J.J. Redick Selected to USA Junior World Championship Team

July 2, 2003

Duke rising sophomore J.J. Redick is one of 12 players selected to the final USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team roster following eight days of training and a pair of contests in the Global Games, USA Basketball announced on Tuesday.

Redick, an All-ACC third team and All-ACC Freshman Team selection, averaged 15.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals as a freshman at Duke. He ranked fifth nationally and set both the Duke and ACC records with a .919 free throw percentage on the year. He also led the Blue Devils with 95 three-point field goals made, ranking fifth on Duke's single-season chart.

Joining Redick on the team which will compete in the USA Junior World Championship July 10-20 in Thessaloniki, Greece, are: Maurice Ager (Michigan State), De'Angelo Alexander (Oklahoma), Daniel Brown (Illinois), Graham Brown (Michigan), David Burgess (Woodbridge [Calif.] H.S), Paul Davis (Michigan State), Ryan Hollins (UCLA), Kevin Pittsnogle (West Virginia), Mustafa Shakur (Philadelphia [Pa.] Friends Central), C.J. Watson (Tennessee) and Deron Williams (Illinois).

"For me as a head coach, this has been one of the most difficult things to do because I believe in saving kids, not letting kids go," said head coach Ernie Kent after paring the roster from 15 to 12. "But unfortunately we had to cut this down to 12 players. This was very challenging, probably one of the more challenging times because the quality of the players was so even. We had to go through a lot of different practices and look at a lot of things before we could finally come up with this final 12.

"Already in the short period of time we've been together it's been an amazing difference from last year when we were trying to bring together basically 12 high school players to play at the international level," continued Kent, who also coached the squad last year. "Now you have 10 proven college players who have been under some great coaching, that understand things much better, and they possess a lot more confidence because they've been in environments where they had an opportunity to hit the big shot and to play in pressure environments. So it's a lot easier coaching them this year. They've been a lot more responsive to coaching, too, having played for some of the great coaches they play for.

"To me, the last things we need to accomplish are to bring J.J. Redick back into the fold because he has been hurt and hasn't been able to play in the (Global Games) yet, and to really come together," Kent said. "The key to our success and to winning any gold medal will be defense. This team right now is a very good defensive unit, although we need to continue to work to get better."

The team will continue its training in Dallas, Texas, through July 5. As part of its training for the FIBA Junior World Championship, the U.S. is currently playing in the Global Games in Dallas. The USA defeated Lithuania, 79-63, on June 30 and the Global Games Select Team, 97-77, on July 1. The USA will take on Africa on July 2 and Canada on July 3. The championship game will be on July 5. The USA Junior squad will begin competition in the 2003 FIBA Men's Junior World Championship on July 10. Featuring 16 junior national teams that qualified last summer, the teams have been placed into four groups of four for preliminary round-robin play. The U.S. was placed in Group C, joining China, Nigeria and Slovenia. The U.S. squad will open play against Slovenia on July 10 and face China on July 11 and Nigeria on July 12. The finals will be played on July 20.

2003 USA Men's Junior World Championship Team

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	DOB	Hometown (School)

Maurice Ager	G	6-4	187	2/9/84	Detroit, Mich. (Michigan State)
De'Angelo Alexander F	6-5	215	1/21/84	Midwest City, Okla. (Oklahoma)
Daniel Brown	G	6-1	175	8/17/84	Maywood, Ill. (Illinois)
Graham Brown	C	6-9	250	8/19/84	Mio, Mich. (Michigan)
David Burgess	F	6-10	255	2/14/86	Irvine, Calif. (Woodbridge)
Paul Davis	F	6-11	245	7/21/84	Rochester, Mich. (Michigan State)
Ryan Hollins	C	6-11	215	10/10/84 Pasadena, Calif. (UCLA)
Kevin Pittsnogle F/C	6-10	225	7/30/84	Martinsburg, W.Va. (West Virginia)
J.J. Redick	G	6-4	200	6/24/84	Roanoke, Va. (Duke)
Mustafa Shakur	G	6-3	175	8/18/84	Wynnewood, Pa. (Friends Central)
C.J. Watson	G	6-2	160	4/17/84	Las Vegas, Nev. (Tennessee)
Deron Williams	G	6-3	205	6/26/84	The Colony, Texas (Illinois)

Head Coach: Ernie Kent (Oregon)
Assistant Coach: Dennis Felton (Georgia)
Assistant Coach: Ray Harper (Kentucky Wesleyan College)

J.J. Redick Selected to USA Junior World Championship Team

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