Trials for the USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team were held in April 1984 on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana….where seventy players attended the trials. Kentucky post players Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin chose to skip the trials to concentrate on the upcoming 1984 NBA Draft….as Keith Lee of Memphis State, Len Bias of Maryland and Kenny Smith of North Carolina ultimately pulled out as well….as Coach Bobby Knight led the trials with assistant coaches George Raveling, Don Donoher and C. M. Newton….who whittled the prospects to twenty by the end of the first week.During the trials, Auburn junior Charles Barkley impressed with his performance….with most observers feeling that he and North Carolina guard Michael Jordan were the two top performers. However, Barkley’s and Knight’s strong personalities did not mesh….and Barkley was one of the last cuts for the roster. Released with Barkley in the penultimate cut from 20 to 16 players in May were John Stockton, Terry Porter, and Maurice Martin….then Knight’s final cut to twelve players came in June….and the final four let go were Tim McCormick, Lancaster Gordon, Johnny Dawkins, and Chuck Person (Dawkins and Person served as alternates for the team). The most controversial selection was Knight’s own player, Steve Alford, who at 19 was the team’s youngest player and who most did not expect to make the team.
