Syracuse's Jim Boeheim To Return To Lead 2001 USA World Championship For Young Men Team
5/1/2001 10:31:40 AM | Men's Basketball
Assisting Boeheim on the sidelines will be collegiate head coaches Ernie Kent of the University of Oregon and Phil Martelli of St. Joseph's University (Pa.). The USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee, chaired by University of Virginia athletic director Terry Holland, selected the coaching staff and is charged with the player selection of the 2001 U.S. squad as well.
The 2001 USA World Championship for Young Men Team will compete August 3-12 in Saitama, Japan, in the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men Tournament. Featuring 12 teams that have been divided into two preliminary round pools consisting of six teams each, the United States was placed in Pool B with Argentina, Croatia, Israel, Japan and South Korea. The six teams comprising preliminary Pool A include Australia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Qatar, Slovenia and Spain (see last page for complete game schedule).
Finalists for the USA team will be selected following trials June 1-3 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Eligibility for the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men is limited to any male athlete who is 21-years-old or younger (born on or after January 1, 1980). Held every four years and originally designed for men 22-years-old or younger, FIBA lowered the age eligibility to 21-years-old or younger in December 1998 and changed the competition name to the World Championship for Young Men. The U.S. captured gold in the inaugural competition which was held in 1993 and known as the FIBA 22 And Under World Championship, andin 1997 finished fifth with a 6-2 record.
"This will be the best teams in the world under 21 years of age," noted Boeheim. "It will be a tremendous challenge to get a gold medal but we're going to give it a shot."
Syracuse's all-time winningest coach, Boeheim has been associated with Syracuse for 39 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Havingcompleted in 2000-01 his 25th season (1976-77 to 2000-01) as head coach of the Orangemen, which ranks second among active Division I coaches for seasons at one school, he owns a spectacular 600-208 (74.3 winning percentage) career record and currently finds himself ranked 25th on the all-time listing for Division I coaching victories. Boeheim has directed the Orangemen to 21 NCAA Tournament appearances, while advancing teams to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen 11 times and making a pair of NCAA championship game appearances in 1996 and 1987. He boasts of post-season play in 24 of his 25 seasons at the helm of the Orangemen. Under Boeheim, the Orangemen have won at least 16 games in each of his 25 seasons there and have won 20 or more games in 23 seasons.
The 2000-01 season was another successful one for Syracuse. Ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll, Syracuse posted a 25-9 overall record, finished tied for second in the Big East Conference West Division with a 10-6 record, earned its eighth consecutive postseason tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round.
Winning his 350th and 400th game faster than any coach in college basketball history, Boeheim ranks as the eighth fastest Division I coach to reach 600 wins. Among active Division I coaches, he ranks fourth in NCAA Tournament appearances with a single school with 21, tied for eighth in NCAA Tournament victories with 32, fifth in winning percentage, 10th in victories and 15th all-time in winning percentage. Leading Syracuse to 12 seasons of 26 or more victories, he has also guided SU to a conference best six Big East regular season titles, three tournament championships and a conference record 11 championship game appearances. Boeheim boasts of the winningest record in Big East history with a 263-143 (64.8 wining percentage) conference record.
During his career, Boeheim has garnered his share of coaching honors. He was bestowed in 2000 with the Claire Bee Coach of the Year Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, for his positive contributions to the game of basketball throughout the year. He has been honored as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District II Coach of the Year seven times (1980, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, 2000) and three times by the United States Basketball Writers Association (1979, 1980, 1991). He has also been named Big East Conference Coach of the Year three times (1984, 1991, 2000).
He received from Syracuse University on Oct. 20, 2000, the prestigious George Arents Pioneer Medal in recognition of his achievements as one of Syracuse's finest alumni. Boeheim was selected as a Syracuse University Letterwinner of Distinction in 1988 and three years later was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. In February 2000, he was honored as the Syracuse University All-Century Team head coach, along with 25 Orangemen who were selected to the SU All-Century Team.
