Baylor's Brittney Griner announced that she is withdrawing her name from consideration for a spot on the U.S. Olympic squad because of an illness to a family member as well as conflicts with her academic workload.

It was thought that Griner was the likely choice to be the final member of the U.S. team but now the door is opened for another player. Certainly former UConn star Asjha Jones is a strong candidate especially considering that she was recently named the MVP of the EuroLeague playoffs. However the first 11 players named to the squad was dominated by frontcourt players so it will be interesting to see if the selection committee chooses a guard like Lindsey Harding, 2008 Olympian Kara Lawson or former UConn star Renee Montgomery to complete the roster.

If either Jones or Montgomery gets the nod that would mean that half of the 12-member squad would have played collegiately for UConn and U.S. Olympic coach Geno Auriemma as Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tina Charles, Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi were among the 11 players already named to the team.

Here's a statement from USA Basketball about Griner's situation.

"It's unfortunate that Brittney is unable to participate with USA Basketball this summer, however, we have an extremely deep and talented USA National Team program and remain confident that we will field a very competitive team that all Americans will be very proud of," said USA Basketball Executive Director/CEO Jim Tooley. "This in no way precludes Brittney from future USA National Team events; she is a young and talented player with a bright future ahead of her in international basketball and we look forward to her continued involvement. We wish nothing but the best for Brittney and her family."