05/16/2001

USA Basketball Names Men's Assistant Coaches for Upcoming Goodwill Games

Orlando Magic Head Coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers, Michigan State University Head Coach Tom Izzo and University of Dayton Head Coach Oliver Purnell will make up the team of Assistant Coaches at the upcoming 2001 Goodwill Games, officials announced today. The USA Basketball Men's Senior National Committee, which earlier named Minnesota Timberwolves' head coach Flip Saunders head coach of Team USA, selected the coaches. Saunders, with the assistance of Rivers, Izzo and Purnell, will be coaching a 12-member team of young NBA players who will represent the United States at the Goodwill Games for the first time. The basketball competition of the Goodwill Games will take place Sept. 3-9 in Brisbane, Australia.

Rivers became the Orlando Magic's fifth head coach in franchise history in 1999, succeeding Hall of Famer Chuck Daly and was named the 1999-2000 NBA Coach of the Year after his first full-season as head coach. Rivers played a total of 13 seasons in the NBA, with the Atlanta Hawks (1983-84 to 1990-91); Los Angeles Clippers (1991-92); New York Knicks (1992-94); and San Antonio Spurs (1994-96). Rivers played for three of the most successful coaches, Pat Riley, Larry Brown and Mike Fratello and also played at the international level in the 1982 World Championship of Basketball in Cali, Columbia. The U.S. team achieved a silver medal, and Rivers achieved tournament MVP.

"I'm excited and honored to be part of the of the USA Basketball Goodwill Games coaching staff and to once again have the opportunity to represent the United States," said Rivers.

Izzo, in his sixth season as head coach at Michigan State, has led the Spartans to four straight, regular-season Big Ten Championships, as well as four straight Final Four appearances for the first time in college history. Michigan State is only the fourth school in the Big Ten to win four straight league titles. Izzo guided Michigan State to the 1999-2000 NCAA Division 1 Championship and was named 1997-1998 Coach of the Year by the Associated Press (AP) and the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA).

"I'm looking forward to learning more about the game of basketball from the coaches and players while at the same time having the opportunity to represent the United States on a world stage," said Izzo.

Purnell came to the University of Dayton eight years ago with a reputation as a program re-builder. Under Purnell, the Flyers have improved from 209 in the Sagarin Rankings in 1994 to 46 and to an NCAA berth in 1999-2000. When Purnell was named head coach at Dayton, he inherited a program that had won only 17 games in the previous four seasons. In the last two seasons, he has guided the Flyers to back-to-back 21-win years for the first time since the 25-6 1966-67 team went to the NCAA finals and the 21-9 1967-68 team won the NIT. Purnell has had multiple experiences as a member of USA Basketball coaching staffs, having been involved with four very successful teams.

"While I view this as a tremendous learning opportunity; I also feel fortunate and honored to be able to once again represent our country through USA Basketball," said Purnell.

Saunders, who boasts a current NBA coaching record of 227-213 at the completion of the 2000-2001 season, has led the Timberwolves to an NBA Playoff berth in each of his five full seasons as their head coach. Saunders has also been involved with USA Basketball previously, serving as an assistant coach with the 1993 USA Tournament of Americas Team.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to work with such a great group of coaches," said Saunders. "All three bring such a vast knowledge of the game along with tremendous enthusiasm. These three coaches have a wide variety of coaching experience that will prove beneficial in international competition."

In addition to the United States and Australia, countries expected to participate are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Cuba and Puerto Rico. The basketball competition will take place at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center. Divided into two groups based on regional appeal, the eight teams will compete in a round-robin format on Sept. 3-5 before progressing to the medal and classification rounds on Sept. 7-9. Group A will feature the United States, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Cuba; group B will feature Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Brazil.

The schedule is as follows:

The 2001 Goodwill Games, hosted by Brisbane, Australia, will take place Aug. 29-Sept. 9 and will feature 14 sports during 12 days of competition. The Goodwill Games will host an elite field of competitors in athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling (track), diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, surf lifesaving, swimming, trampoline, triathlon and weightlifting. In addition to the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia, plans have begun for the 2005 Winter Goodwill Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Goodwill Games, Inc. is a division of Turner Sports, the sports programming and production unit of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

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