TUSCALOOSA ??
University of
Alabama basketball coach Mark Gottfried has been selected as an assistant coach for USA Basketball at the Pan American Games in
Brazil this July.
“I think it’s just a tremendous honor,” said Gottfried who has coached Alabama to some of the program’s greatest moments in basketball, the 2004 Elite Eight, the 2002 Southeastern Conference Championship, a No. 1 national ranking, five NCAA tournament appearances and three NIT trips in nine seasons as Alabama’s head coach. “To represent your country is such a privilege, and to be around the best players in the nation as well is going to be a lot of fun. I’ve always respected USA Basketball. I have been a fan of international play, and I am extremely excited about this opportunity.”
Villanova’s Jay Wright, who coached the U.S. to gold at the 2005 World University Games with an 8-0 record, has been selected head coach of the 2007 USA Basketball Men’s Pan American Games Team. Wright has been head coach at Villanova for the past 13 seasons. Gottfried and Yale’s James Jones will be the assistant coaches.
“Coaching for USA Basketball has been a uniquely fulfilling experience for me,” said Wright. “I am thrilled to work with Mark Gottfried and James Jones, two of the top coaches in America. Mark Gottfried is an outstanding tactician and is very adept in preparing his teams for games. James Jones is a creative motivator and teacher. I am proud to work alongside these two outstanding coaches.”
The Men's Collegiate Committee, chaired by Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, is charged with both the coaching and the player selections for the 2007 USA Pan American Games Trials and the official 12-member team as well.
"Jay Wright won a gold medal in 2005 at the World University Games and is a proven international coach and a tremendous college coach who will do an excellent job representing the United States. Mark Gottfried and James Jones are two proven college head coaches who will bring a lot of valuable experience to the USA coaching staff," stated Boeheim on the coaching staff selections.
The Pan American games are held every four years in the year prior to the Olympics. This year’s Pan Am games are July 13-30 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The men’s eight nation basketball competition is July 25-29 and includes national teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Panama, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as the USA team.
The USA has been placed in preliminary round Group A with Argentina, Panama and Uruguay. Group B includes Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. will open play July 25 against Uruguay then meets Panama on July 26 and finishes the preliminary round against Argentina on July 27. Semifinals are July 28 and the finals are July 29.
Trials for the 2007 USA Basketball Pan American Games Team will be July 12-14 at Haverford College. The list of athletes participating at the Trials will be announced at a later date. The finalists for the 12-member USA Team will be selected before the team departs for Brazil on July 21.
No stranger to coaching internationally and representing the United States, Gottfried has made two tours of duty for the Pentagon and USO with summer trips to Kuwait to coach and help entertain U.S. troops.
