USA To Face Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Great Britain And Spain In Challenging Exhibition Schedule
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 24, 2012) - Exhibition games versus Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Great Britain and Spain, and training camps in four cities highlight the 2012 USA Basketball Men's National Team tour that was announced today.
USA Basketball also announced that the USA Women's National Team will join the USA Men's National Team for an exhibition doubleheader in Washington, D.C. versus Brazil on July 16 (5:30 p.m. local time), and will play an exhibition against Great Britain in Manchester, England, on July 18 (7:30 p.m. local time), one day prior to the men's contest against Great Britain.
The American men will open their training July 6 in Las Vegas, Nev., the domestic home to the USA Basketball Men's National Team since 2006. The USA squad will train daily July 6-11 at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and will face the Dominican Republic on July 12 (6 p.m. local time) at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.
The team will move its training to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., to train July 13-15 and play an exhibition contest versus Brazil at the Verizon Center on July 16 (8 p.m. local time).
The USA will continue its preparations July 17-18 in Manchester and on July 19 (7:30 p.m. local time) will play Great Britain at the Manchester Arena. Tickets for both the USA men's and women's national team games against their respective Great Britain counterparts will be available starting March 6. To reserve your tickets please call +44 (0)844 847 8000 or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk.
Twenty years after the USA Dream Team made its debut in Barcelona, Spain, the U.S. returns and will conclude its tour with a pair of exhibition games against FIBA's No. 2 and No.3 ranked world powers. Facing No. 3 ranked Argentina on July 22 (9:30 p.m. local time) at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, the USA will close out its exhibition tour against FIBA's No. 2 ranked power Spain on July 24 (9:30 p.m. local time) at the Palau Sant Jordi.
"We have again scheduled an extremely challenging lineup of exhibition opponents for our USA Men's National Team. In addition to playing world powers Spain and Argentina, the team will also face FIBA Americas powers Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Add in what I'm sure will be a very competitive game in Manchester versus Great Britain, and we have an exciting tour schedule we believe will help get our team as best prepared as possible for the summer," said Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball chairman and national team managing director.
"This tour will be a very challenging schedule of five exhibition games that will each be played in outstanding environments and will be memorable for all basketball fans. The team's training and these games will be absolutely critical in our preparation and we know that each of the teams will pose significant and unique challenges," said USA and Duke University head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Ticket information for the exhibition games in Barcelona, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C. will be released at a later date. To stay connected with all things USA Basketball, follow us at www.usabasketball.com, @usabasketball on twitter and become a fan of USA Basketball on Facebook.
USA Basketball Men's National Team
Ten members of the 2010 USA World Championship gold medal winning team, eight 2008 Olympic gold medalists, and two national team players were among the 20 players named on Jan. 16 by USA Basketball as finalists for the USA Men's National Team.
Named a finalist for the 2012 USA National Team were: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks); Chauncey Billups (Los Angeles Clippers); Chris Bosh (Miami Heat); Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers); Tyson Chandler (New York Knicks); Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City Thunder); Rudy Gay (Memphis Grizzlies); Eric Gordon (New Orleans Hornets); Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers); Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); LeBron James (Miami Heat); Kevin Love (Minnesota Timberwolves); Lamar Odom (Dallas Mavericks); Chris Paul (Los Angeles Clippers); Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls); Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat); Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City Thunder); and Deron Williams (New Jersey Nets).
The USA Basketball Men's National Team Program in 2010-12 is again headed by Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA Men's National Team since 2005.
Featuring a coaching staff headed by Hall of Fame mentor Krzyzewski, serving as USA assistant coaches are Syracuse University and Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, New York Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni, and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Nate McMillan.
USA Basketball initiated its historic men's national team program in 2005 and capped the 2005-2008 quad competitions with a magnificent gold medal run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Since Colangelo and Krzyzewski became involved in the USA National Team, the U.S. has compiled a sterling 49-1 record (.980 winning percentage), and just as importantly reestablished the USA national team and its members as positive ambassadors for the United States and the sport.
The USA squad culminated the 2005-2008 quadrennium by finishing 8-0 and reclaiming the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the USA's first gold in a major international competition since 2000. The USA National Team also won gold at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship with a 10-0 record to qualify the U.S. men for the 2008 Olympic Games. In the program's first year, the U.S. captured the bronze medal with an 8-1 record at the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan.
In 2010, Colangelo and Krzyzewski assembled a USA World Championship squad that finished 9-0 and captured gold in Istanbul, Turkey. It was the USA's first gold medal finish at the FIBA World Championship since 1994.
Since first fielding a USA Basketball team of legendary NBA stars in 1992, USA Basketball National Teams comprised of NBA players have claimed gold medals in 11 of 14 major international basketball competitions, while compiling an impressive 109-7 overall record (.940 winning percentage) in those competitions and a record of 37-1 (.974 winning percentage) in exhibition games.
USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men's and women's basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the United States by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA sponsored international basketball competitions, as well as for some national competitions.
Since 2008, USA Basketball men's and women's teams have compiled a sterling 134-6 win-loss record in FIBA or FIBA Americas competitions. USA teams are the current men's and women's champions of the Olympics and the FIBA World Championships; FIBA women's U19 world champions; the men's and women's title holders for the FIBA U17 World Championships; and the men's and women's U18 and U16 FIBA Americas champions. USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all five of FIBA's world ranking categories, including combined, men's, women's, boys and girls.
For further information about USA Basketball, go to the official Web site of USA Basketball at www.usabasketball.com and connect with us on facebook.com/usabasketball, twitter.com/usabasketball and www.youtube.com/therealusabasketball.
2012 USA Basketball Men's National Team Schedule
July 5-12 Las Vegas Training / Exhibition - Las Vegas, Nevada
July 6-11 (12-3 p.m.) USA Team Training University of Nevada-Las Vegas
July 12 (6 p.m.) USA vs. Dominican Republic Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV, Exhibition Game Las Vegas, Nevada
July 13-16 USA Training / Exhibition - Washington, D.C.
July 13-15 USA Team Training Washington, D.C.
July 16 (8 p.m.) USA vs. Brazil Exhibition Game Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
July 17-19 USA Training / Exhibition Games - Manchester, England
July 17-18 USA Team Training Manchester, England
July 19 (7:30 p.m.) USA vs. Great Britain Exhibition Game Manchester Arena, Manchester, England
July 20-25 USA Training / Exhibition Games - Barcelona, Spain
July 20-21 USA Team Training Barcelona, Spain
July 22 (9:30 p.m.) USA vs. Argentina Exhibition Game Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
July 23 USA Team Training Barcelona, Spain
July 24 (9:30 p.m.) USA vs. Spain Exhibition Game Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
July 25 USA Team Training Barcelona, Spain
NOTES
*Schedule subject to change.
*All times listed are local times.