Elton Brand And Ben Wallace Land Last Two USA Men's World Championship Team Roster Spots

University Of Kansas Senior Nick Collison Named As Final Alternate

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 12, 2002) – Fortifying its frontcourt in a big way, 6-8, 275-pound Elton Brand (Los Angeles Clippers) and 6-9, 240-pound Ben Wallace (Detroit Pistons) were selected as the final two players for the USA Basketball 2002 Men's World Championship Team, while 6-9, 250-pound University of Kansas senior-to-be Nick Collison, a veteran of six USA Basketball teams, was named the second alternate on the team. As alternates, Collison and previously named alternate Jay Williams (Duke University) will train with the USA team and participate in the team's two exhibition games. The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee.

The 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men is being held in Indianapolis, Indiana, Aug. 29- Sept. 8, 2002.

The first seven players of the USA World Championship squad were announced on Nov. 1, 2001, and included Olympic gold medalists Ray Allen (Milwaukee Bucks), Jason Kidd (New Jersey Nets) and Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers), and 2001 NBA All-Star Antonio Davis (Toronto Raptors); Dallas Mavericks perennial All-Star Michael Finley; Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), the USA's leading scorer and rebounder at the 2001 Goodwill Games and 2002 NBA All-Star Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana Pacers), the USA's second leading scorer and rebounder at the 2001 Goodwill Games.

On March 12, 2002, versatile 6-11 forward/center Raef LaFrentz (Dallas Mavericks), 2001 Goodwill Games team guard Andre Miller (Cleveland Cavaliers) and high scoring forward Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics) were added to the USA squad, and Williams, Duke's All-American guard, was announced as an alternate.

Milwaukee Bucks head mentor George Karl will serve as head coach of USA Basketball's 2002 World Championship Team. San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, Stanford University (Calif.) head mentor Mike Montgomery and University of Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson have been named assistant coaches of the USA Team.

"The committee did a great job addressing size and versatility by adding two players, in Elton Brand and Ben Wallace, who have a lot of width and who will rebound the basketball," said Karl. "I think both players are excellent team players who do what it takes to win basketball games, and I think that their skills complement those of LaFrentz, O'Neal and Antonio Davis in the frontcourt."

"The USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee has assembled not only a team that is gifted athletically and one that should challenge for the World Championship title, but all of the selected team members are first-class individuals who I'm sure will make all Americans proud in the way they represent themselves and their country at the World Championship," said USA Basketball President Tom Jernstedt. "The addition of Nick Collison and previously named Jay Williams as alternates are exciting additions because their participation with the team keeps the collegiate community involved in this elite competition. Nick is returning to the University of Kansas for his senior season and he has been one of the most involved players in USA Basketball over the last five years having played for six different USA teams."

"We have an outstanding roster of both young and veteran NBA stars, with a great deal of USA Basketball as well as international experience," said Stu Jackson, Chair of USA Basketball's Senior Men's National Team Committee and the NBA's Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations.

Elton Brand
"Its truly an honor to represent your country in international competition," said Brand. "I'm looking forward to facing some of the best players in the world and defending our home court in Indianapolis later this summer."

"Elton has quietly become one of the better power forwards in the league, and has emerged as a leader at a very young age," remarked Karl. "He's a smart player, a great post-up player, who will get rebounds and never stop battling for us."

Having completed in 2001-02 his third NBA season, Brand was named to his first NBA All-Star Game in 2002 and responded by recording six points and 10 rebounds in 19 minute of action. The first overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 Draft, he was voted as the NBA's 2000 co-Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.1 ppg and 10.0 rpg. Brand was traded on June 27, 2001, after his second season with Chicago, to the Los Angeles Clippers. In 2001-02, his first season with the Clippers, he averaged 18.2 points a game, career bests of 11.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game, while shooting career highs of 52.7 percent (532-1010 FGs) from the field and 74.2 percent (389-524 FTs) from the charity line. Brand finished the 2001-02 season ranked first in the league in offensive rebounds (396/5.0 per game), second in field goal percentage, fifth in rebounds per game, ninth in free throws attempted, 11th in free throws made, 11th in blocks per game and 31st for points per game. He also posted the NBA's third highest number of double-doubles (55 in 80 games).

