally different. Kentucky starters Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, and Marquis Teague will announce their decision whether to stay in school or jump to the NBA at a Tuesday afternoon press conference, the school announced Monday.

It was reported earlier Monday that Terrence Jones would be turning pro, and all indications are that the others will follow suit.

Doron Lamb, however, could be the one hold out. Adam Zagoria tweeted Monday that Lamb’s father was unsure of his son’s decision.

Doron Lamb's father tells @SNYtv he "doesn't know" if Doron will come out or not—
Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 16, 2012

Most draft projections have Teague, Kidd-Gilchrist, Davis, and Jones in the first round, with Lamb lingering around late first round.

The wait is over — top high school basketball recruit Nerlens Noel has made his decision, and he’s headed to Kentucky next season.

Nerlens Noel announced he'll attend Kentucky. Wow. He's following in Anthony Davis's shoes. Huge get for Coach Cal.

—
Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) April 12, 2012

Noel had narrowed down his choices to UK, Georgetown and Syracuse, and he announced his decision in an unusual way — by shaving the logo of his chosen school into the back of his head. Here’s a photo of Noel’s Kentucky logo, which he revealed to a national television audience on ESPNU tonight.

Noel is originally from Everett, Mass., and he attended the Tilton School in New Hampshire. This was his junior year, but the 6-foot-11 center opted to graduate early and enter college this fall. He instantly vaulted to the top of the 2012 class.

An agile center with a propensity for blocking shots, Noel will make for the perfect replacement for Anthony Davis, who leaves Kentucky this spring to enter the NBA draft.

UConn Huskies power forward Alex Oriakhi is headed elsewhere for his senior season — the only question is where. Jeff Goodman of CBS has offered up a couple of answers — Oriakhi is reportedly visiting with Kentucky and Xavier to discuss a possible transfer before next season.

Alex Oriakhi met with John Calipari last night. The UConn transfer will meet with Xavier's @coachchrismack today.

—
Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanCBS) April 06, 2012

Oriakhi averaged 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game for UConn last season, somewhat of a down year for him, and he’s looking to restore his reputation as a serious threat to go high in the 2013 NBA draft. He’s also been connected to North Carolina, Duke, Missouri, Washington and Gonzaga in various rumors this week.

Oriakhi is leaving UConn at the right time — coach Jim Calhoun has an uncertain future, star players Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond may well be leaving this spring for the NBA, and the Huskies are ineligible for the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

According to their official athletics store website, the Kansas Jayhawks have already won the 2012 NCAA Championship.  Hours before the Jayhawks take on the Kentucky Wildcats tonight, the Kansas athletics store is currently selling t-shirts crowning the Jayhawks as champions, according to CBS St. Louis.

“Congratulations Kansas Jayhawks on the 2012 Final Four Championship!” the website states.  “Show your team pride with this Kansas Jayhawks 2012 Mens Basketball Nothin But Net Champ Tee.”

The t-shirts are still posted for sale on the KU Store website for $19.99.

The championship game between Kansas and Kentucky is scheduled at 9 p.m. ET tonight on CBS.

Fans back in Lexington, Ky., rioted in the streets following the Kentucky Wildcats’ Final Four win tonight over the Louisville Cardinals, according to the independent student newspaper The Kentucky Kernel.

The Kernel reports that cars were flipped, windows were smashed and multiple fires were started on State Street shortly after UK’s 69-61 win at the Superdome in New Orleans. Police were forced to release pepper spray on a crowd that included fans on top of cars.

A couch fire was reported at Rose and Maxwell streets shortly after 9 p.m.; several others started shortly thereafter. A police scanner reported an injury from a beer bottle on Conn Terrace as well.

Stay tuned to the Kernel for further updates throughout the night.

University of Kentucky forward Anthony Davis has been named the Associated Press’ College Basketball Player of the Year, according to Kentucky’s Twitter account. Davis received 43 votes from the 65-member panel.

You can add another award to Anthony Davis' resume. He was just named Associated Press College Basketball Player of the Year.

