USA Men To Receive First Test Wednesday Versus Lithuania
Duke's Duhon, Jones, and Boozer Are Finalists
Chris Duhon, Carlos Boozer, and Dahntay Jones and the USA squad meet Lithuania on July 25.

Chris Duhon, Carlos Boozer, and Dahntay Jones and the USA squad meet Lithuania on July 25.

July 25, 2001

DALLAS, Texas (July 25, 2001) -- Five practices into its preparations for the 2001 FIBA World Championship For Young Men, the 14 finalists for the USA team will get their first test of far they have come since beginning training July 22 when they meet Lithuania's 22-year-old and under national team in an exhibition game today at 8 p.m. (CDT) at Southern Methodist University's Moody Coliseum. The USA squad will also face Yugoslavia on Thursday, at 8 p.m. (CDT).

"I think our progress has been good, everybody came in good shape, everybody has worked very hard. Our big people have played well inside and we have a real fierce battle in the back court with our guard core. At this stage after a few days of practice they have come together really well and they're playing really well together which is always nice to see," remarked USA World Championship For Young Men head coach and Syracuse University (N.Y.) mentor Jim Boeheim.

"The leadership looks good and the team speed and quickness looks good. Size wise we're a little bit on the small side for some of these bigger teams we'll play and we're going to have to really work on the boards to hang in there.

"I'm hoping we can get out and run, I think our guard play will be good and I think we have really good team speed so hopefully those will be areas that will be strong for us," added Boeheim

Featuring 14 of the nation's top college players, finalists for the USA World Championship For Young Men Team are training through July 26 in Dallas, Texas. The U.S. team will complete its domestic training July 27-30 in Oakland, Calif., and the 2001 FIBA World Championship For Young Men that will be played Aug. 3-12 in Saitama, Japan. 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 camp in Dallas.

Finalists for the USA World Championship For Young Men Team 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.), 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.) and Frank Williams (Illinois / Peoria, Ill.). 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.).

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.

2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team Finalists

NAME POS HGT WGT DOB YOG SCHOOL / HOMETOWN
Troy Bell G 6-1 176 11/10/80 2003 Boston College / Minneapolis, MN
LaVell Blanchard F 6-7 215 02/23/81 2003 University of Michigan/ Ann Arbor, MI
Carlos Boozer F 6-9 265 11/20/81 2003 Duke University / Juneau, AK
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 Univ. of California atLos Angeles / 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, MI
Frank Williams G 6-3 205 02/25/80 2003 University of Illinois/ Peoria, IL

Head 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)