After a breakout season in 2010-11, the Wisconsin Badgers’ starting point guard Jordan Taylor has been invited to try-out for the USA Basketball World University Games Team.
The training camp will take place from July 29th to August 7th in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) will be the venue where 12 members will be picked to represent their country in Shenzhen, China from August 13-23.
“I’m excited and honored to be invited to the USA basketball tryouts,” said Taylor. “As players, we all dream about representing our country and wearing the USA jersey. It should be a great opportunity to play with some of the best players in the country and hopefully I’ll get a chance to play against international competition.”
The decision will ultimately fall upon Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim, who serves as the chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee. Boeheim is expected to name the finalists on July 31st.
“After a lot of thought and consideration of potential players, the committee has put together a very strong roster for the USA Men’s World University Games Team training camp,” said Boeheim. “As always, the committee will be looking for not only the most talented players, but also players that will work well as a team.”
Taylor epitomizes the concept of team basketball as the Bloomington, Minn., native led the NCAA with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio in 2010-11, while averaging 18.1 points and 4.7 assists per game. He also earned second-team All-American honors from the Associated Press.
If Taylor does make the team, he will be coached by Purdue’s Matt Painter who was selected as head coach of the 2011 USA Men’s World University Games Team. Butler’s Brad Stevens and Cuonzo Martin (head coach at Tennessee) were named as assistant coaches.
“I’m also looking forward to playing for Coach Painter. He’s proven that he’s a great coach, and it will be a lot of fun playing for him.”
Taylor and Painter won’t be the only ones representing Big Ten basketball as Michigan State’s Draymond Green, Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe and Northwestern’s John Shurna will also try out for the team in Colorado Springs.
Badgers Head Coach Bo Ryan and former Wisconsin forward Jon Leuer have also had stints with USA Basketball. Ryan earned the bronze medal serving as the head coach for Team USA in the 2009 World University Games. Last summer Leuer was selected to help Team USA prepare for the FIBA World Championships.
“This is a great opportunity to play against some outstanding players from around the country,” said Ryan. “If Jordan is fortunate enough to make the team, he’ll play against some really good international players and have a wonderful experience. Any time you get a chance to use basketball to learn about other cultures and experience different things, it’s always good.”
Do you think Jordan Taylor will make the team? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.