Brand played two seasons (1997-98 and 1998-99) at Duke University before declaring himself eligible for the NBA Draft. Selected as a sophomore the consensus National Player of the Year, he also collected 1999 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year and ACC Tournament MVP honors, and was an unanimous All-American. Leading the Blue Devils in 1998-99 to a 37-2 record, to ACC regular season and ACC Tournament titles, and to a NCAA runner-up finish, Brand averaged 17.7 ppg. and 9.8 rpg. In two seasons in Durham, Brand shot 61.2 percent from the field, while compiling 972 points (16.2 ppg.), 536 rebounds (8.9 rpg.) and 113 blocked shots (1.9 bpg.).

A veteran of three USA Basketball teams, Brand was one of three collegians selected for the 1999 USA Tournament of the Americas Olympic Qualifying Team that also featured nine NBA standouts. That USA Basketball team rolled to a spotless 10-0 record, won gold and qualified the United States for the 2000 Olympic Games. In 1998 as a member of the gold medal winning 1998 USA Goodwill Games Team that was comprised of college players, Brand averaged a team second best 17.0 points a game, while adding team bests of 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots and 65.0 percent shooting from the field. In the gold medal final against Australia, Brand finished with 15 points and nine rebounds to help the U.S. to its 93-85 overtime victory. For his outstanding performance at the Goodwill Games, he was tagged by USA Basketball as its 1998 Male Athlete of the Year. Brand made his USA Basketball debut in 1997 as a heralded high school senior with the USA Basketball Hoop Summit Team. The USA, behind Brand's 15 points and seven boards, defeated an International Select Team 97-90.

Ben Wallace
"I'm excited and honored to be added to the team that will represent the USA at the World Championship this summer. The fact that I have been picked to play with so many great players shows me that the hard work I put into my game this season is paying off," stated Wallace.

"Ben just adds so much versatility with his energy, rebounding and shot blocking," said USA mentor Karl. "With so many scorers on this team, it's nice to add a component that doesn't demand the basketball, but who can create his own offense with effort. Ideally his energy is contagious, and our whole team can play with that intensity."

Earning 2001-02 NBA Defensive Player of the Year honors, Wallace in 2001-02 averaged 7.6 ppg., and added league bests of 13.0 rebounds and 3.48 blocks per game to join Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton and 12-time NBA All-Star Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players in NBA history to lead the league in rebounds and blocks in the same season. In the most convincing Defensive Player of the Year vote ever, Wallace received 96.7 percent of the votes (116 out of a possible 120) from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

Wallace in 2002 helped the Pistons to their first Central Division title since 1989-90 as Detroit improved from a 32-win season in 2000-01 to a 50-win season, the first 50-plus-win season for Detroit since 1996-97.

In addition to ranking first in the NBA in rebounds and blocked shots, Wallace in 2001-02 also listed second (behind Brand) in offensive rebounds (4.0 per game), third in defensive rebounds (9.0 per game) and was 14th in steals (1.73 spg.). Ranking first in the NBA in steals per turnover (1.97), he was 23rd in the league for double-doubles tallying 25 and was one of 16 players to post a triple-double. Wallace in 2001-02 also recorded an NBA season-high 28 rebounds (versus Boston, 3/24/02) and blocked an NBA season-high 10 shots (versus Milwaukee on 2/24/02).

A six-year NBA veteran who was undrafted out of Virginia Union University, Wallace was signed as a free agent by Washington and played three seasons (1996-97 through 1998-99) there, averaging 3.5 ppg., 5.2 rpg. and 1.2 bpg. Traded to the Orlando Magic in August 1999, he played in 81 games for the Magic and averaged 4.8 ppg., 8.2 rpg. (20th in the NBA) and 1.6 blocks per game. Traded (Aug. 3, 2000) by the Magic along with Chucky Atkins to the Detroit Pistons for Grant Hill, in his first season as a Piston he started 80 games and posted averages of 6.4 ppg., an NBA leading 13.2 rpg. and 2.3 bpg. (10th in the NBA). He became in 2000-01 the first Piston player in franchise history to lead the club in rebounds, steals and blocks and placed tied for fifth in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Nick Collison
"I'm very excited and honored to be named an alternate on the World Championship team," Collison said. "It will be a great experience for me to play with and against professional players. I think there's a lot I can learn from them, and I expect that this experience will help me to improve a great deal. Playing against some of the best competition the world has to offer can't do anything but help me as a player, and it will allow me to learn from people who already have unbelievable experience."

