May 21, 2012
Colorado Springs, Colo. (USA Basketball) – Featuring nine players owning USA Basketball experience, including former Georgia Tech and current Utah Jazz forward Derrick Favors, USA Basketball today announced 13 players for the 2012 USA Men’s Select Team that will train against the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s National Team during its July 6-12 training camp in Las Vegas, Nev.
Read the complete USA Basketball release
Named to the 2012 USA Basketball Select squad were: Ryan Anderson (Orlando Magic / California); DeJuan Blair (San Antonio Spurs / Pittsburgh); DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento Kings / Kentucky); DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors / USC); Derrick Favors (Utah Jazz / Georgia Tech); Paul George (Indiana Pacers / Fresno State); Taj Gibson (Chicago Bulls / USC); Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz / Butler); Irving (Cleveland Cavaliers / Duke); Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs / San Diego State); Jeremy Lin (New York Knicks / Harvard); Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors / Washington State); and Wall (Washington Wizards / Kentucky).
Favors, who helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the 2010 NCAA Tournament, averaged 8.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 65 games this year for the Jazz, and 11.8 points and 9.5 rebounds in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
USA Basketball also announced that serving as co-head coaches of the USA Select Team are 2010 USA Basketball World Championship assistant coach Jay Triano and longtime Syracuse University assistant coach Mike Hopkins. Triano, who served for three seasons as head coach of the Toronto Raptors, helped coach the 2007 and 2008 USA Select Teams. Hopkins, who recently completed his 15th season as an assistant for the Orange, has served as a court coach at the USA Basketball National Team training camps in 2006 and 2010, and was a court coach at USA Basketball’s 2000 U20 National Team and 2001 U21 World Championship Team trials.
“The USA Select Team was a vital part of the USA Men’s National Team’s training in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and again in 2012 we’ll utilize this team of select NBA players to help get our National Team ready for the very competitive summer that is ahead of us,” said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball chairman.
“Being chosen for the Select Team is quite an honor, and it’s an important step in becoming involved in USA Basketball’s National Team program in the future. In the past, current national team finalists like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Iguodala, as well as many other outstanding players got their USA National Team start through the Select Team.”
Members of the USA Select Team will assemble in Las Vegas and conduct a training session July 5, then train with the USA National Team July 6-11 (12:00-3:00 p.m. PDT). All practices will take place at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center.
The USA National Team will open its 2012 training with a July 6-12 training camp in Las Vegas, Nev., that concludes with the July 12 (6:00 p.m. local time) USA Basketball Showcase that features the USA facing the Dominican Republic at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center.
