COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - University at Buffalo men's basketball head coach
Reggie Witherspoon has been selected to serve as an assistant coach for the
2010 USA Menıs U18 National Team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship, USA
Basketball announced. Witherspoon will work alongside head coach Jeff Capel of Oklahoma and assistant Paul Hewitt of Georgia Tech.
"It's an unbelievable honor to be selected to represent our country and to
work alongside Jeff Capel and Paul Hewitt,² said Witherspoon, who returns to
USA Basketball after aiding the USA as a court coach at the 2006 USA U18
National Team Trials. ³It's a terrific honor.²
The FIBA Americas U18 Championship, from which the top four finishing teams
advance to next summerıs FIBA U19 World Championship, will take place June
26-30 at the Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Maryıs University in
San Antonio, Texas.
The 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship will feature eight national teams
from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, and only athletes
born on or after Jan. 1, 1992 are eligible.
Teams in addition to the United States that will participate in the 2010 U18
tournament include: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay
and U.S. Virgin Islands.
Preliminary round play will be held June 26-28, semifinals will be contested
on June 29 and the gold and bronze medal games, as well as the 5th/6th place
and 7th/8th place games, will be conducted on June 30. The USA opens
preliminary play against the U.S. Virgin Islands on June 26, followed by
Mexico on June 27 and Argentina on June 28. All of the USAıs preliminary
round games are scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. (CDT).
USA Basketball plans call for selection of the 12-member USA U18 Team to be
made during team training that will be held June 14-25 in San Antonio.
Originally known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier,
the tournament has been held since 1990. USA menıs teams boast of a
sensational 33-2 overall record in the U18 championships and have won gold
in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2006, while capturing a silver medal in 2008 and the
bronze in 2002.
Some of the top players who have represented the United States in the past
U18 tournaments include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1994); Carmelo Anthony (2002);
Michael Beasley (2006); Chris Bosh (2002); Dee Brown (2002); Nick Collison
(1998); Jonny Flynn (2006); Spencer Hawes (2006); Grant Hill (1990); Allan
Houston (1990); Andre Iguodala (2002); Stephon Marbury (1994); Mike Miller
(1998); Quentin Richardson (1998); Kyle Singler (2006); Kemba Walker (2008);
and Deron Williams (2002). |
