Athens - Finally, Dave Odom gets to coach Sundiata Gaines.

Of all the suitors other than Georgia, Odom and the South Carolina Gamecocks probably recruited Gaines the hardest when he was coming out of Jamaica, N.Y. And Odom has continually sang the praises of the Bulldogs' point guard the last four years as he victimized South Carolina time after time.

But tonight, Gaines will be on Odom's sideline as a member of the National Association of Basketball Coach's All-Star team. He'll compete for the American team against the National team in the game, which will be played as part of the Final Four weekend in San Antonio this weekend.

"It feels good to finally play for him," said Gaines, reached by telephone on San Antonio on Friday. "I met coach Odom when I was a high school senior when he was recruiting me for South Carolina. He said he's happy to finally have me on his team and I'm happy to play for him."

Gaines is also glad to be part of this assemblage of elite college basketball players. The NABC all-star game annually features what is considered to be the best college seniors not involved in the national semifinals.

Gaines is one of four SEC players on the two teams, joining Mississippi State forward Charles Rhodes on Odom's American squad and competing against Vanderbilt's Shan Foster, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, and Kentucky's Ramel Bradley on the National team, coached by Oliver Purnell of Clemson.

Other players participating include Brian Butch of Wisconsin, David Padgett of Louisville, Josh Duncan of Xavier and Jonathan Wallace of Georgetown.

"It's an honor playing on a team full of talented players like this," said Gaines, who is in San Antonio for the first time. "There's a lot of potential first-round draft picks and some great guards and I'm looking forward to the challenge of playing against some of them."

Gaines earned second-team All-SEC honors for the second consecutive year in 2008, leading Georgia (17-17) in scoring at 14.8 points per game, rebounding (6.0/game), assists (4.2/game) and minutes played (33.6/game). He spearheaded Georgia's four-game run to the SEC Tournament championship, winning MVP honors in the process.

The Jamaica, N.Y., native finished his career as UGA's all-time leader in steals, ninth in career scoring, second in career assists, 11th in rebounding.

NABC ALL-STAR TEAMS

Brian Butch, Wisconsin; Jamar Butler, Ohio State; Jaycee Carroll, Utah State; Robbie Cowgill, Washington State; Sundiata Gaines, Georgia; James Gist, Maryland; Mike Green, Butler; Alex Harris, UC Santa Barbara; Robert McKiver, Houston; David Padgett, Louisville; Brian Randle, Illinois; Charles Rhodes, Mississippi State. Head coach: Dave Odom, S. Carolina.

National squad

Ramel Bradley, Kentucky; Will Daniels, Rhode Island; Josh Duncan, Xavier; Shan Foster, Vanderbilt; Cliff Hammonds, Clemson; Joe Jones, Texas A&M; Aleks Maric, Nebraska; DeMarcus Neslon, Duke; Sean Singletary, Virginia; Jason Thompson, Rider; Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown. Head coach: Oliver Purnell, Clemson