Former Kansas University head basketball coaches Larry Brown and Roy Williams and ex-KU assistant Gregg Popovich will mentor a Jayhawk this summer.
Power forward Nick Collison was added Thursday to the roster of the 2003 U.S. Senior National team along with fellow “role players” Elton Brand of the Los Angeles Clippers and Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets.
Brown is head coach — Williams, Popovich and Clemson’s Oliver Purnell are assistants — for the 12-player U.S. team that will compete in the FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament Aug. 20-31 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“It’s wonderful for USA Basketball to be able to reward Nick for staying in college four years and for being so active with USA Basketball,” Brown said of the former Jayhawk, dubbed “Mr. USA Basketball” after playing on seven USA Basketball-sponsored teams the past five summers.
“Hopefully this is something other college players in the future can look forward to,” said Brown, KU’s head coach from 1984 to 1988, who recently resigned as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.
As a role player, Collison is eligible to play in qualifying games, but not assured a spot on the 2004 Olympic team.
“It’s huge,” said Collison, KU’s No. 2 scorer in history with 2,097 points. “I will play hard. I won’t complain. I’ll be a role player and have fun with that.”
Collison last summer was named an alternate and was the only non-NBA player on USA Basketball’s World Championship team. He also played against NBA players as a member of the 2000 USA Basketball Select Team that scrimmaged the Dream Team in Hawaii.
“It is a great honor for me as a college kid to have the chance to play and practice with many of the best players in the NBA,” Collison said.
“All of my USA Basketball experiences have helped me improve at the level I was playing at the time. This will be the third time I have either practiced with or played against a USA Basketball team of NBA players and it will really help prepare me for the NBA,” said Collison, who is expected to be a first round draft pick.
The three role player selections were made by USA Basketball’s Senior National Team Committee.
“It’s great to see the college basketball community represented by Nick Collison who is very deserving of his selection,” committee chair Stu Jackson said.
“Throughout recent years, Nick has become one of the most loyal USA Basketball participants that the organization has ever seen. This loyalty, combined with his outstanding abilities as a frontcourt player, make him a fine addition to the Senior National Team. He gains respect with his hard-working attitude and as a tremendous teammate who has the talent to compete at the highest levels of international competition.”
The nine “core group members” are: Karl Malone, Ray Allen, Jason Kidd, Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Jermaine O’Neal, Mike Bibby and Tracy McGrady.
Villanueva next week plans on working out at the facility in front of NBA scouts as he tries to decide whether to attend either Kansas or UConn or keep his name in the 2003 NBA draft.
“I thought before he left he would make a decision between the schools,” Long Island Panthers AAU coach Gary Charles told Mike Sullivan of rivalshoops.com. “But he didn’t feel comfortable yet with a decision.But he could still make a decision before he decides on the draft. I am not sure when he’ll make the decision.”
Villanueva has until June 19 to pull out of the draft.
Villanueva will not attend the Chicago pre-draft camp next week. That’s because if a player stays at the draft camp longer than 48 hours and ultimately decides to attend college, he has to pay back the NBA full expenses for his stay in Chicago.
Also, he would be suspended up to three games if he stayed for the final three days of the five-day draft camp.
6Sports video: Nick Collison plays on USA Basketball team