—
Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthleticsNews) March 30, 2012

Davis averaged 14.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game in his freshman season for the Wildcats. He joins Kevin Durant as the only two freshmen to win the award.

A lot’s been made of the ineptitude of the NBA’s worst teams like the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats and the dazzling skill of college basketball’s elite, the Kentucky Wildcats. But Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy says no matter — there’s still no way Kentucky could beat an NBA team.

“Look, it’s absurd,” he told the Associated Press. “I mean, people will say, ‘Oh, Kentucky, you know’s, got four NBA players.’ Yeah, well the other team’s got 13.”

The Wildcats are expected to produce not only the No. 1 overall pick in this spring’s NBA draft in Anthony Davis, but also another high lottery selection in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. But Van Gundy insists there’s still no comparison.

“Could anything happen on a one-night thing? I mean, I suppose, you have major upsets all the time. So, maybe, but it’d be rare and in a series it’d be a joke,” the Magic coach said. “It wouldn’t be close. That’s just the way it is. John Calipari’s got a lot of talent; he does not have 13 NBA players. He just doesn’t. And even if those guys all are, they’re all NBA rookies. I mean, when has that ever been a success in the NBA? So, no, they’re not going to win.”

Regardless of how the Kentucky men’s basketball team fares in this weekend’s Sweet Sixteen, one of its players has already had a successful weekend — Anthony Davis today was named the winner of the 2012 Adolph Rupp Award, given to the national player of the year.

Anthony Davis has been announced as the winner of the 2012 Adolph Rupp Award for national player of the year.

—
Kentucky Athletics (@UKAthleticsNews) March 22, 2012

It’s far from the first national recognition Davis has earned — the freshman big man was also named the Robertson Trophy winner and the Sporting News player of the year.

Davis is the second Kentucky Wildcat to win Rupp honors in three years — John Wall also took home the award in 2010.

Davis is averaging 14.3 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game for a Kentucky team that’s 34-2 and favored by many to win the national championship. The Wildcats take on the Indiana Hoosiers in tournament action tomorrow night.

Kentucky freshman basketball star Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has professed his desire to stay in school and earn a degree, but there’s evidence to the contrary. Multiple sources tell ESPN’s Chad Ford that Kidd-Gilchrist plans to be one-and-done, entering the NBA draft this spring.

“He hopes he’ll be able to announce right after they win the NCAA championship,” one source told Ford. “But even if they don’t win it all, he’s coming. He knows he’s going to be a top-five pick. He can’t pass that up.”

Kidd-Gilchrist has been fantastic for Kentucky this season. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game, and the Wildcats have rolled to a 34-2 record. They take on Indiana tomorrow night in the Sweet Sixteen.

Kidd-Gilchrist and Kentucky classmate Anthony Davis are both regarded as high lottery picks in June, assuming they take the plunge into the pros.

“He’s the type of kid that you always want on your team,” one NBA GM said of Kidd-Gilchrist. “Coaches love him, his teammates love him and he does all the little things that matter on the court. He cares about winning and that’s it. I doubt he ever looks at a box score.”

Star Atlanta high school running back Justin Taylor, a former Alabama commitment who instead signed yesterday with Kentucky, spoke candidly about being mistreated by Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban during the recruitment process.

“The way they talked to me, they respected me … but as far as pulling the scholarship, I think they did me wrong,” Taylor told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I was the No. 7 to commit, that’s all I’ve got to say. I was committed to them for a year. They could’ve handled it better.”

Taylor committed to the Crimson Tide last season, but Saban then went back on his promise and asked him to “grayshirt,” or enroll in January 2013 instead. Saban claimed it was because of Taylor’s knee injury senior year, but it’s been speculated that Saban may have oversigned recruits for next fall.

“I knew I wasn’t going to Alabama when I met with Coach Saban at my high school a couple of weeks ago,” Taylor said. “When Coach Saban came down, I just had this feeling in my heart. I prayed about it and God told me … and I know this sounds kind of crazy … but God told me that Alabama was not the place for me.”