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Donahue Named Court Coach At U18 National Team Trials
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Courtesy: Cornell Athletic CommunicationsITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell head men's basketball coach Steve Donahue was named one of four coaches that will serve as court coaches for the 2008 USA Men's U18 National Team Trials from July 1-3 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The trials will feature approximately 30 U.S. hopefuls, born on or after Jan 1, 1990, participating. Following the selection of finalists for the USA squad, the Americans will continue to train July 4-10 in Washington before departing for Formosa, Argentina, and the 2008 the FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men. The top four finishing teams from the 2008 zone qualifier will earn berths to compete in the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, slated to be held July 2-12 in New Zealand.
Donahue will be joined by Kevin McCarthy of the State University of New York at Cobleskill, Joe Niland of the University of Mobile and Gary Stewart of the University of California at Davis as court coaches for the 2008 USA Men's U18 National Team Trials. Davidson College's Bob McKillop will serve as head coach of the 2008 USA Men's U18 National Team, while Virginia Commonwealth University's Anthony Grant and Georgetown University's John Thompson III were selected to assist. The coaching staff selections were made by the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee, chaired by USA Men's Senior National Team assistant and Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, and approved by USA Basketball's Executive Committee.
"I'm thrilled," Donahue said. "It's a great honor to represent your country and to be surrounded by such great coaches. It will be a tremendous learning experience and I am looking forward to having some input and I hope I can help out in any way possible."
Donahue takes on his first selection as a USA Basketball trials court coach following a 22-6 season in 2007-08 that saw Cornell capture the Ivy League Conference crown for the first time in 20 years. The Big Red's league championship earned Donahue's team an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, marking Cornell's third NCAA Tournament berth in the program's 108-year history.
In eight seasons at Cornell (2000-01 to present), Donahue has compiled an overall record of 96-123, while accruing a 54-58 mark in Ivy League play. During his tenure, Cornell has improved its win total overall and in conference play for six straight seasons, the longest stretch in the country.
The 2007-08 season was highlighted by an unblemished 14-0 league slate as Cornell became the 13th team in conference history to post a perfect league record. Only the fourth school to sweep a Penn-Princeton road weekend in more than 50 years, the team also earned eight consecutive road wins, Cornell's longest streak in 43 years. The season also marked school records for wins (22) and consecutive wins (16). For his success, Donahue was recognized as the Ivy League Coach of the Year for the second time in 2008 (previously in 2005) by Collegeinsider.com.
2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men
Originally known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier, the tournament originally was held every four years between 1990-2006. FIBA changed its calendar, however, and the tournament will now be conducted every other year, followed in the next summer by the FIBA U19 World Championship.
USA men's teams boast of a sensational 29-1 overall record in the U18/junior qualifiers and won gold in 1990, 1994, 1998 and most recently in 2006 when the United States played host to the U18 Championship For Men for the first time in San Antonio, Texas. The USA men's team also captured bronze in 2002. Hosts of prior U18 championships are: San Antonio, Texas in 2006; Isle de Margarita, Venezuela in 2002; Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic in 1998; Santa Rosa, Argentina in 1994; and Montevideo, Uruguay in 1990.
Some top players to have represented the United States in the past U18 tournaments include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1994); Carmelo Anthony (2002); Jerryd Bayless (2006); Michael Beasley (2006), Chris Bosh (2002); Dee Brown (2002); Nick Collison (1998); Grant Hill (1990); Alan Houston (1990); Andre Iguodala (2002); Stephon Marbury (1994); Mike Miller (1998); Quentin Richardson (1998); Kyle Singler (2006); and Deron Williams (2002).
2008 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team Trials Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Bob McKillop, Davidson College
Assistant Coach: John Thompson III, Georgetown University
Assistant Coach: Anthony Grant, Virginia Commonwealth University
Trials Court Coach: Steve Donahue, Cornell University
Trials Court Coach: Kevin McCarthy, State University of New York at Cobleskill (NJCAA)
Trials Court Coach: Joe Niland, University of Mobile (NAIA)
Trials Court Coach: Gary Stewart, University of California at Davis
