Wally Szczerbiak Named to 2001 USA Goodwill Games Team
5/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 22, 2001
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Former Miami University All-America forward Wally Szczerbiak is one of 12 players that was named to the 2001 Goodwill Games USA basketball team on Monday. Prior to his senior season at Miami, Szczerbiak made his first international appearance, playing for the gold-medal-winning United States team in the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York.
This year's Games are being held in Brisbane, Australia, with the basketball competition running from September 3-9.
Szczerbiak is joined on the team by fellow NBA players Baron Davis (Charlotte), Marc Jackson (Golden State), Rashard Lewis (Seattle), Mark Madsen (Los Angeles Lakers), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Kenyon Martin (New Jersey), Andre Miller (Cleveland), Mike Miller (Orlando), Jermaine O'Neal (Indiana) and Jason Terry (Atlanta). Also making the squad is 2001 college player of the year Shane Battier (Duke).
"I'm very, very honored and I'm really looking forward to it," said Szczerbiak. "I've always been a player that believes you make it in the summers -- that's when everyone goes home and works on their game to get better, and what better opportunity to work on my game than to play with the best players, or some of the best young talent in the league."
Coaching the USA team will be Szczerbiak's NBA coach, Flip Saunders of the Timberwolves. Assisting Saunders is Orlando Magic head coach Glenn Rivers, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and University of Dayton head coach Oliver Purnell.
Szczerbiak, a member of the 2000 NBA all-Rookie team and the MVP of the 2001 Schick Rookie Challenge game, has become one of the NBA's top young players in his two-year professional tenure. This past year, he averaged 14.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, and was one of the league's best shooters with a .510 field goal percentage.
At Miami, Szczerbiak closed his career with 1,847 points -- the second most behind Ron Harper's 2,377. He is also the school's career leader in three-point field goal percentage with a .431 mark.
