It’s getting close to being that time again. Team USA basketball has it’s training camp roster set already. The 2010 FIBA World Championships will be here soon.
USA Basketball and Las Vegas Events (LVE) today announced that for a fifth consecutive summer the USA Basketball Men’s National Team will conduct a training camp in Las Vegas, Nev. The 2010 USA National Team training camp will be conducted July 19-24 in Las Vegas and will culminate with the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase, a Blue-White intra-squad game that will be held on Saturday, July 24, 7 p.m. (PDT) at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. The USA training camp will feature daily practice sessions from 12-3 p.m. (PDT) July 20-23 at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion. The USA practices are closed to the general public.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase. Tickets are priced $75, $50, $35 for plaza seats and $18 and $12 for balcony and can be purchased by calling 866-388-FANS or on line at www.UNLVtickets.com.
The USA’s Las Vegas training camp will feature all available players of the 2010-12 USA Basketball Men’s National Team and will be utilized to determine finalists for the 2010 USA World Championship Team that will participate in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. The 2010 World Championship is being held Aug. 28-Sept. 12 in Turkey.
“It will again be very exciting when we converge on Las Vegas and open the first training camp for the 2010-12 USA Basketball Men’s National Team. This will also be an important first step in the selection and training preparation of the 2010 USA World Championship Team,” stated Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball chairman.
“We have again asked for serious commitments from each player and coach involved in the national team program, and as was the case in 2006-08, this will again be a program that emphasizes character and pride, respect for our opponents and respect for the game.
“For all basketball fans, the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase will be an entertaining and extremely competitive game featuring many of our nation’s best players. As was the case when we held similar games last summer and in 2007 in Las Vegas, I’m sure the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase will be another exciting and memorable event,” added Colangelo.
“The July 19-24 training camp in Las Vegas not only launches the USA National Team on another three year quest but it will be an important part of the USA team selection process and its preparations for the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. Our training in Las Vegas is our first opportunity to bring all of the available national team players together for four practices and we’ll end the camp with the USA Basketball Showcase on July 24. With all the talent we will have on the court, the 2010 USA Basketball Showcase should be a great night of basketball. I’m excited to get back on the court with my staff and the USA National Team players and begin our preparations for what I know will be an extremely competitive World Championship,” said 2010-12 USA Basketball National Team head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
“Las Vegas will again take center stage this summer as the host of the training camp and USA Basketball Showcase,” said Pat Christenson, president of Las Vegas Events. “This is another great opportunity for fans in Las Vegas and throughout the country to see many of the best players in the world all in one place as they prepare for international competition. Las Vegas has been a proud partner of USA Basketball since 2006, and we look forward to hosting this outstanding group of athletes again this year.”
With the addition earlier today of four standout NBA players to the 2010-12 USA Men’s National Team, the roster now consists of 31 players, including 10 members of the gold medalist 2008 USA Olympic Team.
Members of the 2010-12 USA National Team include: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets); Chauncey Billups (Denver Nuggets); Carlos Boozer (Utah Jazz); Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors); Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (Los Angeles Clippers); Danny Granger (Indiana Pacers); Jeff Green (Oklahoma City Thunder); Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers); Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves); David Lee (New York Knicks); Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); O.J. Mayo (Memphis Grizzlies); Lamar Odom (Los Angeles Lakers); Chris Paul (New Orleans Hornets); Kendrick Perkins (Boston Celtics); Tayshaun Prince (Detroit Pistons); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Amar’e Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); Gerald Wallace (Charlotte Bobcats); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz).
The 2010-12 USA National Team coaching staff is led by Duke University’s Hall of Fame coach Krzyzewski, and features as USA assistant coaches Syracuse University’s Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head mentor Mike D’Antoni and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.
The remainder of the USA Men’s National Team’s summer 2010 training plans will be announced at a later date.
2010-12 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Notes:
- The 31 NBA players represent 24 NBA teams, with six teams – Los Angeles Lakers (Bryant and Odom), Denver Nuggets (Anthony and Billups), Memphis Grizzlies (Gay and Mayo), Minnesota Timberwolves (Jefferson and Love), Oklahoma City Thunder (Durant, Green and Westbrook), and Utah Jazz (Boozer and Williams) the only clubs boasting of multiple players.
- Ten players were members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic gold medal team (Anthony, Boozer, Bosh, Bryant, Howard, James, Paul, Prince, Wade and Williams) and six members of the bronze medalist 2004 U.S. Olympic Team (Anthony, Boozer, James, Odom, Stoudemire and Wade) are listed on the national team roster.
- Fourteen (Anthony, Billups, Bosh, Bryant, Durant, Howard, James, Lee, Paul, Rose, Stoudemire, Wade, Wallace and Williams) USA Men’s National Team players were named to 2010 NBA All-Star teams, including six starters.
- Five members (Gordon, Lopez, Love, Mayo and Westbrook) were selected for the Sophomore team, and two players (Curry and Evans) were named to the Rookie team, for the 2010 Rookie Challenge that was be held during All-Star Weekend.
- By the conclusion of the 2010 World Championship (Sept. 12), the average age of the 31 players will be 25.38 years old. When the ’10 World Champ concludes, 23 of the 31 players will be 27-years-old or younger. The age breakdown is: One will be 20, four will be 21, four will be 22, two will be 24, five will be 25, four will be 26, three will be 27, three will be 28, one will be 29, two will be 30, one will be 32 and one will be 33.
- When training camp opens on July 20, Billups will be the oldest team member at 33 years old (turning 34 on Sept. 25), while 20-year-old Evans (turning 21 on Sept. 19) will be the youngest player.
- Of the 31 players, 25 attended at least one year of college before entering the NBA, six went directly from high school to the NBA.