Summer basketball tournaments have often served as a showcase for the best players on the Duke men's basketball team.
Just ask former national player of the year Elton Brand and current national player of the year candidate Jason Williams, both of whom impressed their detractors by playing in international competitions over the summer.
This summer, three Blue Devil players--juniors Carlos Boozer and Dahntay Jones and sophomore Chris Duhon--might receive a similar opportunity, as they were selected as finalists for the 2001 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men team that will compete in the FIBA World Championships for Young Men tournament in Saitama, Japan. The U.S. team's coach, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, will decide which 12 of the 16 finalists will represent the U.S. at a final tryout July 22-26 at a training camp in Dallas, Texas. The World Championships runs from Aug. 3-12.
Boeheim's decision will weigh heavily on Boozer especially, as the Alaska native missed the cut when trying out for last year's team, which featured two of his Duke teammates, guard Jason Williams and swing man Mike Dunleavy. To compensate for his disappointing performance last year, Boozer entered last week's tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colo. on a mission.
"I'm excited," Boozer said. "I want to come back and redeem myself and represent my country.
"I'm in good shape now, but I'm going to be in great shape by the time I go out there. My weight isn't going to be a problem for me, hopefully for the rest of my career. I definitely feel a lot better about my shape and my playing than I did at this time last year."
Playing on the Young Men's team could also serve as a proving ground for Jones, who looks forward to displaying his improved skills after sitting out a year from competitive basketball as a result of his transfer from Rutgers to Duke. The 6-foot-5 slasher seems to be a sure-fire contender for a spot among the final squad, as Boeheim enthusiastically commented on Jones' vast improvement from his days in the Big East conference, where the Syracuse coach was able to see Jones play on a regular basis.
Despite the fact that he led all players in scoring at the tryout, Jones described his performance at the tryouts as only "all right."
"I just tried to play as hard as I could," Jones said. "I haven't been in a game situation in a while since I redshirted this year."
But Jones' Duke teammate and fellow New Jersey native Williams believes that the transfer's productive year of practice will benefit him this summer. In fact, Williams believes that Jones could turn some heads when he goes up against the world's best.
"A lot of people didn't get to see the real Dahntay Jones at Rutgers because he wasn't in an environment where he was competing against the best everyday," Williams said. "I've seen him go through practice everyday here and when he goes out there, he'll be able to say, OThis is who I am and this is what I'm about.'"
Duhon, who will be representing his country for the second time in a world basketball tournament, will receive a similar opportunity to that of Jones if he makes the team. The 6-1 guard continually reiterated his strong desire to make the 12-man team because he thinks playing with two of his Duke teammates, as well as building his confidence against high-level competition, has a high utility.
"[Playing together] definitely helped Mike and Jason last summer," Duhon said. "They came back a lot more confident in themselves and those two together, they know how to play with each other better than the rest of us. It definitely helped them and I hope it does the same thing for me."
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