Fresno State Athletics
Ely Selected For Team USA Trials
5/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 15, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Melvin Ely, a junior center on the Fresno State men's basketball team, is one of 45 players to have accepted invitations to participate in USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials, USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee announced today.
Chaired by University of Virginia athletic director Terry Holland, the Committee will select finalists for two teams - the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team and the 2001 USA Basketball World University Games Team - following the three-day Trials which will be held June 1-3 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The 2001 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials will begin Friday, June 1 from 4:30-7:00 p.m. (all times MDT). Sessions will follow from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, and will conclude on Sunday, June 3 with a session from 8:00-10:00 a.m.
Ely was the 2001 WAC Player of the Year and only player from the league invited to the trials. He averaged 15.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a junior. He is among the WAC's all-time leaders in blocked shots with 274 in his career.
The 2001 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 was placed 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. Any male athlete who is a U.S. citizen and is 21-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1980) is eligible for the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team.
Syracuse University (N.Y.) head coach Jim Boeheim 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 team will be named during the team's July 22-30 training camp which will be held at a site to be determined.
The World University Games, held every two years, is a multi-sport competition open to men 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 will be held Aug. 22 - Sept. 1 in Beijing, China. The men's basketball competition, currently featuring collegiate teams from 28 countries, has been divided into eight preliminary round pools. Placed into Pool B, the United States will face Iran, South Africa and Turkey in preliminary round play.
Penn State University (Pa.) head coach Jerry Dunn has been selected to 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 named during the team's Aug. 10-18 training camp, which will be held at a site to be determined.
