June 28, 2001

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 26, 2001) -- With sights set on reclaiming the FIBA World Championship For Young Men title, the training schedule for the USA World Championship For Young Men Team was announced today and features the USA team training July 22-26 in Dallas, Texas, playing two exhibition games in Dallas against a pair of international teams, then completing its domestic training July 27-30 in Oakland, Calif.

The 2001 FIBA World Championship For Young Men will be played Aug. 3-12 in the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. With 16 finalists for the USA Team reporting to Dallas July 22 for the opening of training camp, the final 12-member USA team will be selected by the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee during the team's July 22-26 training in Dallas. Finalists for the USA Team were announced following Trials held June 1-3 in Colorado Springs, Colo. 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).

The USA squad opens its preparations in Dallas on Sunday, July 22 with a 5-7 p.m. (CDT) practice, then is scheduled to train 9-11 a.m. (CDT) and 5-7 p.m. (CDT) on Monday, July 23, and Tuesday, July 24, and from 9-11 a.m. (CDT) on July 25 and 26. The USA practices will be held at the Dallas Mavericks training site, the Baylor/Tom Landry Center.

Highlighting the USA's Dallas training are exhibition games on July 25 and 26. The USA Basketball team will play Lithuania on Wednesday, July 25 (8 p.m. CDT) and will face Yugoslavia on Thursday, July 26 (8 p.m. CDT). The Lithuania and Yugoslavia teams, which are both national teams for players 22-years-old and younger, will be in Dallas competing in the 2001 Global Games that are being played July 22-28. Also competing in the Global Games will be national teams from Germany, Puerto Rico, Senegal, and Team USA Texas. Tickets for the USA exhibition games or the Global Games are available by calling 972-717-4455.

The official 12-member USA Team will then travel to Oakland, Calif., where it will train Friday, July 27, through Monday, July 30, utilizing the Golden State Warriors practice facility in Oakland. The U.S. is tentatively scheduled to train 5-7 p.m. (PDT) on July 27, then go 9-11 a.m. (PDT) and 5-7 p.m. (PDT) on July 28 and 29, and will close out its domestic training with a 9-11 a.m. (PDT) practice session on July 30.

"I'm excited about this team," remarked USA World Championship For Young Men head coach and Syracuse University (N.Y.) mentor Jim Boeheim. "I think we really do have a team that can go over and represent our country. 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," he added about the expectations for his team.

Featuring two members from Duke's 2001 NCAA championship team and a third player who will play for the Blue Devils in 2001-02, the list of 16 finalists for the USA World Championship For Young Men Team was announced following June 1-3 Trials and includes: Troy Bell (Boston College / Minneapolis, Minn.), LaVell Blanchard (Michigan / Ann Arbor, Mich.), 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.), Jared Jeffries (Indiana / Bloomington, Ind.), 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.), Marcus Taylor (Michigan State / Lansing, Mich.), David West (Xavier / Garner, N.C.) and Frank Williams (Illinois / Peoria, Ill.).

While Boeheim, Syracuse's successful and long-time head coach, will serve as head coach of the 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men squad, he will be assisted by Ernie Kent of the University of Oregon and Phil Martelli of St. Joseph's University (Pa.).

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 competition 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 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.

The USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee is chaired by Terry Holland (athletic director, University of Virginia) and consists of: NCAA appointees Boeheim, Rob Evans (head coach, Arizona State University), Jim O'Brien (head coach, Ohio State University) and Tubby Smith (head coach, University of Kentucky), NABC appointee Oliver Purnell (head coach, University of Dayton, Ohio), NAIA appointee Ralph Turner (head coach, Union University, Tenn.), NJCAA appointee Dan Sparks (head coach, Vincennes University, Ind.), and athlete representatives Steve Wojciechowski (1995 Junior World Championship team / assistant coach, Duke University, N.C.) and A.J. Wynder (1995 Pan American Games team / head coach, Nassau Community College, N.Y.).

2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team Finalists

Head Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University (N.Y.)
Assistant Coach: Ernie Kent, University of Oregon
Assistant Coach: Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's University (Pa.)
Athletic Trainer: Jayd Grossman, University of Cincinnati (Ohio)
 
 

2001 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Team Training Schedule
USA Training - Dallas, Texas (Dallas Mavericks Practice Facility - Baylor/Tom Landry Center)

*All practices will take place at the Dallas Mavericks practice facility,
the Baylor/Tom Landry Center.
#Exhibition games will be played at a site TBA.
 

USA Training - Oakland, California (Golden State Warriors Practice Facility)

*All practices will take place at the Golden State Warriors practice
facility which is attached to The Arena in Oakland.
 

2001 FIBA World Championship For Young Men - Saitama, Japan (Saitama Super Arena)

NOTE: Practices are open to credentialed media and NBA scouts only. Practice times listed should be considered tentative. Media/Scouts planning to attend any practice session should contact USA Basketball to confirm that the practice is taking place at the listed time.