Don Showalter Returns To Head 2013-14 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Coaching Staff

-- Prep Head Coaches Eric Flannery, L.J. Goolsby Tabbed As Assistants --

Colorado Springs, Colo. • Feb. 5, 2013

Iowa City High School head coach Don Showalter has been selected to his third stint as USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team head coach, and he will lead the U.S. team at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and, should the United States qualify, the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship. Additionally, Eric Flannery (St. Edward High School, Ohio) and L.J. Goolsby (KC Run GMC, Kan.) return to USA Basketball as assistant coaches and will aid Showalter and the 2013-14 USA Men’s Developmental National Team. The selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee and approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.

All three coaches have prior USA Basketball experience. Most notably, Showalter piloted USA Basketball teams to gold medals at the 2010 and 2012 FIBA U17 World Championships and the 2009 and 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championships. Flannery, in addition to being a long-time USA Developmental National Team Committee member who has assisted at numerous USA Basketball trials and training camps dating back to 2001, served as the USA’s head coach at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010; while Goolsby served as a court coach to Showalter at the 2012 USA Developmental National Team training camp in October.

“No one is more responsible for the success of the Developmental National Team since its inception in 2009 than Don Showalter,” said Sean Ford, USA Basketball Men’s National Team Director and non-voting chair of the USA Developmental National Team Committee. “He has provided invaluable leadership in making the program what it is today and has become an extremely respected coach both in the U.S. and internationally. The committee feels that Don Showalter is the best person to be the head coach of the Developmental National Team and continue to prepare our developmental teams over the next two years.

“Eric Flannery has been an extremely successful coach at St. Edwards High School and has extensive USA Basketball experience. The combination of coaching experience and building teams for international competition will be very valuable.  L.J. Goolsby runs a great program in Kansas City that is respected both for its successes on the court as well as the character of the individuals that make up the program. We feel L.J.’s enthusiasm for and knowledge of the game will be great assets to the team.”

“I’m more excited each time I get a chance to do this, because I know a little more about what to expect from our competition,” said Showalter, who has guided USA Basketball teams to gold medals in each of the last four summers and boasts an overall USA Basketball head coaching record of 31-5 (.861 winning percentage). “It really gets me excited, as far as working with new players and a new coaching staff. I’m looking forward to it and I think it’ll be a good group of kids to work with.

“Eric is very familiar with USA Basketball, probably a little more so than L.J. is, but both of them bring a nice resume. They’ve worked with very talented players throughout the past several years. So, they understand the level we’re working with. I think they both have a great idea of what we’re trying to accomplish in that we’re trying to develop a team aspect, as opposed to an all-star mentality.”

First up for the 2013-14 USA Developmental National Team is the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, which will feature eight national teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean with at least the top three finishing teams qualifying for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship. The 2014 U17 Worlds will have an expanded field - from 12 to 16 teams - and FIBA has yet to announce which zones will receive an extra berth.

Qualified to compete in the 2013 U16 Championship are Uruguay, as the host country; Canada and the United States as the North American entries; while Puerto Rico (gold medalist), Mexico (silver medalist) and Bahamas (bronze medalist) qualified through the 2012 Centrobasket U15 Championship; and Argentina (gold medalist) and Chile (bronze medalist) qualified through the 2012 South American U15 Championship. Uruguay captured the silver medal, which gave Chile, which defeated Brazil for the bronze, the final U16 berth.

Members of the 2013-14 USA Developmental National Team, who will be announced later this spring, will train May 30 – June 7 in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the final 12-player USA U16 National Team selection will be made prior to the team departing for Uruguay.

“I’m humbled and honored as always to be a part of USA Basketball,” said Flannery, who won the 1998 Ohio Division I state title and has led St. Edward to seven appearances in the state tournament final four. “I really appreciate and enjoy the people who work at USA Basketball, starting with Jim Tooley, Sean Ford, B.J. Johnson and the rest of the staff. I look forward to working with them again. I’m most excited about the opportunity of moving from a committee member into the coaching aspect of USA Basketball. Coaching is what I love to do. To get the opportunity to work with these unbelievable, talented young men, and continuing to work with Don Showalter is a blessing and a great opportunity for me to learn from one of the best. I’m also looking forward to working with L.J. Goolsby and this great group of players over the next two years.”

“It’s truly an honor, obviously,” said Goolsby, who served as a court coach at the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team training camp. “To help represent the country, to work alongside coach Showalter and coach Flannery and to get an opportunity to learn from them, as well as having the opportunity to work with all the special talent will be representing our country along the way, is such an honor.

“Coaching at the mini-camp last fall was unbelievable, in terms of the overall talent level that was there in one spot, just seeing the competition between the guys and watching the high level of athletes compete day in and day out. I’m truly excited to have the chance to continue to work with some of those guys as we go forward.”