Prior to assuming the reins as Syracuse's head coach, Boeheim spent seven years (1969-70 to 1975-76) as an assistant there, returning to the location where he ascended from walk-on player in 1964 to a co-captain with former NBA star Dave Bing on Syracuse's 1966 NCAA Tournament squad. He completed his collegiate career averaging 9.8 ppg. (745 points), while shooting 51.9 percent from the field and 69.5 from the foul line.
Boeheim is no stranger to USA Basketball, having been a member of six different coaching staffs. Last summer, playing five games in five days in the COPABA World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Tournament in Brazil, the USA team under Boeheim's hand finished 4-1, won the silver medal and accomplished its primary goal of qualifying the U.S. for the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Young Men.
In 1998 he qualified a USA Basketball junior team for the FIBA Junior World Championship when he directed the squad to a 6-0 record and the gold medal at the COPABA Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament. For his success with that team, Boeheim was honored as the 1998 USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year. In 1990, Boeheim was an assistant coach for Mike Krzyzewski with the USA Goodwill Games and World Championship teams, winners of silver and bronze medals, respectively. He also served as an assistant coach to Gene Keady on the 1989 USA World University Games Team that finished 6-0 and won the gold medal and his first USA Basketball coaching assignment was the head coach for the silver medal winning 1982 U.S. Olympic Festival East Team.
Kent, making his first appearance on the sidelines with a USA Basketball team, completed in 2000-01 his fourth season at Oregon and has now compiled a 68-49 overall record for a 58.1 winning percentage.
"It is a great opportunity to represent the United States in international competition. When you get nominated to a position like this, it's a tremendous compliment to the things we've been able to accomplish with our student-athletes at the University of Oregon," said Kent. "You look at the history of USA Basketball and the successful coaches who have been involved with taking a team abroad, it's a humbling, yet wonderful opportunity to become a member of this group."
Finishing 13-14 in his first season as the Ducks' mentor, Kent led Oregon in his second season to a 19-13 mark and to the 1999 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Final Four. Year three saw Kent and the team reach new heights of success. Finishing 22-8, Oregon recorded 22 victories for the first time since 1945 and earned an NCAA Tournament berth marking the program's first back-to-back postseason appearances in 23 years. Oregon in 1999-2000 alsoboasted of a 12-4 record in games decided by seven points or less and the program's 11 wins away from home were the most in 25 years. The ‘99-‘00 contingent also won more Pacific-10 Conference games (13) in one season than ever before. Losing the top three scorers from the previous season,the Ducks in 2000-01 finished 14-14 overall, and among their victories was a shining 79-67 romp on Feb. 1 over NCAA runner-up Arizona.
Prior to his arrival at Oregon, Kent was head coach at Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif., from 1991-92 to 1996-97. Kent put together a 90-80 ledger in his six years at Saint Mary's and currently ranks second on the all-time win chart. In 1996-97, he led his squad to a 23-8 mark and to a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament berth, the first at the school since 1989, was the result of the Gaels' fourth conference title in school history.
Kent served as an assistant at Stanford under Mike Montgomery for two years (1989-90 to 1990-91), helping the Cardinal advance to the NIT both years and winning the NIT title in 1991. As an assistant to Boyd Grant at Colorado State (1987-88 to 1988-99), he aided the Rams in their postseason bids in the 1988 NIT (advancing to the semifinals) and 1989 NCAA Tournament after clinching the Western Athletic Conference championship.
From 1980 through 1987, Kent and his family lived in Saudi Arabia where he coached the al-Khaleej Club in Sayhat for three years, helping the team advance to the playoffs each year.
Kent began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1977 as the freshman coach under Dick Harter and again assisted in 1979 as an understudy to Jim Haney. In between, he coached Eugene's O'Hara Catholic School for one season. A 1977 graduate of Oregon, as a player Kent helped lead the Ducks to a No. 7 ranking as a junior and earned the Outstanding Service Award for community service and picked up the March of Dimes Outstanding Achievement Award. He completed his collegiate career averaging 7.1 points and 1.8 rebounds.
