COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 3, 2001) -- Following four training sessions at the June 1-3 USA Basketball Men's Trials in Colorado Springs, Colo., 16 finalists for the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Team and 16 finalists for the 2001 USA Basketball World University Games Team were announced today by USA Basketball's 10-member Men's Collegiate Committee.

"We had a very good talent level here. Particularly perimeter guys, guys that can get to the basket and make shots and that's important in international competition. So I'm excited about this team," remarked USA World Championship For Young Men head coach and Syracuse University (N.Y.) mentor Jim Boeheim. "I think we really do have a team that can go over and represent our country. This championship is very tough every four years and we'll see the best in the world in this age bracket and it will be a challenge for us.

"When USA Basketball goes to play in any championship, there's really only one medal you're looking at - the gold medal," added Boeheim of the expectations for his team.

Featuring two members from Duke's 2001 NCAA championship team and a third player who will play for the Blue Devils in 2001-02, the list of 16 finalists for the USA World Championship For Young Men Team includes: Troy Bell (Boston College / Minneapolis, Minn.); LaVell Blanchard (Michigan / Ann Arbor, Mich.); Carlos Boozer (Duke / Juneau, Alaska); Caron Butler (Connecticut / Racine, Wis.); Nick Collison (Kansas / Iowa Falls, Iowa); Brian Cook (Illinois / Lincoln, Ill.); Chris Duhon (Duke / Slidell, La.); Reggie Evans (Iowa / Pensacola, Fla.); Jared Jeffries (Indiana / Bloomington, Ind.); Dahntay Jones (Duke / Hamilton Square, N.J.); Jason Kapono (UCLA / Lakewood, Calif.); Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's / Chester, Pa.); Michael Sweetney (Georgetown / Oxen Hill, Md.); Marcus Taylor (Michigan State / Lansing, Mich.); David West (Xavier / Garner, N.C.) and Frank Williams (Illinois / Peoria, Ill.). Eligibility for the 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team is limited to any male who is 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1980).

"I'm very excited about the finalists that we have that will be coming to training camp in Denver in August," said USA World University Games head mentor and Penn State University (Pa.) head coach Jerry Dunn. "It's a very diverse group of guys, we have some interchangeable personnel who can do a lot of different things. One of the things I'm most impressed with is the personalities, in terms of being winners and guys who will be able to gel as a team."

Highlighted by three members of Maryland's 2001 NCAA Final Four team, selected as finalists for the USA World University Games Team were: Maurice Baker (Oklahoma State / Madison, Ill.); Antwain Barbour (Wabash Valley C.C./ Elizabethtown, Ky.); Andre Barrett (Seton Hall / Bronx, N.Y.); Earl Barron (Memphis / Clarksdale, Miss.); Lonny Baxter (Maryland / Silver Spring, Md.); Dan Dickau (Gonzaga / Vancouver, Wash.); Juan Dixon (Maryland / Baltimore, Md.); Erwin Dudley (Alabama / Uniontown, Ala.); Melvin Ely (Fresno State / Harvey, Ill.); Lynn Greer (Temple / Philadelphia, Pa.); Tahj Holden (Maryland / Red Bank, N.J.); Roger Mason, Jr. (Virginia / Silver Spring, Md.); Chris Owens (Texas / Duncanville, Texas); Justin Reed (Mississippi / Jackson, Miss.); Tamar Slay (Marshall / Beckley, W.Va.) and Tyler Smith (Penn State / Lake Forest, Ill.).

Boeheim, Syracuse's successful and long-time head coach, will serve as head coach of the 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men squad, and he will be assisted by Ernie Kent of the University of Oregon and Phil Martelli of St. Joseph's University (Pa.).

The final 12-member USA team will be named during the team's July 22-26 training camp in Dallas, Texas. The team will complete its training in the U.S. July 27-30 in Oakland, Calif.

The USA World Championship For Young Men Team will compete August 3-12 in Saitama, Japan, in the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men Tournament. Featuring 12 teams that have been divided into two preliminary round pools consisting of six teams each, the United States is in Pool B with Argentina, Croatia, Israel, Japan and South Korea. The six teams comprising preliminary Pool A include Australia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Qatar, Slovenia and Spain.

Held every four years and originally designed for men 22-years-old or younger, FIBA lowered the age eligibility to 21-years-old or younger in December 1998 and changed the competition name to the World Championship For Young Men. The U.S. captured gold in the inaugural competition which was held in 1993 and known as the FIBA 22 And Under World Championship, and in 1997 finished fifth with a 6-2 record.

The World University Games, held every two years, is a multi-sport competition open to athletes between the ages of 17 and 28 (born between Jan. 1, 1973 and Dec. 31, 1983), who are, or have been within the past year, a student at a college or university. This summer the World University Games wiil be held Aug. 22-Sept. 1 in Beijing, China. The men's basketball competition, currently featuring teams from 28 countries, has been divided into eight preliminary roxnd pools. Placed into Pool B, the United States will face Iran, South Africa and Turkey in preliminary round play.

Penn State's Dunn will serve as head coach for the 2001 USA Basketball Men's World University Games Team, while collegiate head coaches Rod Barnes from the University of Mississippi and Al Skinner from Boston College (Mass.) will assist Dunn on the sidelines. The final 12-member team will be selected during the team's Aug. 10-17 training camp which will be held at the Denver Nuggets practice facility in Denver, Colo. The USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee is chaired by Terry Holland (athletic director, University of Virginia) and consists of: NCAA appointees Boeheim; Rob Evans (head coach, Arizona State University); Jim O'Brien (head coach, Ohio State University) and Tubby Smith (head coach, University of Kentucky); NABC appointee Oliver Purnell (head coach, University of Dayton, Ohio); NAIA appointee Ralph Turner (head coach, Union University, Tenn.); NJCAA appointee Dan Sparks (head coach, Vincennes University, Ind.), and athlete representatives Steve Wojciechowski (1995 Junior World Championship team / assistant coach, Duke University, N.C.) and A.J. Wynder (1995 Pan American Games team / head coach, Nassau Community College, N.Y.).