ANTHONY DAVIS NAMED TO USA BASKETBALL’S INITIAL2014-16 MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTERDavis Among Twenty-Eight Players Named to Roster
January 23, 2014
NEW ORLEANS – USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo announced today that Pelicans Forward Anthony Davis is among the 28 players selected to the 2014-16 USA Basketball Men’s National Team pool, from which the 2014 USA World Championship Team and, if the U.S. qualifies, the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team will be selected.
The 2014-16 USA National Team roster features 11 players from the golden 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, including a total of 12 Olympians who have captured a combined 16 gold medals and two bronze medals, with seven members returning from the USA Basketball team that captured the 2010 World Championship.
“It’s a great honor to be selected to go out and represent your country,” said Davis. “Not many guys can say they had an opportunity to play for Team USA, and I’ve had the chance to do it twice.”
The Kentucky product has appeared in 33 games this season for the Pelicans and is averaging 20.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in 35.2 minutes per game.
“This is the first step of building the USA Basketball National Team pool of players for 2014-16. This roster is extremely talented, deep and versatile,” said Colangelo. “We are very fortunate to have 11 of the 12 members who won gold at the London Olympics wanting to be part of the national team program again. To receive that kind of commitment is remarkable and it demonstrates how much it means to our players to represent USA Basketball and their country.”
Davis will join Pelicans head coach and USA National Team assistant coach Monty Williams, who was announced as a member of the USA Basketball coaching staff on June 10, 2013.
The 2014-16 USA Basketball National Team coaching staff features USA head coach and Duke University’s Naismith Hall of Fame mentor Mike Krzyzewski. Serving as assistant coaches with Williams are USA Basketball and Syracuse University veteran coach Jim Boeheim and Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau
A smaller group of U.S. National Team members will be selected to participate in the 2014 USA National Team’s opening training camp in July. Exact training dates and locations for the USA National Team training in 2014 will be announced at a later date.
