The number of people associated with Duke and Team USA this summer continued increasing Monday when former Blue Devil player and associate head coach Chris Collins was named coach of the USA Select Team, according to multiple reports.
Collins—who just finished his first season as head coach at Northwestern after leaving Duke—will reunite with two of his former players, Mason and Miles Plumlee, as leader of the squad.
The USA Select Team will help Team USA prepare for next month's FIBA World Cup at training camp in Las Vegas, and consists of 12 of the best young players in the NBA.
Joining the Plumlees on the team are rookies Doug McDermott and Marcus Smart, Trey Burke, Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr., Victor Oladipo, Dion Waiters and Cody Zeller.
Team USA and Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski are running the training camp that will host the Select Team, and another Collins pupil and Duke product, Kyrie Irving, is one of the 19 players competing to make the 12-person national team that will compete in Spain.
Northwestern went 14-19 last year—including a 6-12 mark in conference play—but pulled off notable upsets against Wisconsin and Iowa. The Badgers went to the Final Four, and will be Duke's opponent this year in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Collins will look to help his mentor and friend Krzyzewski get Team USA ready to compete against the world's best despite missing notable stars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin and Kevin Love.
The national team's training camp began Monday and will continue until Friday.
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