Derrick Byars Invited To USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials

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May 14, 2003

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – University of Virginia men’s basketball player Derrick Byars is among 51 players accepting invitations to participate in the 2003 USA Basketball Men’s National Team Trials. The trials are scheduled for May 30-June 1 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Finalists will be selected for two USA Basketball teams at the trials – the 2003 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team and the 2003 USA Pan American Games Team.

Byars, a 6-7 forward from Memphis, Tenn., averaged 6.5 points and 2.9 rebounds a game for Virginia as a freshman during the 2002-03 season. He started 16 of the 31 games he played in and scored a season-high 20 points in the Cavaliers’ 72-65 victory over Gardner-Webb on December 19.

The head coach of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior World Championship Team is Oregon head coach Ernie Kent. His assistants are Georgia head coach Dennis Felton and Kentucky Wesleyan head coach Ray Harper. The team will compete in the FIBA Men’s Junior World Championship Tournament July 10-20 in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The head coach of the Pan American Games Team is Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. His assistants are Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar and Missouri head coach Quin Snyder. The team will compete in the Pan American Games August 2-6 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Collegiate Committee which is chaired by Terry Holland, former University of Virginia athletic director and head basketball coach.