Temple University Athletics
LYNN GREER INVITED TO USA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING TEAM TRIALS
7.27.05 | Men's Basketball
COLORADO SPRINGS,CO -- Temple University great Lynn Greer, who most recently played with the Dynamo Moscow team in Russia, is one of 15 players who played last season professionally in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), NBA Development League, or overseas to have accepted invitations to participate in the 2005 USA Men's World Championship Qualifying Team Trials.
The 15 will vie for a spot on the final 12-member USA Basketball World Championship Qualifying squad that willcompete Aug. 24-Sept. 4 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in the FIBA Americas World Championship Qualifying Tournament. The top four finishing teams (in addition to Argentina who has already qualified by virtue of winning the 2004 Olympics) will earn their nation a qualifying berth in the 2006 FIBA World Championship that is being held in Japan.
Besides Greer, the 14 other players participating in the USA Team trials will be: Michael Batiste (Panathinaikos-Greece/Arizona State '99); Jerome Beasley (Sioux Falls-CBA/North Dakota '03); Charlie Bell (Leche Rio-Spain/Michigan State '01); Ernest Brown (Fayetteville-NBA Development League/Indian Hills C.C. '00); Tyus Edney (Lottomatica Roma-Italy/UCLA '95); Corsley Edwards (Sioux Falls-CBA/Central Connecticut State '02); Noel Felix (Yakima-CBA/Fresno State '03); Jimmie Hunter (Sebastiani Rieti-Italy/Life '00); Kris Lang (Unicaja Malaga-Spain/North Carolina '02); Aaron McGhee (Pusan KTF-Korea/Oklahoma '02); Marque Perry (Olympicos-Greece/Saint Louis '03); Melvin Sanders (Dakota-CBA/Oklahoma State '03); Alex Scales (Samsung-Korea/ Oregon '99); and Ron Slay (Asheville-NBA Development League/ Tennessee '03).
"I'm very happy about the 15 players who said yes and I feel sure we can put together a team that is honored to represent the USA and will do so in the correct manner," said USA head coach Mo McHone, who has piloted two previous USA Basketball teams to a 12-2 overall record and to gold and silver medals.
"We have great diversity, players who can play more than one position. We've got shooters, inside players, players who can play both inside and outside, and we've got very good defenders.
"But the number one thing is we wanted players who wanted to represent the USA. Not players looking for contracts or players looking for jobs, but players who truly wanted to represent the USA and I think we put together a group that's that way," added McHone.
Of the 15, in 2004-05 two played in the NBA Development League, four in the CBA, seven were with professional teams in Europe and two played in the Korean Basketball League (KBL).
Greer is one of three of the finalists that boast previous USA Basketball experience. The 2002 Temple graduate was part of the 2001 USA World University Games Team that won bronze in Beijing, China. Edney was a member of the 1994 USA Goodwill Games Team that captured bronze in St. Petersburg, Russia. Lang, while a UNC Tar Heel, participated in the 1999 USA Basketball National Team Trials.
