USA Basketball plans to announce the 18 players who will be candidates for the Olympic team by the middle of this month, chairman Jerry Colangelo said Friday.

"We have so much talent right now, the pool is extraordinary," Colangelo said.

A source close to the process told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that four players from the 2008 Olympic team have been ruled out of consideration for the 18 2012 finalists. Those four are Chicago's Carlos Boozer, Detroit's Tayshaun Prince, Phoenix's Michael Redd and Dallas'Jason Kidd.

The source also said that Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin is likely the only player who wasn't part of the 2008 Olympic squad or the 2010 world championship roster that will be considered for the 2012 roster in addition to the 20 players.