"I haven't seen a whole lot of Nick, but I know he has some experience playing international basketball, and I know that he will come in well-coached," stated Karl. "He's another big body, a hard worker who understands fundamentals, who will crash the boards, and who has some touch around the basket. He and Jay (Williams) will come in here with a lot to prove, and I think that motivation will be a huge asset to our energy level in practice."

Collison ranked second on the 2001-02 Kansas squad in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.6 ppg. and 8.3 rpg., he led the team in field goal percentage (59.2 percent) and led the Jayhawks and the Big 12 Conference in blocked shots swatting away 2.2 a game.

Named All-America honorable mention and All-Big 12 Conference second team, Collison played big in the postseason and earned Big 12 All-Tournament and NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team honors. Kansas finished the season 33-4 overall and went 16-0 in conference play to win the Big 12 regular season conference title and became the first school in the history of the league to go undefeated. Earning a No. 1 seed for the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Kansas advanced to the NCAA Final Four for the first time since 1993, however, Kansas' national title dreams were dashed 97-88 in the semifinals by eventual NCAA champ Maryland.

He closed out the 2001-02 regular season strong, recording a career-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting at Missouri on Mar. 3 and in KU's loss to No. 4 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, he finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He also posted three double-doubles in KU's NCAA Final Four run, including 17 points and 13 boards against No. 24 Stanford, 25 points and 15 rebounds versus No. 11 Oregon and 21 points to go with 10 boards in the semifinals loss to eventual national champion Maryland.

In three seasons at KU, Collison has assisted the Jayhawks to three NCAA Tournaments and an overall record of 83-21 for a 79.8 winning percentage. Appearing in all 104 games and starting 92 times, Collison boasts of a career field goal shooting percentage of 56.6 percent (577-1,019 FGs), and has compiled 1,395 points (13.4 ppg.) to rank 17th on the Jayhawks' all-time scoring list, 763 rebounds (7.3 rpg.) which ranks 11th on KU's all-time rebounds chart, and his 169 career blocked shots (1.6 bpg.) checks-in fifth on Kansas' career blocks list.

Collison last summer made his sixth USA Basketball squad when he was named a member of the gold medal winning 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team. He started in all eight USA games and averaged 9.1 ppg. (sixth high on team), 5.4 rpg. (second high on team), 1.0 bpg., while shooting 56.9 percent for an American team that finished a perfect 8-0 in Saitama, Japan. Selected a member of the elite 2000 USA Basketball Select Team, the Select squad practiced for five days against the 2000 USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team that was preparing for the Sydney Olympics. The two teams also met in an exhibition game on Sept. 2 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Collison accounted for two points and two rebounds as the Select Team fell 111-74. Earlier that summer, he averaged 8.8 ppg. (fifth on team) and a team best 7.2 rpg. as part of the 2000 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team that finished 4-1 and won the silver medal.

Named to the 1999 USA Men's Junior World Championship Team that earned the silver medal in Portugal with a 7-1 record, he started every game and averaged 7.8 ppg. and 4.3 rpg. Recording six points and five rebounds, Collison started for the 1999 USA Men's Junior Select National Team that claimed a 107-95 victory against the International Select Team in the fifth annual Hoop Summit. Getting his start with USA Basketball as a member of the gold medal winning 1998 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team, he averaged 6.5 ppg., 4.3 rpg. for the USA squad that rolled to a 6-0 record.

