The Morgan City, La., native was the only player in the SBC to rank in the top five in both scoring and rebounding, and his 52 career double-doubles are the most by any active player in the country.
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Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine has made the final cut for the U.S. Pan American Games team.
“Making the decision on the finalists was very hard”.
Three other Big Ten players – Illinois’ Malcolm Hill, Purdue’s Isaac Haas and Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes – were among the 22 invited to participate in USA Basketball’s training camp, but they were not selected for the team. He started all 39 games for Michigan State.
Team U.S. will be moving to Chicago Monday morning to begin practice at the Chicago Bulls training facility.
The 2015 games will take place on July 21-25 in Tronto, Canada.
One of the intriguing matchups during the Pan-Am Games, which Maryland basketball fans should be looking forward to is the game against the Venezuelan national team, which features ex- Terps star guard and current Milwaukee Buck, Greivis Vasquez.
“It’s a group of hard-working guys who have done a great job in camp of really playing together and being unselfish”, stated Gonzaga and US team head coach Mark Few in a press release.
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The four teams in Group A are hosts Canada (which will suit up a team that includes Anthony Bennett and Kentucky freshman Jamal Murray), Argentina, Dominican Republic and Mexico. The semifinal winners will compete for the gold medal on July 25, and the semifinal losers will play for bronze. Second, thanks to the coaching staff and USA Basketball committee for selecting me and giving me an opportunity to represent the country in a positive way.
