Sports / Basketball |
U.S. name 17 players to attend training camp(Reuters)Updated: 2007-07-18 10:33 NEW YORK, July 17 - Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and NBA rookie Kevin Durant are among 17 players expected at this weekend's U.S. basketball mini-camp in Las Vegas used to select finalists for an Olympic qualifying tournament. A 12-man U.S. team will compete in the August 22 to September 2 FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas that will qualify two teams from the Americas zone for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Of the 32 players on the roster of the national team, 15 are not available for the mini-camp, according to the official Web site usabasketball.com. Players attending the mini-camp who competed in last year's world championships, where the Americans finished third, include James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Shane Battier and Kirk Hinrich. Others confirmed for the camp were Chauncey Billups, Tyson Chandler, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, Tayshaun Prince, Michael Redd, J.J. Redick, Amare Stoudemire and Deron Williams. After two days of practice the squad will be divided into two teams for a game on Sunday at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Center. "When you look at the amount of talent on the floor at any one time, I think fans will be in for a real treat," U.S. team managing director Jerry Colangelo said in a statement. Duke University Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski is head coach for the U.S. team. The FIBA Americas Championship will feature 10 men's national teams and is one of five FIBA Olympic qualifying zone tournaments around the world.
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