Martelli returns for his second USA Basketball assistant coaching stint. Serving as an assistant coach to Clem Haskins, Martelli was part of the memorable 1998 USA Goodwill Games Team, that despite being comprised by collegians, captured the gold medal after posting a 93-85 overtime win over the Australian Senior National Team.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to serve on the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Team coaching staff," stated Martelli. "My experience as an assistant coach at the 1998 Goodwill Games was a rewarding one. An opportunity like this allows me to grow as a coach. I look forward to working with, and learning from, Jim Boeheim and Ernie Kent, as well as the young men who will represent our country."
Martelli's Hawks in 2000-01 finished 26-7 overall, won the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season championship with a 14-2 mark and finished runner-up in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament. Earning a No. 9 seed for the 2001 NCAA Tournament, the Hawks surprised No. 8 Georgia Tech in the first round 66-62, then fell in the final minutes to the West's No. 1 seed Stanford, 90-83.
A 10-year assistant prior to taking the University's head coaching position in 1995, Martelli in his first season (1995-96) guided St. Joseph's to a 19-13 record and to the finals of the NIT. The 19 wins tied Martelli for third place for victories by a first year coach at SJU, and by taking the Hawks to the NIT Final Four, Martelli became just the second coach in St. Joseph's history to lead his first team to the NIT Final Four and also became just the fifth first-year coach to lead his team to the NIT Final Four since the field expanded in 1980.
He continued the team's improvement the following year, and turned in one of the greatest seasons in the program's history. Finishing with a school-record-tying 26 wins (7 losses); the Atlantic 10 regular season and Tournament championships; a final national ranking of 12th by the Associated Press and 17th by CNN/USA Today; the Hawks also recorded SJU's longest win streak (10 games) since the 1979-80 season; a trip to the NCAA Sweet 16; and collected ECAC Team of the Year and Philadelphia Big 5 Team of the Year honors.
With the team's success came individual accolades for the second-year SJU coach. Martelli garnered 1997 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors as well as 1997 District Coach of the Year by the USBWA; the NABC; Eastern Basketball magazine and Basketball Times. He was also named the recipient of the 1997 Harry Litwack Award for the Eastern College Coach of the Year; and co-recipient of the 1997 Philadelphia Big 5 Coach of the Year, an award he also won in 1996.
A 2000 inductee into the Delaware County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Martelli stands fifth on the SJU all-time coaching win list, having compiled 107 victories against 78 losses (57.8 winning percentage) in six years at the helm.
A 1976 graduate of Widener University (Pa.), he became an assistant one year later at his alma mater, where he helped guide Widener to the 1978-79 NCAA Division III Final Four.
Martelli then spent seven years as head basketball coach at Bishop Kenrick High School (Norristown, Pa.) and led his team to six straight Philadelphia Catholic League playoff appearances, a school record, and set the school's all-time mark for wins with 108. He was named prep Coach of the Year by both the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News in 1982.
Martelli, who compiled the second-longest tenure as an assistant in St. Joseph's history, began his career with SJU's 1985-86 NCAA Tournament team. In his decade as an assistant, he also helped guide the Hawks to two NIT appearances (1993 and 1995).
As a player, Martelli was part of Widener's NCAA Tournament teams in both 1975 and 1976. The point guard set the school's single season and career assist marks. In his senior year, 1975-76, he served as a team co-captain.
The USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee, in addition to chair Holland, consists of: NCAA appointees Boeheim; Rob Evans (head coach, Arizona State University); Jim O'Brien (head coach, Ohio State University) and Tubby Smith (head coach, University of Kentucky); NABC appointee Oliver Purnell (head coach, University of Dayton, Ohio); NAIA appointee Ralph Turner (head coach, Union University, Tenn.); NJCAA appointee Dan Sparks (head coach, Vincennes University, Ind.), and athlete representatives Steve Wojciechowski (1995 Junior World Championship team / assistant coach, Duke University, N.C.) and A.J. Wynder (1995 Pan American Games team / head coach, Nassau Community College, N.Y.).
2001 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Team Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University (N.Y.)
Assistant Coach: Ernie Kent, University of Oregon
Assistant Coach: Phil Martelli, St. Joseph's University (Pa.)