2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship For Men
The 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men will take place Aug. 29-Sept. 8 in Indianapolis. The United States men will compete in Group C along with Algeria, China and Germany. The USA open preliminary play in the 2002 World Championship on Aug. 29 against Algeria, then plays Germany on Aug. 30 and the U.S. concludes its preliminary play facing China on Aug. 31. Second round play will be conducted Sept. 2-4, and quarterfinals play is slated for Sept. 5. The medal round semifinals action is on Sept. 7 and the gold and bronze medal games are slated to be played on Sept. 8.

The 14th FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men format features 16 teams. Four preliminary round groups consisting of four teams each play a round-robin competition within its preliminary pool between Aug. 29-31. The top three placing teams from each preliminary pool advance to form two second round pools consisting of six teams each. Each team's results against teams also advancing from its preliminary pool carries over to the second round standings and each team will play the other three teams in their second round pool whom they have not faced previously. The second round, which will be contested Sept. 2-4, will feature the top three finishing teams from Pool A and Pool B forming one second round pool, and the top three finishing teams from Pool C and Pool D forming the other second round pool. The top four teams from the two second round groups will then advance on to the medal round quarterfinals that are scheduled for Sept. 5, followed by the medal round semifinals on Sept. 7 and the gold and bronze medal games will be played on Sunday, Sept. 8 in Conseco Fieldhouse.

The four preliminary round pools have been determined and the United States was placed in Pool C along with Algeria (Africa Zone #2 qualifier), China (Asia Zone #1 qualifier) and Germany (European Zone #4 qualifier). Pool A is comprised of Yugoslavia (European Zone #1 qualifier), Spain (European Zone #3 qualifier), Canada (Americas Zone #3 qualifier) and Angola (Africa Zone #1 qualifier). In Pool B is Brazil (Americas Zone #2 qualifier), Turkey (European Zone #2 qualifier), Puerto Rico (Americas Zone #4 qualifier) and Lebanon (Asia Zone #2 qualifier); Pool D includes Argentina (Americas Zone #1 qualifier), Russia (European Zone #5 qualifier), New Zealand (Oceania Zone #1 qualifier) and Venezuela (Americas Zone #5 qualifier) (To view the complete 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men schedule go to: www.usabasketball.com/usab/seniormen/2002_mwc_schedule.html).

Tickets for all sessions of the 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men can be purchased by phoning toll free 800-NBA-TIX or 866-849-4922, or over the Internet at www.2002worldbasketball.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

USA History In FIBA World Championships
Held every four years, the 16-nation FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men is being held in the United States for the first time in the competition's history which dates back to 1950.

USA teams own a very successful 91-23 all-time record (.798 winning percentage) in World Championship play and have won three gold (1994, 1986 and 1954), three silver (1982, 1959 and 1950) and three bronze (1998, 1990 and 1974) medals in the 13 previous FIBA World Championships.

The USA finished 7-2 and in possession of the bronze medal in the 1998 World Championship in Greece after fielding a team comprised of collegians and professional players who were either competing overseas or in the Continental Basketball Association. The United States in 1994, featuring a squad of NBA stars, won the gold in Toronto, Canada, finishing a perfect 8-0.

USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee
The USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee, which is responsible for the selection of the USA men's World Championship and Olympic teams, consists of nine members and a non-voting chair. In addition to Jackson who serves as chair of the Committee, and the Committee also includes Bryan Colangelo, President and General Manager of the Phoenix Suns; Billy King, General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers; Mitch Kupchak, General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers; C.M. Newton, CEO of the 2002; Kevin O'Connor, Vice President of Basketball Operations of the Utah Jazz; Garry St. Jean, General Manager of the Golden State Warriors; Rod Thorn, President of the New Jersey Nets; and athlete representatives Joe Dumars, a member of the gold medalist 1994 USA World Championship Team, and Steve Smith, a member of the gold medalist 1994 USA World Championship and 2000 U.S. Olympic teams.

Ex-official members of the Committee include Tom Jernstedt, President of USA Basketball and Senior Vice President of the NCAA; Quinn Buckner, USA Basketball's Vice President for Men; and Billy Hunter, Executive Director of the National Basketball Players Association and USA Basketball Board of Directors member.