FRISCO, Texas — The hard work, the change in diet, the extra conditioning has paid off for LSU sophomore Glen Davis as Wednesday he was named to the 12-member USA Men’s U21 World Championship Team which will defend its title in the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship Aug. 5-14 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Davis has been training with the USA team since July 21 and the final cut down from 16 to 12 athletes came late Wednesday night after the team’s 119-64 win over Ukraine in the 2005 Global Games.
Davis, it has been well documented in local and national reports, has changed his diet and under the direction of basketball strength and conditioning coordinator Jeff Dillman, work his weight down to 306 in preparation for the chance to represent his country. Davis was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, averaging 13.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 2004-05.
In the opener against the Ukraine, the Baton Rouge native played 13 minutes, hitting 2-of-5 field goal attempts and all four free throws for eight points with two assists and three steals.
“It feels real good,” Davis said Thursday by phone from the training center. “It is just a privilege to be involved with the high caliber athletes on this team. We’re going to Argentina to represent the United States and it is just such an honor.”
Davis felt he had a good overall game in the opener of the Global Games, prior to the cut down from 16 to 12. “I felt real good about how I played. I was trying to do several things, to show them I could pass and play defense. The practices have been real competitive. We are working with some great coaches here and hopefully I can bring some of this experience home and put to use this coming year. I’m truly glad to be here.”
The squad, which continues play in the Global Games at the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Frisco through Saturday, will remain in the Dallas area through Aug. 1 prior to departing for Argentina. The USA continues with an 8 p.m. game against Slovenia tonight (Thursday) and face Lithuania at 8 p.m. on Friday. The medal round is Saturday.
“I’m really amazed at the humility of the group and the class that they bring,” said USA and Saint Joseph’s University (Pa.) head coach Phil Martelli, who was an assistant coach on the 2001 USA U21 World Championship Team that claimed the gold medal in Japan. “They’ve been well schooled by their college coaches, and I think they’ve all been raised properly because they all talk about being very appreciative of the opportunity of being able to represent their country, to represent their schools, their programs and their families. I think those are good values and it’s a good core to have to start with on any team.
“As a college coach, you don’t normally have to deal with this. But the players who were let go gave us everything they had. There’s nobody being let go who wasn’t a good player or didn’t handle himself properly. They let their play do the talking. This was a lot of hours. You don’t expect to have sleepless nights in July as a college coach, but I’ve had two on this trip. Both times were as we were approaching the cut-down. I never want to be in a position to take away somebody’s dream or their aspirations. It was not easy, these were not easy choices that we had to make.”
Martelli also told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz that not all was bad about his individual meetings with the players.
“Everyone should have the experience of shaking Glen Davis’ hand after hearing news like this (on making the team),” Martelli said of LSU’s Big Baby. “I think my fingers are still numb. We all thought we were going to get a big bear hug he was so excited.”
Davis is joined on the team by three athletes who have played internationally for USA Basketball in the past, including 2004 U20 Tournament of the Americas gold medalist Justin Gray (Wake Forest / Charlotte, N.C.) and Curtis Withers (Charlotte / Charlotte, N.C.), as well as 2003 USA Junior World Championship Team member J.J. Redick (Duke / Roanoke, Va.).
In addition to Davis, Justin Gray, Redick and Withers, named to the 2005 USA U21 National Team were: Mardy Collins (Temple / Philadelphia, Pa.); Nick Fazekas (Nevada / Arvada, Colo.); Rudy Gay (Connecticut / Baltimore, Md.); Taj Gray (Oklahoma / Wichita, Kan.); Allan Ray (Villanova / Bronx, N.Y.); Terrence Roberts (Syracuse / Jersey City, N.J.); Rajon Rondo (Kentucky / Louisville, Ky.) and Marcus Williams (Connecticut / Los Angeles, Calif.).
The four players cut late Wednesday night were: Darius Washington of Memphis, Boston College’s Jared Dudley, Oregon’s Aaron Brooks and Arkansas’s Ronnie Brewer.
“I’m really anxious because when we first got together we told them the goal was to win the gold medal,” added Martelli. “The gold medal is not attainable on the first day. Seven, eight or nine days in, that doesn’t change. The gold medal is not attainable unless we maximize every day along the path to the gold medal. I like our chances with this group though.”
Following two more days of practices, July 31 and Aug. 1 (sites and times TBD), the American team will travel to Mar del Plata, Argentina, for its final practices before tipping off play at the 2005 FIBA U21 World Championship against China on Aug. 5 at 2:30 p.m. The United States will then go up against Lithuania on Aug. 6 at 1:30 p.m. and Puerto Rico on Aug. 7 at 5:30 p.m. Following a day off, the USA is slated to face Nigeria on Aug. 9 at 2:00 p.m. and will close out preliminary round play on Aug. 10 with an 11:45 a.m. contest against Slovenia. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be played Aug. 12-14.
2005 USA U21 World Championship Team
Acting as Martelli’s assistants are collegiate head coaches James ‘Bruiser’ Flint from Drexel University (Pa.) and Dennis Felton from the University of Georgia.
Contested Aug. 5-14 in Cordoba and Mar del Plata, Argentina, the 2005 FIBA Men’s U21 World Championship will consist of 12 national teams split into two groups for preliminary round-robin play. The top four teams in each group will advance to the medal quarterfinals, while the 5th and 6th place finishing teams in each group will compete for 9th-12th place.
Initiated in 1993 as the FIBA 22 & Under World Championship, the USA captured gold in the inaugural tournament with a perfect 8-0 record. In 1997, the Americans compiled a 5-2 record and finished fifth. Most recently in 2001, with the event known as the FIBA World Championship For Young Men and Martelli assisting on the sidelines, the USA was impressive, rolling to an unblemished 8-0 mark to capture gold.
