February 02, 2000
Texas A&M men's basketball signee Nick Anderson of Baton Rouge, La., has been named to the 2000 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team by USA Basketball's Cadet and Youth Committee and will compete in the 2000 NABC/Nike International Hoop Summit on April 2 in Indianapolis, Ind.
The USA Basketball committee also announced the selection of Science Hill High School (Johnson City, Tenn.) head coach George Pitts and Woodbridge Senior High School (Woodbridge, Va.) head mentor Will Robinson as head coach and assistant coach, respectively.
The sixth annual NABC/Nike International Hoop Summit, sponsored by Nike and presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), is an international game benefitting the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, that features the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team comprised of 12 of the United States' top high school senior boy basketball players and an International Select Team consisting of the top 20-year-old and younger players from around the world.
The 2000 Hoop Summit will be on Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m. (EDT) at the Conseco Fieldhouse (18,500 capacity) in Indianapolis, Ind. The USA vs. Internationals match-up will be held in conjunction with the NCAA Men's Final Four and will be televised live on ESPN.
The USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team has won three of the previous five Hoop Summit match-ups and has done so on the shoulders of some impressive alumni. Former USA Hoop Summit team members include current NBA standouts Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Vancouver Grizzlies), Elton Brand (Chicago Bulls), Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Stephon Marbury (New Jersey Nets). Other former players include Erick Barkley (St. John's), Shane Battier (Duke), Casey Jacobsen (Stanford) and Quentin Richardson (DePaul).
Named to the 2000 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team along with Anderson (Southern Lab High School / Baton Rouge, La.) are Andre Brown (Leo High School /, Chicago, Ill.); Omar Cook (Christ the King High School / Middle Village, N.Y.); Chris Duhon (Salmen High School / Slidell, La.); Eddie Griffin (Roman Catholic High School / Philadelphia, Pa.); Rolando Howell (Lower Richland High School / Hopkins, S.C.); Jared Jeffries (Bloomington North High School / Bloomington, Ind.); Darius Miles (Lincoln High School / East St. Louis, Ill.); Zach Randolph (Marion High School / Marion, Ind.); Scooter Sherrill (West Rowan High School / Mt. Ulla, N.C.); Marcus Taylor (Waverly High School / Lansing, Mich.) and Gerald Wallace (Childersburg High School /Childersburg, Ala.).
USA team members Anderson, Duhon, Howell, Randolph and Taylor also participated in USA Basketball's Youth Development Festival. Anderson, Duhon and Howell helped the South to the gold medal at the 1999 Festival, while Randolph in1999 set Festival records for scoring (20.4 ppg.) and rebounding (18.6 rpg.). At the 1998 Development Festival, Taylor poured in a North team leading 17.4 ppg. and Anderson averaged 11.2 and 7.8 rpg. for the South.
USA Today ranks 11 players from the12 man USA Basketball Junior National Select Team roster on its Preseason Super 25 list including Anderson, Brown, Cook, Duhon, Griffin, Howell, Jeffries, Miles, Randolph, Taylor and Wallace. Of the previously mentioned 11, seven rank in the top ten on ESPN's Top 50 Prospects of 1999-2000 List, six rank among the top ten among the class of 2000 in the Recruiters Handbook and eight rank in the top ten in Bob Gibbons' 1999-2000 scouting report.
Each player from the 2000 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team has signed a letter of intent with an NCAA Division I program: Anderson (Texas A & M), Brown (DePaul), Cook (St. John's), Duhon (Duke), Griffin (Seton Hall), Howell (South Carolina), Jeffries (Indiana), Miles (St. John's), Randolph (Michigan State), Sherrill (North Carolina State), Taylor (Michigan State) and Wallace (Alabama).
The International Select Team, the USA's opponent, is selected by the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) with the approved sanctioning of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world governing body of international basketball. The International Select Team consists of players from FIBA's five geographic zones: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
The USA gained a 3-2 Hoop Summit series lead last year after defeating the International Select team 107-95 at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Fla. In 1998, the International Select Team earned a hard-fought 104-99 victory. The 1997 Hoop Summit, contested in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., saw the USA Basketball squad battle to a 97-90 triumph. The International Select Team claimed a 104- 96 win in the 1996 Hoop Summit in Charlotte, N.C., and the USA Basketball team won, 86-77, in the inaugural 1995 Hoop Summit held in Springfield, Mass.
2000 USA Men's Junior Select National Hoop Summit Team
NAME POS. HT. WT. AGE HIGH SCHOOL/HOMETOWN/*COLLEGE
Nick Anderson F 6-6 215 19 Southern Lab/Baton Rouge, LA/*Texas A&M
Andre Brown F 6-9 230 18 Leo/Chicago, IL/*DePaul
Omar Cook G 6-1 185 18 Christ the King/Middle Village, NY/*St. John's
Chris Duhon G 6-1 180 17 Salmen/Slidell, LA/*Duke
Eddie Griffith F 6-9 210 17 Roman Catholic/Philadelphia, PA/*Seton Hall
Rolando Howell F 6-9 225 17 Lower Richland/Hopkins, SC/*South Carolina
Jared Jeffries F 6-10 215 18 Bloomington North/Bloomington, IN/*Indiana
Darius Miles F 6-9 190 18 Lincoln/East St. Louis, IL/*St. John's
Zach Randolph F/C 6-9 270 18 Marion/Marion, IN/*Michigan State
Scooter Sherrill G 6-2 185 18 West Rowan/Mt. Ulla, NC/*North Carolina State
Marcus Taylor G 6-3 185 18 Waverly/Lansing, MI/*Michigan State
Gerald Wallace F 6-7 210 17 Childersburg/Childersburg, AL/*Alabama
HEAD COACH: George Pitts, Science Hill High School (Johnson City, Tennessee)
ASSISTANT COACH: Will Robinson, Woodbridge Senior High School (Woodbridge, Virginia)
* Indicates college where the player has signed a national letter-of-intent to play next season.