DALLAS, Texas (July 27, 2001) Â Following five days of training and two
exhibition games in Dallas, Texas, USA Basketball announced today the
official 12-member USA Basketball Team that will compete
Aug. 3-12 in the 2001 FIBA World Championship For Young Men in Saitama,
Japan.
"This was an extremely difficult decision. I told the players that no one
on this team deserved to be cut. I wish we could take all 13 finalists to
Japan, however, in international basketball only 12 players are allowed to
compete," said USA World Championship For Young Men head coach and Syracuse
University (N.Y.) mentor Jim Boeheim. "Our progress has been good and
we've come together very quickly, but we still have a lot of work to do
before the start of the World Championship For Young Men.
"This championship is very tough every four years and we'll see the best in
the world in this age bracket and it will be a challenge for us. When USA
Basketball goes to play in any championship, there's really only one medal
you're looking at - the gold medal," added Boeheim of the expectations for
his team."
Named members of the USA World Championship For Young Men Team were: Troy
Bell (Boston College / Minneapolis, Minn.); Carlos Boozer (Duke / Juneau,
Alaska); Caron Butler (Connecticut / Racine, Wis.); Nick Collison (Kansas /
Iowa Falls, Iowa); Brian Cook (Illinois / Lincoln, Ill.); Chris Duhon (Duke
/ Slidell, La.); Reggie Evans (Iowa / Pensacola, Fla.); Dahntay Jones (Duke
/ Hamilton Square, N.J.); Jason Kapono (UCLA / Lakewood, Calif.); Jameer
Nelson (St. Joseph's / Chester, Pa.); Michael Sweetney (Georgetown / Oxen
Hill, Md.) and Marcus Taylor (Michigan State / Lansing, Mich.).
Eligibility for the 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team is
limited to any male who is 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan.
1, 1980).
Boeheim, Syracuse's successful and long-time head coach, will serve as head
coach of the 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men squad, and he will
be assisted by Ernie Kent of the University of Oregon and Phil Martelli of
St. Joseph's University (Pa.).
During its July 22-26 training in Dallas, the USA team posted victories in
two exhibition games. The U.S. squad easily defeated Lithuania 113-66 on
July 25, then recorded an 87-77 comeback win over Yugoslavia on July 26.
The team's training now shifts to Oakland, Calif., where it will train July
27-30 at the Golden State Warriors practice facility. The team's training
schedule in Oakland is: from 5:00-7:00 p.m. (all times PDT) on Friday, July
27; from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 28; from
9:00-11:00 a.m. and 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 29, and from 8:00-10:00
a.m. on Monday, July 30.
The USA World Championship For Young Men Team will compete August 3-12 in
Saitama, Japan, in the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men
Tournament. Featuring 12 teams that have been divided into two preliminary
round pools consisting of six teams each, the United States is in Pool B
with Argentina, Croatia, Israel, Japan and South Korea. The six teams
comprising preliminary Pool A include Australia, Dominican Republic, Egypt,
Qatar, Slovenia and Spain.
The USA opens play on Aug. 3 facing Croatia, then meets South Korea on Aug.
4, Argentina on Aug. 5, Japan on Aug. 7 and the U.S. squad concludes
preliminary play against Israel on Aug. 8. Tournament quarterfinals play
gets underway Aug. 10, with the semifinals being conducted Aug. 11 and the
medal games being held Aug. 12.
Held every four years and originally designed for men 22-years-old or
younger, FIBA lowered the age eligibility to 21-years-old or younger in
December 1998 and changed the competition name to the World Championship
For Young Men. The U.S. captured gold in the inaugural competition which
was held in 1993 in Spain and known as the FIBA 22 And Under World
Championship, and in 1997 in Melbourne, Australia, finished fifth with a
6-2 record.
2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team
NAME POS HGT WGT DOB YOG SCHOOL / HOMETOWN
Troy Bell G 6- 1 176 11/10/80 2003 Boston College / Minneapolis, MN
Carlos Boozer F 6- 9 265 11/20/81 2003 Duke University / Juneau, AK
Caron Butler F 6- 8 230 03/13/80 2004 University of Connecticut / Racine, WI
Nick Collison F 6-9 250 10/20/80 2003 University of Kansas / Iowa Falls, IA
Brian Cook F 6-10 231 12/04/80 2003 University of Illinois / Lincoln, IL
Chris Duhon G 6- 1 190 08/31/82 2004 Duke University / Slidell, LA
Reggie Evans F 6- 8 245 05/18/80 2002 University of Iowa / Pensacola, FL
Dahntay Jones G/F 6-5 210 12/27/80 2003 Duke University / Hamilton Square, NJ
Jason Kapono F 6- 8 206 02/04/81 2003 UCLA / Lakewood, CA
Jameer Nelson G 6- 0 190 02/09/82 2004 St. Joseph's University / Chester, PA
Michael Sweetney F 6- 8 260 10/25/82 2004 Georgetown University / Oxen Hill, MD
Marcus Taylor G 6- 3 190 11/25/81 2004 Michigan State University / Lansing, MIHead Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University (N.Y.)
Assistant Coach: Ernie Kent, University of Oregon
Assistant Coach: Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's University (Pa.)
Team Physician: Jeff Goudreau, Dallas, Texas
Athletic Trainer: Jayd Grossman, University of Cincinnati (Ohio)