Work in the weight room has paid off for Kansas University sophomore Nick Collison.
Collison, a 6-foot-9 forward from Iowa Falls, Iowa, says he’s put on between 10 and 15 pounds since the end of last season.
He will carry a 255-pound frame into this week’s 2000 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team tryouts in Miami, Fla.
“I worked out a lot at school in June,” said Collison, who attended the first session of summer school on KU’s campus. “I got back (to Iowa) and have been trying to work out here. It’s not as easy. I think I’ll be ready (for two-a-days at tryout camp). We’ll see.”
Collison and KU teammate Drew Gooden are two of 16 players who will gather at LaSalle High School in Miami for workouts. The athletes will practice once tonight and twice a day Wednesday through Sunday before four players will be sliced from the roster.
The 12-man team, coached by Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, will compete in the 2000 Confederation of Pan American Basketball Associations (COPABA) World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Tournament July 19-23 in Ribeirao Preto, near Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The United States was placed in Preliminary Group B along with Argentina, Panama and Uruguay, while Group A consists of host Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The top three teams from the Americas Zone Qualifying Tournament will earn a berth to the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men, which will be held in Japan.
“I think everyone is really good. Whoever gets sent home is going to be a heck of a player,” said Collison, who has played for USA Basketball teams twice before. It’s Gooden’s debut.
“I think we (Gooden and Collison) have a good shot because we’re good players. We’re big guys. Some good players are going to get cut. We’ll have to play hard.”
It’s believed two or more of the squad’s guards will be cut with several forwards fighting for roster spots.
“It’s a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to it,” Collison said. “This is two weeks of really good workouts, practicing and playing with good players.
“Last year (playing for silver medal winning Junior World championship team) I think helped a lot, especially as a high school player coming into college. I had not experienced the intensity of college basketball. I did for two weeks over the summer. I kind of knew more of what to expect than others.”
Here are the other finalists for World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team: Steve Blake, 6-3, G, Maryland; Carlos Boozer, 6-9, F, Duke; Brian Cook, 6-10, F, Illinois; Mike Dunleavy, 6-7, G, Duke; Joe Johnson, 6-8, G/F, UA-Little Rock; Steve Logan, 5-10, G, Cincinnati; Tayshaun Prince, 6-9, G/F, Kentucky; Zach Randolph, 6-9, F, Michigan State; Jason Richardson, 6-6, F, Michigan State; Kenny Satterfield, 6-2, G, Cincinnati; Johnnie Selvie, 6-7, F, UConn; Bobby Simmons, 6-7, F, DePaul; Marcus Taylor, 6-3, G, Michigan State; and Jason Williams, 6-2, G, Duke.
Collison enters a second round of tryouts he and Gooden survived an earlier tryout session in Colorado Springs in May energized after hearing late last week Roy Williams will remain KU’s coach.
“It definitely would have been tough. The whole summer would have been tough,” Collison said, referring to what might have happened had Williams accepted a North Carolina job offer last week. “It’s a big relief. I guess everything is back to normal for the most part.”
Of rumors he may have transferred to Iowa State had Williams bolted, Collison said: “There’s no truth to any of those rumors. I have no idea what I would have done had coach left. I probably would not have looked at Iowa or Iowa State. There’s always a lot of rumors about me coming back to Iowa. I really don’t know why.”
Gooden ready: Of the tryouts, Gooden, a 6-9 forward from Richmond, Calif., said: “Hopefully I’ll be on the team. When I get down there I’ll just try to fit in on the team, get my role and try to play my best. I’m really excited. It’s a new experience.”
Williams mobbed at Nike camp: Roy Williams received a hero’s welcome at the Nike All-America camp over the weekend in Indianapolis. Coaches mobbed him to shake his hand.
KU’s coach has been praised nationwide for his decision to stay at Kansas out of loyalty to his players.
“For me, it boiled down to who I was going to disappoint. What’s going to be the biggest reason to go to Carolina or stay at Kansas? I decided it was taking care of the players I love. That was the one thing most important to me,” Williams said.
Of the remaining candidates at his alma mater, Williams said “I think the first option (should be members of Carolina family).” These include coaches Larry Brown, George Karl, Matt Doherty, Randy Wiel, Buzz Peterson, Jeff Lebo and Eddie Fogler. Several have already dropped out of the running.
These are coaches who either played for, or coached for legend Dean Smith, who has a big say in the naming of a new coach.
“I’ve talked to Matt, and he’s got a tough position. He talked Troy Murphy into coming back (for junior year at Notre Dame), but he’s also got tremendous loyalty to North Carolina and coach Smith,” Williams said of his former assistant.
“Coach Smith is so caring and has that feeling of loyalty with people. Everyone thinks there’s something phony to it, but his loyalty is very real,” Williams added.
“I felt like I’d let coach Smith down, while doing what I thought was right in my heart.”
Childress impressed: Williams’ loyalty may pay off in recruiting. Josh Childress, 6-6 from Lakewood, Calif., told Pat Forde of the Louisville Courier Journal he was impressed with last week’s scenario.
Childress is down to KU, Arizona, Stanford, UCLA and North Carolina.
“He wanted to stay loyal to his players and his school,” said Childress. “It’s a great feeling that he’s that loyal. It makes me look even harder at Kansas.”
