(May 22, 2003) ?C Fordham University head men??s basketball coach Dereck Whittenburg has been selected as a court coach for the 2003 USA Basketball Men??s National Team Trials. The selections were made by the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee, chaired by Terry Holland, former University of Virginia athletics director. ??Our court coaches are the ??point of the spear?? in military jargon,?? said Holland. ??These men are the hands-on teachers of the game and literally spend 24 hours per day with the players who are participating in the trials. Although they are not a formal part of the actual selection process, their observations are critical to those of us who must make the final selections. Serving as a court coach has proved to be the important first step to serving as a coach for one of the teams representing the United States and/or serving on the selection committee itself.?? Whittenburg, who was named the head coach at Fordham last Thursday, will assist as a court coach during the 2003 USA Basketball Men??s National Team Trials that will be held May 30-June 1 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Trials court coaching staff is responsible for conducting drills, coaching scrimmages and working with players who will be vying for spots on a pair of 2003 USA teams. The Trials, which will feature approximately 60 of the nation??s top college players, will be used to select finalists for the 2003 USA Basketball FIBA Men??s Junior World Championship Team (19-years-old or younger) and the 2003 USA Basketball Pan American Games Team. The final 12-member teams will be named during each team??s training camp. The first Trials session will be held on Friday, May 30 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. (All times are MDT), with two sessions, 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 4:30-6:30 p.m., scheduled for Saturday, May 31, and one final practice session to be conducted 8:30-10:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 1. The USA junior squad will compete July 10-20 at the 2003 FIBA (International Basketball Federation) Junior World Championship in Malaysia. The 7th championship will feature 16 junior national teams from around the world and the USA junior team will compete in preliminary rounds against Slovenia, China, and Nigeria. University of Oregon mentor Ernie Kent will serve as head coach of the 2003 USA Basketball Men??s Junior World Championship Team, and will be assisted by University of Georgia head coach Dennis Felton and Ray Harper of Kentucky Wesleyan College. Kent led last year??s USA Men??s Junior World Championship Qualifying Team to a 4-1 record and a bronze medal. The Pan American Games, held every four years in the year preceding the Olympics, has the men??s basketball competition slated for Aug. 2 - 6 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Only countries from FIBA Americas are eligible to compete. Michigan State University head coach Tom Izzo will guide the 2003 USA Pan American Team in hopes of capturing their ninth gold medal. Assisting Izzo along the sidelines will be University of Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar and University of Missouri head mentor Quin Snyder. The USA in Pan Am competition has compiled an impressive 79-8 overall record, winning eight of a possible 13 gold medals. This press release was provided by USA Basketball