COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 2, 2010) – Ten members of the USA Basketball Select Team that recently completed training with the USA National Team in Las Vegas, Nev., have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate on another USA Men’s Select Team that will train against 2010 USA Men’s World Championship Team finalists during training in New York City.
The Select Team members will be in New York Aug. 9-13 and training against the USA World Championship Team finalists Aug 10-13.
Named to the 2010 USA Basketball Select squad that participate in the USA World Championship Team training camp in New York were:
JaJuan Johnson (Purdue University / Indianapolis, Ind.); Jon Leuer (University of Wisconsin / Orono, Minn.); Shelvin Mack (Butler University / Lexington, Ky.); Kyle Singler (Duke University / Medford, Ore.); Chris Singleton (Florida State University / Canton, Ga.); Nolan Smith (Duke University / Upper Marlboro, Md.); Howard Thompkins (University of Georgia / Lithonia, Ga.); Mike Tisdale (University of Illinois / Riverton, Ill.); Kemba Walker (University of Connecticut / Bronx, N.Y.); and Chris Wright (University of Dayton / Trotwood, Ohio).
Villanova University head coach Jay Wright will also return to direct the 2010 USA Select Team in New York.
"One of the great developments of our Las Vegas camp was the USA Select Team which consisted of juniors and seniors out of the college ranks that we brought in to scrimmage against the USA National Team.
Lorenzo Romar and Jay Wright did a terrific job of coaching the select players in Las Vegas. It worked so well we’ve decided to bring to New York a smaller group of players from that Select Team to do the same thing. They were very valuable to us and it’s a great experience for them," said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.
The 10 returning members of the USA Select Team will gather in New York on Aug. 9, and train against the USA World Championship Team finalists on Aug. 10 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 11 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 12 (time and site TBD); and Aug. 13 (11 a.m-12:30 p.m. EDT at the New York Knicks practice facility, Tarrytown, N.Y.).
While all 10 Select Team members gained USA Basketball experience during the July 19-24 USA National Team training camp in Las Vegas, six of the selected collegians also boast of prior USA Basketball experience. Mack and Thompkins were members of USA Basketball’s 2009 U19 World Championship Team that finished 9-0 in New Zealand to claim the gold medal.
Additionally, Singler and Smith were teammates on the USA’s 2006 U18 Team that captured gold at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship and they were again teammates on the 2007 USA Junior National Select Team that defeated an international select team in the Nike Hoop Summit. Walker was a member of the 2008 USA FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team that collected a silver medal and was named MVP of the tournament, while Johnson has USA Basketball experience through the 2009 USA Basketball Trials.
Wright also possesses extensive international experience as a USA Basketball coach. In addition to recently serving as a co-head coach for the USA Select Team that worked against the USA National Team in Las Vegas, Wright was head mentor for the USA’s 2007 Pan American Games Team, led the 2005 USA World University Games Team to a gold medal showing, and was an assistant with the 2000 USA World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team that earned a silver medal.
Featuring players from nine different colleges, Duke is the only institution to boast two players. The 10 Select Team players include five who will be seniors in 2010-11 and five who will be juniors.
Six collegiate conferences are represented on the Select Team roster for New York, with the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten Conference listing three players each, while the Atlantic 10 Conference, Big East Conference, Horizon League and Southeastern Conference have one player each.
The USA World Championship finalists will reassemble in New York City to resume training for the Aug. 28-Sept. 12 FIBA World Championship for Men that is being held in Turkey, and to take part in the first-ever World Basketball Festival, a four-day celebration of the game’s performance and culture hosted by NIKE Inc. and USA Basketball in New York City.
The USA World Championship Team hopefuls will begin their training Aug. 10 with a 12 -3 p.m. (EDT) practice at John Jay College. The World Championship Festival tips off Aug. 12 in Radio City Music Hall with a special showcase featuring the USA Basketball World Championship team finalists and moves uptown to Harlem’s legendary Rucker Park basketball courts on Aug. 13 and 14.
The Festival concludes Sunday, Aug. 15, when the USA squad takes on France at Madison Square Garden, 1 p.m. (EDT), in the first game of an exhibition doubleheader.
China will meet Puerto Rico at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) in the second contest. Tickets for the exhibition doubleheader, which start at $15, are available on the Web via www.Ticketmaster.com and www.thegarden.com, by phone at 1-800-4-NBA-TIX, and at the box office at Madison Square Garden.
USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men's and women's basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the United States by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA sponsored international basketball competitions, as well as for some national competitions. For more information about USA Basketball, visit www.usabasketball.com.
2010 USA Basketball Select Team – New York
NAME POS HGT WGT YEAR COLLEGE / HOMETOWN
JaJuan Johnson F 6-10 216 2011 Purdue University / Indianapolis, IN
Jon Leuer C 6-10 230 2011 University of Wisconsin / Orono, MN
Shelvin Mack G 6-3 215 2012 Butler University / Lexington, KY
Kyle Singler F 6-8 230 2011 Duke University / Medford, OR
Chris Singleton F 6-9 227 2012 Florida State University / Canton, GA
Nolan Smith G 6-2 185 2011 Duke University / Upper Marlboro, MD
Howard Thompkins F 6-10 247 2012 University of Georgia / Lithonia, GA
Mike Tisdale C 7-1 235 2011 University of Illinois / Riverton, IL
Kemba Walker G 6-1 172 2012 University of Connecticut / Bronx, NY
Chris Wright F 6-8 226 2012 University of Dayton / Trotwood, OH
Head Coach: Jay Wright, Villanova University