Three players with Duke ties will join head coach Mike Krzyzewski as members of the USA Basketball Senior National Team.
Former Blue Devils Shane Battier and Elton Brand, along with senior J.J. Redick, are three of the 23 players who will participate in a training camp in mid-July in anticipation of the World Championships in Japan Aug. 19 through Sept. 3. The Olympic team that will compete in Beijing in 2008 will also be comprised of members from this group.
"We set out to add players who fit job descriptions," USA Basketball Managing Director Jerry Colangelo said. "We wanted a team not of individual stars, but athleticism, shooters, role players, distributors-all of the components that make up a good team. Basketball is the ultimate team game. Chemistry is something we all talk about, [something] we seek. The list of players we released today, it represents everything we set out to do. Hopefully, we're going to be successful in what we are trying to do."
Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade headline the list of 21 NBA and two college stars. The roster includes seven of the NBA's top eight scorers, with Allen Iverson being the only omission from that group.
"[We have] versatility on the staff, and we also have that versatility with the team members," Krzyzewski said. "I'm really looking forward to this summer when we bring everyone together and start developing our program, not just for this summer but for the next three years. I think we'll be able to build some continuity, some big time relationships and make sure everyone is included and takes ownership of this team."
This team will look to restore USA Basketball to the level it achieved in the early 1990s, when it regularly crushed international competition and was hardly ever challenged.
The United States finished out of medal contention with a 6-3 record at the World Championships in 2002 and then earned a disappointing bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
Although Krzyzewski did not push specifically for the Duke players to be added to the roster, he said Sunday that he welcomes the opportunity to coach them again, particularly because it will help in the creation of the National Team.
"It doesn't hurt that they know me and believe in me and our system," Krzyzewski said. "Those are relationships-they're not new relationships-they're there, and it adds some credibility.... Chris Paul, I know him, certainly I know Kobe. I actually got him to play for me nine years after he should have been playing for me, or I wish he should have been playing for me. Those help, but really if you look at our entire staff, they have familiarity. You don't want it to be completely foreign experience in bringing this group together."
Colangelo added that each of the three Duke players fill some of the needs of the USA Basketball program.
Brand has garnered some most-valuable-player consideration this season, while ranking in the top eight in both points and rebounds for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Battier is expected to fill a more specialist role for the squad, Krzyzewski said. A career 10.6 points per game scorer, Battier is known for his exceptional defense.
"He's the kind of guy-if you ask [Memphis Grizzlies head coach] Mike Fratello or [Grizzlies President of Operations] Jerry West-who can play with anybody," Krzyzewski said. "His ego will be good. He can come in and if he doesn't play at all, he's going to be fine. If you bring him in and he has to play 12 minutes in a game to stop somebody or do something, he'll be able to do that."
One of Colangelo and Krzyzewski's objectives was to add a pair of college players to the mix so all levels of the basketball community would be included in the USA Basketball experience-high school senior Greg Oden has also been extended an invitation, but logistics regarding his involvement are still being ironed out.
In creating the first-ever National Team, Colangelo has attempted to create a pipeline for future international competitions as well, he said.
Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison have elevated their games this season, and the two have staged a two-man race for National Player of the Year. Since both possess outstanding shooting abilities, Krzyzewski said he felt each could make strong contributions at training camp.
"It is a huge honor to be selected to participate on the USA Senior National team," Redick said. "I will be playing with some of the best players in the world. I don't know what the chances are for me to make the team, but I am excited about the opportunity to work hard and have that honor of playing for the United States."
Following the training camp, which will be held in Las Vegas, the roster will be trimmed to 12 for the World Championships. The entire 23-man group will reconvene the following summer for more training and some exhibitions games before a final roster is set for the Olympics.
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