May 9, 2006
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech head basketball coach Paul Hewitt has been named to the staff that will coach the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men Team, USA Basketball announced on Monday.
Hewitt, who has completed six seasons at Tech and has a 107-83 record, joins Jerry Wainwright of DePaul as assistants to Washington’s Lorenzo Romar, who will be the head coach. The USA Basketball Men’s Collegiate Committee, chaired by Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, made the selections.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” said Hewitt, whose appointment is his first for USA Basketball. “I’m excited and looking forward to the opportunity. I know it’s going to be a great experience and one from which I will learn a lot.”
Hewitt has helped the Yellow Jackets reach three NCAA Tournaments (2001, 2004 and 2005) and one NIT (2003) in six years, guiding Tech to a berth in the 2004 national championship game and a runner-up ACC Tournament finish in 2005.
The FIBA America U18 Championsihp for Men, which will qualify four teams for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship, is being held at the Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Trials for the USA U18 Team will be held June 16-18 in San Antonio with approximately 30 U.S. hopefuls, born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, participating. Following selection of finalists for the USA squad, the Americans will continue to train June 19-27 in San Antonio.
The FIBA Americas U18 Championship format divides teams into two preliminary round groups consisting of four teams each. Preliminary round play will be held June 28, 29 and 30, and each team will play the other three teams in its preliminary group. The top two finishing teams in each preliminary round group will then advance to the Saturday, July 1, medal round semifinals and play for 1st-4th places. Teams placing third and fourth in each preliminary round group will advance to the consolation semifinals and play for 5th-8th places. The FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men Finals will be held Sunday, July 2. The host nation United States was drawn into preliminary round Group A with Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Uraguay, while Group B consists of Argentina, Bahamas, Canada and Puerto Rico.
2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship
Originally known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier, the tournament has been held every four years since 1990. USA men’s teams boast a sensational 25-1 overall record in the U18/junior qualifiers and have won gold medals in 1990, 1994 and 1998, while capturing bronze most recently in 2002. The awarding of the U18 Championship For Men to USA Basketball and San Antonio marks the first time the event has been hosted in the United States.
Some of the top players who have represented the United States in past U18 tournaments include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1994); Carmelo Anthony (2002); Chris Bosh (2002); Dee Brown (2002); Nick Collison (1998); Grant Hill (1990); Allan Houston (1990); Andre Iguodala (2002); Stephon Marbury (1994); Mike Miller (1998); Quentin Richardson (1998); and Deron Williams (2002).
2006 USA Basketball Men’s FIBA Americas U18 Championship Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Lorenzo Romar, University of Washington
Assistant Coach: Paul Hewitt, Georgia Institute of Technology
Assistant Coach: Jerry Wainwright, DePaul University (Ill.)
