Cimmino named USA Nike Hoops Head Coach
Serving as head coach for the USA will be Bob Cimmino, who has been the head coach at Mount Vernon High School (N.Y.) since 1994, compiling a 324-57 overall record (as of 09/09).
Cimmino previously coached for USA Basketball at a 2004 skills development clinic in New York.
Advertisement
"It's a tremendous honor to be associated with USA Basketball and the Nike Hoop Summit, and I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to work with 10 of the best players in the United States against 10 of the best players in the world," Cimmino said. "It's a high school coach's dream."
"I think the roster has been set up so that the coaching staff has the talent, we just have to get down to business early and work very hard in our practices. We want to bring the title back to the U.S."
Assisting Cimmino will be Rich Gray (St. Louis Eagles AAU, Mo.), who for more than 23 years has served as president of the St. Louis Basketball Club, a two-time AAU national championship program that has featured NBA talents such as Tyler Hansbrough, Larry Hughes and David Lee. Gray was an assistant coach for the USA in the 1997 Nike Hoop Summit, which the USA won 97-90, and an assistant coach for the USA North Team in the 1999 USA Basketball Youth Development Festival.
"I'm honored to be chosen again as a coach for USA Basketball. It is something that I will always cherish, and I cherished the last time that I had the chance to coach in the Hoop Summit," Gray said. "That team was trying to come back after a loss the year before, much like the situation this year. The experience I gained, with the building of teamwork and getting the kids to understand the importance of USA, definitely gives me an advantage this time around."
Featuring top-ranked athletes from throughout the nation, USA Basketball today announced the first nine members and the coaching staff for the 2010 USA Junior National Select Team, which will face off against the World Select Team in the 13th annual Nike Hoop Summit at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, April 10 at the Rose Garden in Portland, Ore.
The Nike Hoop Summit is the country's premier annual basketball game for high-school age boys and features America's elite, young athletes against a World Select Team comprised of top international players 19-years-old or younger
The first nine members of the eventual 10-man USA roster include: guards Harrison Barnes (Ames H.S. / Ames, Iowa), Will Barton (Brewster Academy / Baltimore, Md.), Reggie Bullock (Kinston H.S. / Kinston, N.C.), Kyrie Irving (St. Patrick H.S. / Elizabeth, N.J.), Brandon Knight (Pine Crest H.S. / Lauderdale, Fla.) and Kendall Marshall (Bishop O'Connell H.S. / Arlington, Va.); forwards Tobias Harris (Half Hollow Hills West H.S. / Brookville, N.Y.) and Terrence Jones (Jefferson H.S. / Portland, Ore.); and Jared Sullinger (Northland H.S. / Columbus, Ohio) at center.
The 2010 World Select Team roster, which is expected to be announced in March, will consist of 10 or 11 players age 19-years-old or younger from FIBA's five geographic zones: FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania, with the approved sanctioning of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the world governing body of international basketball.
Go to NYC Hoops for all the late breaking NYC basketball news and rankings.
Sign-up for our FREE eNewsletter to get the even more news right in your email box.
For LIVE & On-Demand Webcasts of Top High School Events go to:.