Memphis' Carney Invited To Trials For USA Basketball's World Championship For Young Men Team

Rodney Carney

Rodney Carney, a junior on the Memphis Tiger basketball team, will join fellow teammate Sean Banks at the trials for USA Basketball's World Championship for Young Men Team, USA Basketball announced Wednesday. Carney and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison were two late additions to the trials that begin Thursday and run through July 23 in East Rutherford, N.J.

Athletes eligible to this age-based team include any male who is a U.S. citizen and is 20-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1984).

Guiding the U.S. squad will be University of Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson, who will be assisted by collegiate head coaches Tom Crean of Marquette University and Dan Monson of the University of Minnesota.

A 2002-03 Conference USA All-Freshman Team pick, Carney followed up his freshman campaign with a solid sophomore season in 2003-04. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 13.0 points and 5.7 rebounds, both third-best on the squad. He shot 38.8 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from the arc.

Despite missing two weeks of the season with a fracture above his eye, Carney hit a team-high tying 62 treys. Carney also was second on the squad with 32 blocked shots. His 26-point, 10-rebound performance against South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament was his fourth career double-double. The 26 points and six three-pointers were career bests, and the six treys were a Tiger NCAA Tournament record.

As a freshman in 2002-03, the Indianapolis, Ind., native averaged 9.8 points and 4.8 boards while shooting 42.9 percent from the field. He led the squad with 46 blocked shots.

For his career, Carney is averaging 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. He has 78 blocked shots, and his 109 three-pointers are the eighth-most in Memphis history.

Carney is one of three players from Conference USA to be invited to the trials, joining Banks and Charlotte's Curtis Withers.

Finalists for the USA Team will be selected following trials July 15-18 at the New Jersey Nets practice facility in East Rutherford. The USA Trials schedule will see the candidates competing twice a day, at 10:00 a.m. (all times local) and 5:00 p.m. Finalists will remain in New Jersey for the team's training camp, which will again feature two-a-days at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The eventual 12-member squad will be finalized sometime prior to the USA's final New Jersey practice at 10:00 a.m. on July 23.

Following a 2:00 p.m. practice session in Saint John, Canada, on July 24, the U.S. will take on Canada's Young Men's National Team on July 25 in a 2:00 p.m. exhibition game at Harbour Station in Saint John.

The young American squad will get in a final pair of practices in Halifax, Canada, on July 26 and 27 before tipping off play at the 2004 FIBA Americas World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Tournament on July 28. The U.S. will compete against seven other teams from the Americas for one of the three Americas Zone qualifying berths for the 2005 FIBA World Championships For Young Men, which will be hosted next summer by Argentina.