Blake And Team USA Begin Play In Brazil On Wednesday Evening
7/19/2000 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 19, 2000
Maryland sophomore Steve Blake (Miami Lakes, Fla.) begins play on Wednesday night (5 p.m., Eastern Time) with the 2000 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team, as the United States takes on Uruguay from Sao Paulo, Brazil. The Americans will play Panama at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, and close the preliminary round robin competition in their bracket against Argentina at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The USA Team is directed by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, and is competing to qualify the U.S. for the 2001 FIBA World Championships. Semifinal rounds will be conducted on Saturday, July 22, with the finals slated for Monday, July 24.
Blake, a 6-3 point guard who helped guide Maryland to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last March, averaged 7.0 points, 6.2 assists and 2.0 steals during his freshman season. Blake set a Terrapin freshman record for assists while finishing fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. His 217 assists during the 2000 season were second in Maryland history and fourth in ACC history, overall. He was a member of the ACC's All-Freshman Team, and was earned honorable mention All-ACC distinction in his first college season.
Blake was one of three freshman to play in all 35 games for the 25-10 Terrapins last season. He also is one of five returning starters for the Terps in 2000-01.
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FOLLOWING BLAKE AND THE TOURNAMENT
** Check out Steve Blake's Team USA bio.
** Brazil has stated that it will update its web site (http://www.cbb.com.br) with scores and statistics every 15 seconds during the games. Click on RESULTADOS DA 1? RODADA DA COPA AM?RICA SUB-21 for scoring leaders and score by halves of each game.
** The Maryland website will update each USA game following each night's activity.
