The World Basketball Championships 2010 Preview - Group A

The World Basketball Championships are coming to Turkey next week. As such, here is a simple basic layman's check on each team participating.

Angola - Honestly, the only thing about Angolan basketball I remember is what Charles Barkley said. However, they are the basketball superpower in Africa, with a FIBA ranking of 12. Yup, even better than Nigeria.

Argentina - We all know there is no Manu (who really needs a break from year-round ballin' at this point), but they have a solid team still with a revitalized Carlos Delfino, Luis Scola, Fabricio Oberto and Andres Nocioni (although he is hurt) leading their NBA contingent. Oh, and they are the top-ranked team in FIBA.

Australia - Known as the Boomers, they are the dominant team in FIBA Oceania. Their best player is also their youngest player, Patrick "Patty" Mills. He and David Andersen (recently traded to Toronto from Houston) are the only NBA players on the roster, because Andrew Bogut has not yet recovered from the injury he suffered. Ranked 11th in FIBA.

Germany - No Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman for this tourney. But the 7th-ranked team in FIBA have Tibor Pleiss (the OKC draft pick this year) and Gonzaga's Elias Harris.

Jordan - ranked 38th in FIBA, the team has a naturalized American in Rasheim Wright. They are one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the Philippines' quest to return to basketball glory.

Serbia - Fifth in the FIBA rankings. By now you have seen the clip. Ironically, Nenad is their only NBA player.

Top Four teams: Argentina, Australia, Germany, Serbia