ARG - Sergio Hernandez joins Lamas' technical staff

BUENOS AIRES (Olympics) - The biggest news when it comes to squad announcements ahead of international tournaments is normally about the players, but Argentina have raised eyebrows for a different reason.

Former national team boss Sergio Hernandez, the confederation has revealed, is to join the coaching staff of Julio Lamas at the London Games.

Hernandez took the helm of the national side after the 2004 Olympics and coached Argentina through the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey.

Unable to commit to leading the team beyond the London Games, Hernandez moved aside and Argentina put former coach Lamas in charge.

Lamas had led Argentina over a decade ago.

He was at the helm of the team that played at the 1998 FIBA World Championship in Athens and came in eighth.

After leading the national side to gold at last year's FIBA Americas Championship in Mar del Plata, Lamas has welcomed Hernandez into his staff.

Gonzalo Garcia is the other member of the Argentina coaching team.

The confederation has also confirmed that Pablo Prigioni, Manu Ginobili, Carlos Delfino, Hernan Jasen, Andres Nocioni, Luis Scola, Leo Gutierrez and Juan Gutierrez will be in the preliminary squad for the London Games.

Argentina's finest hour came at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, when Ginobili led Argentina to the gold medal.

That team was coached by Ruben Magnano, who had steered the Argentinians into the 2002 FIBA World Championship Final in Indianapolis two years before where they fell to Yugoslavia in overtime.

Magnano is now the coach of Brazil.

Under Hernandez, Argentina lost to Spain in the Semi-Finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship when Nocioni missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The United States then beat the Argentinians in the bronze-medal game.

In 2008, Argentina captured the bronze medal at the Beijing Games.

In 2010, they beat Brazil in a thrilling Eighth-Final at the FIBA World Championship but then crashed to a heavy defeat to Lithuania in the Quarter-Finals.

Argentina rebounded and came in fifth in Istanbul.

That game was Hernandez's last in charge.

FIBA