The USA men are not only defending FIBA World Champs at the U21 level, but the U.S. squad last summer dominated its FIBA Americas competition in striking gold with a 5-0 record. Overall, in the three previous FIBA World Championships for this age group, the USA has won gold twice and compiled a 22-2 record.
2005 USA Basketball U21 World Championship Team Roster
NAME
POS
HT
WT
SCHOOL/HOMETOWN
Mardy Collins
G
6-6
205
Temple / Philadelphia, Pa.
F
6-9
310
LSU / Baton Rouge, La.
Nick Fazekas
F
6-11
225
Nevada / Arvada, Colo.
Rudy Gay
F
6-9
220
Connecticut / Baltimore, Md.
Justin Gray
G
6-2
185
Wake Forest / Charlotte, N.C.
Taj Gray
F
6-9
238
Oklahoma / Wichita, Kan.
Allan Ray
G
6-2
200
Villanova / Bronx, N.Y.
J.J. Redick
G
6-4
190
Duke / Roanoke, Va.
Terrence Roberts
F
6-9
228
Syracuse / Jersey City, N.J.
Rajon Rondo
G
6-1
171
Kentucky / Louisville, Ky.
Marcus Williams
G
6-3
205
Connecticut / Los Angeles, Calif.
Curtis Withers
F
6-8
230
Charlotte / Charlotte, N.C.
Head Coach: Phil Martelli, Saint Joseph’s University (Pa.)
Assistant Coach: James ‘Bruiser’ Flint, Drexel University (Pa.)
Assistant Coach: Dennis Felton, University of Georgia
2005 USA Basketball U21 World Championship Team Training Schedule
2005 Global Games @ Dr. Pepper StarCenter
Wednesday, July 27
USA 119, Ukraine 64
Thursday, July 28
8 p.m. USA vs. Slovenia
Friday, July 29
8 p.m. USA vs. Lithuania
Saturday, July 30
8 p.m. Finals TBD
Training Camp
Sunday, July 31
TBD Training Frisco, Texas
Monday, August 1
TBD Training Frisco, Texas
2005 FIBA U21 World Championship Schedule
Note: All times Central and subject to change. Medal round times and order of games subject to change.
Group A
Argentina
Australia
Canada
Greece
Iran
Israel
Group B
Lithuania
Nigeria
China
Puerto Rico
Slovenia
United States
Preliminary Round
Friday, August 5
Group A (Cordoba)
1:45 p.m. Australia vs. Israel
4 p.m. Greece vs. Canada
7 p.m. Iran vs. Argentina
Group B (Mar del Plata)
12:15 p.m. Slovenia vs. Nigeria
2:30 p.m. China vs. USA
4:45 p.m. Lithuania vs. Puerto Rico
Saturday, August 6
Group A (Cordoba)
1:30 p.m. Canada vs. Australia
3:45 p.m. Israel vs. Iran
6 p.m. Argentina vs. Greece
Group B (Mar del Plata)
11:15 a.m. Nigeria vs. China
1:30 p.m. USA vs. Lithuania
3:45 p.m. Puerto Rico vs. Slovenia
Sunday, August 7
Group A (Cordoba)
3:15 p.m. Iran vs. Australia
5:30 p.m. Greece vs. Israel
7:50 p.m. Argentina vs. Canada
Group B (Mar del Plata)
1 p.m. Lithuania vs. Nigeria
3:15 p.m. China vs. Slovenia
5:30 p.m. USA vs. Puerto Rico
Tuesday, August 9
Group A (Cordoba)
2 p.m. Canada vs. Iran
4:15 p.m. Australia vs. Greece
6:30 p.m. Israel vs. Argentina
Group B (Mar del Plata)
11:45 a.m. Slovenia vs. Lithuania
2 p.m. Nigeria vs. USA
4:15 p.m. Puerto Rico vs. China
Wednesday, August 10
Group A (Cordoba)
2 p.m. Greece vs. Iran
4:15 p.m. Israel vs. Canada
6:30 p.m. Argentina vs. Australia
Group B (Mar del Plata)
11:45 a.m. USA vs. Slovenia
2 p.m. Lithuania vs. China
4:15 p.m. Nigeria vs. Puerto Rico
Quarterfinals:
The four best placed teams in each group will play for the 1st to 8th place and the teams placed 5th and 6th in each preliminary group will play for 9th and 12th place. All final round games will be held in Mar del Plata.
Friday, August 12
7:45 a.m. A5 vs. B6
10 a.m. B5 vs. A6
12:15 p.m. B2 vs. A3
2:30 p.m. A1 vs. B4
4:45 p.m. A2 vs. B3
7 p.m. B1 vs. A4
Semifinals
Saturday, August 13
12:15 p.m. Loser B2 vs. A3 vs. Loser A1 vs. B4
2:30 p.m. Loser A2 vs. B3 vs. Loser B1 vs. A4
4:45 p.m. Winner B2 vs. A3 vs. Winner A1 vs. B4
7 p.m. Winner A2 vs. B3 vs. Winner B1 vs. A4
Consolation Finals
Saturday, August 13
7:45 a.m. 11th/12th Place: Loser A5 vs. B6 vs. Loser B5 vs. A6
10 p.m. 9th/10th Place: Winner A5 vs. B6 vs. Winner B5 vs. A6
Finals
Sunday, August 14
2 p.m. 7th/8th Place Game
4:15 p.m. 5th/6th Place Game
6:30 p.m. Bronze Medal Game
8:50 p.m. Gold Medal Game