John Collins and Trae Young were officially announced as members of the Team USA Men’s Basketball Select Team on Thursday. The Hawks players are part of a 13-player team that will help the national team prepare for the upcoming FIBA World Cup tournament.
Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce is an assistant coach for Team USA Men’s Basketball National Team under the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich along with the Warriors’ Steve Kerr and Villanova University’s Jay Wright.
“As an organization, we’re very excited for John and Trae to train and compete with the USA Basketball National Team program this summer,” Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk said in a statement. “We are proud of their selection and believe this experience will enhance their growth and development as basketball players.”
Team USA had several players withdraw recently. Former training camp invites that remain are the Kings’ Harrison Barnes, the Pistons’ Andre Drummond, the Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma, the Bucks’ Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton, the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry, the Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker, the Rockets’ P.J. Tucker and the Pacers’ Myles Turner.
Six players were added to the roster to take the place of the high-profile players who withdrew. They are the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, the Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell, the Nuggets’ Mason Plumlee, the Knicks’ Julius Randle and the Bulls’ Thaddeus Young. Each of the six players possess previous USA Basketball experience.
Team USA will hold a training camp Aug. 5-9 in Las Vegas where the final roster will be set at 12 players. The World Cup will be played Aug. 31-Sept. 15 in China.
Other players on the Select Team with Collins and Young are: the Nets’ Jarrett Allen, the Kings’ Marvin Bagley and De'Aaron Fox, the Suns’ Mikal Bridges, the Mavericks’ Jalen Brunson, the Bucks’ Pat Connaughton, the Nets’ Joe Harris, the Magics’ Jonathan Isaac, the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson, the Clippers’ Landry Shamet and the Spurs’ Derrick White.
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