Jan. 18, 2011
Official Site of USA Basketball
Colorado Springs, Colo. – Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt has been selected head coach of the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team, USA Basketball today announced. Hewitt will lead the USA in the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship June 30 – July 10 in Liepaja and Riga, Latvia. The selection was made by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee and approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.
“It’s a great honor,” Hewitt said. “I completely enjoyed the last two opportunities I had to work with USA Basketball, and the experience of working with these young players is very rewarding. That is why I’m thankful for this opportunity.
“I hope we can get the best players from this age group to participate,” Hewitt continued. “All the players I’ve worked with in my two previous USA Basketball stints considered the experience extremely rewarding.”
Hewitt returns to USA basketball after helping the red, white and blue earn its place in the 2011 U19 World Championship as an assistant coach on the 2010 USA men’s team that wrapped up a 5-0 record and the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in San Antonio, Texas. He also was an assistant coach on the gold-medal winning 2006 USA U18 National Team.
“The committee felt that Paul Hewitt has had tremendous experience with USA Basketball in the past,” said Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University Hall of Fame head coach and chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee. “He will be a great leader for this year’s U19 team.”
Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years between 1979-2007. FIBA now conducts the U19 Championship every two years. USA men’s teams are 62-11 in the U19/Junior World Championships and have won four gold and three silver medals, most recently earning the gold medal with a 9-0 record in 2009.
The 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship will feature 16 nations, including the USA, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Egypt, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan and Tunisia.
The 12-member 2011 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team will be selected by USA Men’s Junior National Team Committee during training camp, which is scheduled for June 16-23 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Only athletes born on or after Jan. 1, 1992 are eligible.
Chaired by Boeheim, the USA Men’s Junior National Team Committee also includes Lorenzo Romar (University of Washington head coach), Bruce Weber (University of Illinois head coach), Roy Williams (University of North Carolina head coach), and athlete representative Jay Williams (member of the 2002 USA World Championship, 2000 USA U20, 2000 USA Select and 1999 USA Junior National Select teams).
In addition to helping the USA earn its World Championship berth as a 2010 USA U18 assistant coach, Hewitt served as an assistant for the 2006 USA U18 National Team, which posted an undefeated, 4-0 record on its way to a gold medal in San Antonio, Texas. Prior to that, Hewitt was a court coach at the 1999 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Trials. Overall, he has compiled a 9-0 record as a USA assistant coach.
Now in his 11th season at Georgia Tech (2000-01 to present), Hewitt has accumulated a 177-144 (.551 winning percentage) record through 2009-10, and his 2010-11 squad is off to an 8-8 start as of Jan. 18. Hewitt has directed the Yellow Jackets to five NCAA Tournaments (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010), including the 2004 NCAA Championship game, and the 2003 NIT quarterfinals.
In 2009-10, Hewitt guided the Yellow Jackets to a 23-13 record, the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament (ACC) finals and the NCAA Tournament second round. He was honored by his peers as the recipient of the 2010 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Guardian of the Game Award for Education.
Following a 12-0 start and a preseason NIT Championship, the 2003-04 Yellow Jackets finished 28-10, reaching the national championship game and tying the school record for wins in a season. Hewitt was rewarded by the Black College Coaches Association as the Fritz Pollard Coach of the Year and by Sports Illustrated as No. 71 on its list of the 101 top minorities in sports.
In his first season at Georgia Tech (2000-01), Hewitt led his 17-13 squad to its first winning season since 1998 as the team collected the program’s first victory in an ACC Tournament since 1996. Georgia Tech also advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. For his efforts, Hewitt was named the ACC Coach of the Year, the NABC District 5 Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Naismith College Coach of the Year.
Hewitt, who spent three seasons (1997-98 to 1999-2000) as head coach at Siena College prior to Tech, owns an overall coaching slate of 243-171 (.587) through the 2009-10 season.
In three years as head coach at Siena, Hewitt was 66-27 (.710), inheriting a program that had recorded just 22 wins in the three previous seasons. Under Hewitt’s guidance, Siena ranked third nationally in scoring in 1999 and 2000. The Saints captured their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title in 2000, while reaching their third straight MAAC Tournament championship game, and Hewitt was honored as the 2000 MAAC Coach of the Year. In 1998-99, Siena was 25-6, capturing the MAAC title and the school’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1989. In his first season, Hewitt led Siena to the school’s first appearance in the MAAC championship game, finishing 17-12.
During five seasons (1992-93 through 1996-97) as an assistant at Villanova University, Hewitt aided the Wildcats to a record of 103-56 (.648 winning percentage). He was promoted to associate head coach for the 1996-97 season. Hewitt helped the Wildcats record four consecutive 20-win seasons (1994-1997), three NCAA Tournament appearances (1995-97) and an NIT championship (1994). He also helped secure four recruiting classes ranked in the top 20 (1993-94 to 1996-97).
Tallying a record of 45-18 (.714 winning percentage) in two seasons (1990-91 and 1991-92) as an assistant at Fordham University, Hewitt helped the Rams secure two Patriot League regular season championships and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1992.
Hewitt spent one season as an assistant at the University of Southern California (1989-90). His first collegiate job was in 1988-89 as an assistant coach at Long Island University’s CW Post campus. The Pioneers were 19-11, capturing the East Coast Athletic Conference New York State Division Championship.
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.
Since 2008, USA Basketball men’s and women’s teams have compiled a sterling 96-2 win-loss record in FIBA or FIBA Americas competitions. USA teams are the current men’s and women’s champions in the Olympics, FIBA World Championships; U19 and U17 FIBA World Championships; and U18 and U16 FIBA Americas championships. USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all five of FIBA’s world ranking categories, including combined, men’s, women’s, boys and girls.
