The 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy, was the fifth time the Summer Games had a basketball tournament.Sixteen teams took part and fans watched truly talented players
Radivoje Korac represented Yugoslavia and was the tournament's leading scorer at 23.6
Janis Krumins stood tall for the Soviet Union
Brazil had Amaury Pasos and Wlamir Marques
No team had as much talent as the United States of America, though.
Instead of Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) players, as had been the case before, the USA team came primarily from the college ranks.
Collegians Jerry West, Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger
In Rome, the USA continued their unbeaten run, winning all eight of their games.
Five players, led by Robertson and Lucas (both 17.0ppg) and West (13.8ppg), averaged double figures in scoring
Only the Soviet Union, whom the USA ultimately beat 81-57, managed to put up a fight for half the game.
The Soviets trailed 35-28 at the break but were then brushed aside in the first five minutes of the second half with a 20-point onslaught by the USA. West had a team-high 19 points.
While the Americans marched to the gold medal, the Soviets claimed the silver and Brazil bronze.
In 1960, only two players climbed onto the podium to accept the gold medal and not the entire team. For the USA, the two were West and Robertson
