University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Finalists For 2001 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Announced
June 4, 2001
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Following four training sessions at the June 1-3 USA Basketball Men's Trials in Colorado Springs, Colo., 16 finalists for the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Team, including UCLA junior-to-be Jason Kapono, were announced today by USA Basketball's 10-member Men's Collegiate Committee.
"We had a very good talent level here. Particularly perimeter guys, guys that can get to the basket and make shots and that's important in international competition. So 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," added Boeheim of the expectations for his team.
Along with Kapono, the list of 16 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.),
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.).
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). "I'm just glad I had a chance to come out here and play for USA Basketball," said Kapono, the Bruins? leading scorer (17.2) last season, who was a finalist for the 2001 Wooden Award, an honorable mention AP All-American and a first-team All-Pac-10 selection for the second year in a row. " This was my first time playing for them so I'm just truly honored.
"Coming into trials, I just wanted to show them that I was one of those guys who would sacrifice my game just for the betterment of the team," Kapono said. "I just wanted to show them I wanted to play team basketball. I felt pretty good even though the air was different and there was a time difference. I just tried to play hard throughout the trials and prove to the coaches that I should be on the team."
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 final 12-member USA team will be named during the team's July 22-26 training camp in Dallas, Texas. The team will complete its training in the U.S. July 27-30 in Oakland, Calif.
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.
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 and known as the FIBA 22 And Under World Championship, and in 1997 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
| 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, AL |
| 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 |
| Jared Jeffries | F | 6-10 | 220 | 11/25/81 | 2004 | Indiana University/Bloomington, IN |
| 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 at Los 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 |
| David West | F/C | 6-8 | 232 | 08/29/80 | 2003 | Xavier University/Garner, NC |
| Frank Williams | G | 6-3 | 205 | 02/25/80 | 2003 | University of Illinois/Peoria, IL |
Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University (N.Y.)
Assistant Coach: Ernie Kent, University of Oregon
Assistant Coach: Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's University (Pa.)