UConn Huskies point guard Kemba Walker has been a busy bee this summer. He’s been training with the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team and also playing in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am.
And now according to the press release below from USA Basketball, he’ll continue to play with the Men’s Select Team that will help train the 2010 USA Basketball World Championship Team:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 2, 2010) – Ten members of the USA Basketball Select Team that recently completed training with the USA National Team in Las Vegas, Nev., have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate on another USA Men’s Select Team that will train against 2010 USA Men’s World Championship Team finalists during training in New York City. The Select Team members will be in New York Aug. 9-13 and training against the USA World Championship Team finalists Aug 10-13.
Named to the 2010 USA Basketball Select squad that participate in the USA World Championship Team training camp in New York were: JaJuan Johnson (Purdue University / Indianapolis, Ind.); Jon Leuer (University of Wisconsin / Orono, Minn.); Shelvin Mack (Butler University / Lexington, Ky.); Kyle Singler (Duke University / Medford, Ore.); Chris Singleton (Florida State University / Canton, Ga.); Nolan Smith (Duke University / Upper Marlboro, Md.); Howard Thompkins (University of Georgia / Lithonia, Ga.); Mike Tisdale (University of Illinois / Riverton, Ill.); Kemba Walker (University of Connecticut / Bronx, N.Y.); and Chris Wright (University of Dayton / Trotwood, Ohio).
Villanova University head coach Jay Wright will also return to direct the 2010 USA Select Team in New York.
“One of the great developments of our Las Vegas camp was the USA Select Team which consisted of juniors and seniors out of the college ranks that we brought in to scrimmage against the USA National Team. Lorenzo Romar and Jay Wright did a terrific job of coaching the select players in Las Vegas. It worked so well we’ve decided to bring to New York a smaller group of players from that Select Team to do the same thing. They were very valuable to us and it’s a great experience for them,” said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.
The 10 returning members of the USA Select Team will gather in New York on Aug. 9, and train against the USA World Championship Team finalists on Aug. 10 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 11 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 12 (time and site TBD); and Aug. 13 (11 a.m-12:30 p.m. EDT at the New York Knicks practice facility, Tarrytown, N.Y.).
While all 10 Select Team members gained USA Basketball experience during the July 19-24 USA National Team training camp in Las Vegas, six of the selected collegians also boast of prior USA Basketball experience. Mack and Thompkins were members of USA Basketball’s 2009 U19 World Championship Team that finished 9-0 in New Zealand to claim the gold medal. Additionally, Singler and Smith were teammates on the USA’s 2006 U18 Team that captured gold at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship and they were again teammates on the 2007 USA Junior National Select Team that defeated an international select team in the Nike Hoop Summit. Walker was a member of the 2008 USA FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team that collected a silver medal and was named MVP of the tournament, while Johnson has USA Basketball experience through the 2009 USA Basketball Trials.
Photo credit: Hartford Courant
