COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Following four practices involving 21 hopefuls, USA Basketball today announced 16 players – including University of Maryland rising sophomore Melo Trimble - have been selected as finalists for the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men's Basketball Team.
Joining Trimble as finalists for the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men's Basketball Team include: Ron Baker (Wichita State/Scott City, Kan.); Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia/Atlanta, Ga.); Bobby Brown (Dongguan Leopards, China/Los Angeles, Calif.); Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma/Mount Vernon, N.Y.); Kellen Dunham (Butler/ Pendleton, Ind.); Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin/Toledo, Ohio); Ryan Hollins (Sacramento Kings/Pasadena, Calif.); Keith Langford (UNICS Kazan, Russia/Fort Worth, Texas); Shawn Long (Louisiana/Morgan City, La.); Taurean Prince (Baylor/San Antonio, Texas); Anthony Randolph (Lokomotiv-Kuban, Russia/ Pasadena, Calif.); Kaleb Tarczewski (Arizona/Claremont, N.H.); Denzel Valentine (Michigan State/Lansing, Mich.); Fred Van Vleet (Wichita State/Rockford, Ill.); and Damien Wilkins (Indios de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico/Orlando, Fla.).
The 16 finalists will continue training camp through July 12 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The official 12-member roster that will represent the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, is expected to be announced before July 12. The USA team is scheduled to train July 13-16 in Chicago, Ill., at the Chicago Bulls practice facility.
Mark Few of Gonzaga University is head coach of the 2015 U.S. Pan American Men's Basketball Team, and University of Colorado's Tad Boyle and longtime NBA coach Mike Brown are serving as assistant coaches. Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon is serving as a court coach during the team training camp.
The 2015 Pan American Games men's basketball competition will take place July 21-25 in Toronto, Canada. The U.S. men have been placed into Group A and will play all three of its preliminary round games at 9 p.m. EDT, including Venezuela on July 21 (9 p.m. EDT), Puerto Rico on July 22 (9 p.m. EDT) and Brazil on July 23 (9 p.m. EDT). Competing in Group B will be Argentina, Canada, Dominican Republic and Mexico.
The top two teams from each preliminary-round group will advance to the medal-round semifinals on July 24, while the third and fourth-placed teams will play for fifth-eighth places. The semifinal winners will compete for the gold medal on July 25, and the semifinal losers will play for bronze.
