Texas Tech University Athletics
Ellis begins USA Bid Thursday
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
May 26, 1999
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Texas Tech freshman center Andy Ellis is one of Fifty-five of the top men's basketball players in the nation who will attend the 1999 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials which will begin Thur., May 27, and continue through Sat., May 29, at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball announced today. Twenty-nine players will compete for positions on the 12-player 1999 USA Basketball Men's World University Games Team, and 26 players will aim for spots on the 1999 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Team. Finalists for the two teams will be announced on Sunday, May 30.
Ellis earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors this season after averaging nine points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He connected on 47.4 percent of his shots from the field and was one of the team's top free throw shooters at 70.3 percent. Ellis also blocked 18 shots. His biggest outings came against Texas and Oklahoma. Ellis went 6-for-6 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line for 16 points against the Longhorns and scored a career-high 17 points against the Sooners on 5-for-5 shooting from the field and a 7-for-7 performance from the free throw line. He posted a career-high 12 rebounds against Kansas to go along with 12 points for his first career double-double.
USA Basketball's top men's collegiate team in 1999, the World University Games squad will compete July 3- 12 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and is open to players between the ages of 17 and 28 (as of January 1, 1999) who are, or have been within the past year, a student at a college or university. The 1999 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Team, open to players age 19 and under (born on or after January 1, 1980), will compete in the FIBA Men's Junior World Championship July 15-25 in Portugal.
University of Dayton (Ohio) head coach Oliver Purnell will serve as head coach of the 1999 USA Basketball Men's World University Games Team, and he will be assisted by Belleville Area College (Ill.) head coach Jay Harrington and Gonzaga University (Wash.) head coach Dan Monson. Following training camp June 21-27 in Dayton, Ohio, the U.S. will attempt to win its sixth consecutive gold medal at the 1999 World University Games in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, June 3-12.
Arizona State University head mentor Rob Evans will direct the 1999 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Team in the FIBA Men's Junior World Championship July 15-25 in Portugal, following training camp July 2-11 in Tempe, Ariz. Assisting Evans along the USA Basketball sidelines will be Penn State University (Pa.) head coach Jerry Dunn and Wake Forest University (N.C.) head coach Dave Odom.
Headlining the Trials invitees will be six players who helped their respective teams advance to the 1999 NCAA Final Four, including forward Kevin Freeman (Springfield, Mass.) of this year's national champion, the University of Connecticut. Forward Chris Carrawell (St. Louis, Mo.) of national runner-up Duke University (N.C.) will join fellow Final Four participants Morris Peterson (Flint, Mich.) of Michigan State University, and Ken Johnson (Detroit, Mich.), James "Scoonie" Penn (Salem, Mass.) and Michael Redd (Columbus, Ohio) of Ohio State University at the '99 Trials. Additionally, forward Terry Black (Milwaukee, Wis.) helped lift his Indian Hills Community College (Iowa) to the 1999 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship. Participants in the 1998 NCAA Final Four who will attend the 1999 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials include Stanford University (Calif.) standout Mark Madsen (Danville, Calif.) and the University of North Carolina's Ed Cota (Tilden, N.Y.) and Brendan Haywood (Greensboro, N.C.). All told, there are 25 players at the Men's National Team Trials who appeared in the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
Also attending the 1999 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials are four players tabbed as player of the year in their respective collegiate conferences: Arkansas State's Chico Fletcher (Osceola, Ark.), named Player of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference; Auburn's Chris Porter (Abbeville, Ala.), the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year; Quentin Richardson (Chicago, Ill.), Conference USA's Player of the Year; and Jeryl Sasser (Dallas, Texas), Player of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference's Mountain Division.
Two players, guard Khalid El-Amin (Connecticut / Minneapolis, Minn.) and center Alvin Jones (Georgia Tech / Lakeland, Fla.) will not attend the 1999 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials, but have applied for waivers and, if the waivers are granted, will be considered for selection to the 1999 USA Basketball Men's World University Games Team by the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee.
There are 15 invited players with prior USA Basketball experience, as well. Matt Carroll (Hatboro Horsham H.S. / Horsham, Pa.), Keyon Dooling (Missouri / Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Adam Hall (Virginia / Katy, Texas), Steve Lepore (Northwestern / Lakewood, Ohio), Richardson, Bobby Simmons (DePaul / Chicago, Ill.), and Michael Wright (Arizona / Chicago, Ill.) were members of the gold medal winning 1998 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team that secured this summer's position in the FIBA Men's Junior World Championship by winning the gold medal with a 6-0 record at the COPABA Men's Junior World Championship Qualification Tournament in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
Kirk Hinrich (Sioux City West H.S. / Sioux City, Iowa), Casey Jacobsen (Glendora H.S. / Glendora, Calif.), and Travis Watson (Oak Hill Academy / Brookneal, Va.) were members of the gold medal winning 1998 USA Basketball Men's World Youth Games Team that competed in Moscow, Russia, and totaled a 6-0 record. In addition, Hinrich, Jacobsen, Jason Parker (West Charlotte H.S. / Charlotte, N.C.), and Watson were members of the 1999 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team that posted a 107-95 victory against an International Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit in Tampa, Fla. Erick Barkley (St. John's / Brooklyn, N.Y.) was a member of the 1998 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team; Luke Recker (Auburn, Ind.) was a member of the 1997 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team; and Jaraan Cornell (Purdue / South Bend, Ind.) and Ed Cota (North Carolina / Tilden, N.Y.) were members of the 1996 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team.
Six players named to the 1999 Parade All-America Team will participate in the 1999 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials, as well: Collison, Gardner, Jacobsen, and Majestic Mapp (St. Raymond's / Bronx, N.Y.) were tabbed for Parade's second team; and Parker and Watson were third team members.
Men's Junior World Championship Trials Roster Tony Akins, Georgia Tech Michael Bauer, Minnesota Steve Blake, Maryland Matt Carroll, Notre Dame Nick Collison, Kansas Keyon Dooling, Missouri Andy Ellis, Texas Tech Adam Hall, Virginia Kirk Hinrich, Kansas Casey Jacobsen, Stanford Altron Jackson, South Florida Chris Jefferies, Arkansas Dahntay Jones, Rutgers Steve Lepore, Northwestern Steve Logan, Cincinnati Majestic Mapp, Virginia Troy Murphy, Notre Dame Jason Parker, North Carolina Quentin Richardson, DePaul Shane Schilling, Minnesota Bobby Simmons, DePaul B.B. Waldon, South Florida Travis Watson, Virginia Chris Williams, Virginia Lance Williams, DePaul Michael Wright, Arizona-TTU-
