Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson To Lead USA 20-And-Under Squad In 2004 Off the BlackAthlete Sports Wire Posted: Friday, March 28, 2004

In his fifth go-round with the red, white and blue, Kelvin Sampson will be guiding the 2004 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team.

NEW YORK, NY--- Back for his fifth tour of duty with USA Basketball, University of Oklahoma mentor Kelvin Sampson returns this summer to guide the 2004 USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team. Assisting Sampson on the sidelines will be Marquette University (Wis.) head coach Tom Crean and University of Minnesota head coach Dan Monson. All three selected coaches have recently advanced teams to post season final fours.

Sampson led Oklahoma to the NCAA Final Four in 2002, Crean did likewise with Marquette in 2003, while Monson's rebuilding job as Gopher coach saw him reach the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) semifinals in 2003. Chaired by former University of Virginia Athletic Director and collegiate head coach Terry Holland, the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee selected the coaching staff and is charged with the player selection of the 2004 squad as well.

The 2004 USA Young Men's Team will compete July 28 -Aug. 1 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, in the 2004 FIBA Americas World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Tournament. Finalists for the USA Team, which 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, will be selected following trials July 16-18 at the New Jersey Nets practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J. Any male athlete who is a U.S. citizen and is 20-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1984) is eligible for the 2004 USA Basketball World Championship For Young Men Qualifying Team.

The World Championship For Young Men and its zone qualifying tournaments are held every four years. Originally held in 1993 and known as the FIBA 22 And Under World Championship, it was designed for men 22-years-old or younger.

IBA lowered the age eligibility to 21-years-old or younger in December 1998 and changed the competition name to the World Championship For Young Men. The USA has qualified for all three previous World Championship For Young Men tournaments and has compiled a 22-2 overall record while winning gold medals in 1993 and 2001. The Americans squads have also compiled a 15-2 win-loss record in the three World Championship For Young Men Qualifying tournaments, winning gold in 1996 and silver in 2000 and 1993.

"It's an honor, really, just to be considered by USA Basketball for this position and to be named coach is extremely flattering," noted Sampson. "This is going to be an exciting event. The United States is in the process of restoring itself as the dominant basketball power in the world and this will be a great opportunity to accomplish that. The coaching staff is eager to make the trip home from Canada with a gold medal in hand."

In 10 seasons (1993-94 through 2003-04) at Oklahoma, Sampson has led his teams to nine NCAA Tournament berths, including a Final Four in 2002. His overall head coaching record stands at 410-240 (.631 winning percentage) and his 234-92 tally at OU gives him the highest winning percentage of any coach in the school's history at .718.

After piecing together seven straight 20-win seasons during which the Sooners averaged over 25 wins a year, last season Sampson guided a young and injury plagued team to a 20-11 record and an NIT appearance. In the three seasons prior to 2003-04, Sampson's Oklahoma teams won three consecutive Big 12 Tournament Championships and seven NCAA Tournament games.

In 2002-03, his Sooners finished 27-7 and ranked No.3 in the final Associated Press (A.P.) regular season poll. In 2001-02, Sampson coached Oklahoma to a 31-5 record and to the school's fourth ever Final Four appearance. The 31 victories tied for the second most in single-season school history. That same season, Sampson took home National Coach of the Year honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and from Chevrolet.

In 1995, the A.P., Basketball Weekly and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) recognized Sampson as Coach of the Year after he led the Sooners to a 23-9 overall record. The solid season earned Sampson's squad a No. 4 seeding in the NCAA Tournament's Southeast regional.

Coaching at Washington State University before moving on to Oklahoma, Sampson brought Cougar basketball back onto the college basketball landscape in his seven years (1986-87 through 1993-94) as head coach there.
Sampson led Washington State to a 20-11 record and its first NCAA Tournament berth in 11 years in 1994, and when he led the Cougars to the NIT two years earlier in 1992, it marked the first time Washington State had participated in postseason play since 1983. Before taking over as head coach at Washington State, Sampson spent two seasons (1984-85 and 1986-87) in Pullman as an assistant.

Prior to coaching at Washington State, Sampson worked as head coach at Montana Tech for six seasons (1979-80 through 1984-85). After working under the "interim" coaching title for one year at Tech, the Pembroke, N.C., native went 73-45 (.618) in his final four seasons. Sampson led his teams to two NAIA District 12 tittle games and earned NAIA Coach of the Year honors in 1983 and 1985.

Sampson is also a nine-year member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches board and served as the organization's President in 2003-2004.

Quickly becoming a staple in the USA Basketball coaching circle, Sampson most recently served as an assistant coach under George Karl for the 2002 USA Men's World Championship Team that finished 6-3 and in sixth place in the 14th FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, Ind. Prior to coaching at the World Championship, Sampson guided the 1995 USA Junior World Championship Team to a 4-4 record at the FIBA Junior World Championship in Athens, Greece.

In the summer of 1994, Sampson was selected to serve as an assistant to then USC head coach George Raveling at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. The USA team earned a bronze medal, then following the Goodwill Games, competed in an exhibition game against a USA Basketball Senior National Team made up of NBA standouts who were preparing for the 1994 FIBA World Championship.

In 1993, Sampson was selected head coach of the West team at the U.S. Olympic Festival in San Antonio, Texas, and his squad won the silver medal.
Sampson was a member of USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee from 1997-2000. The committee was responsible for the selection of coaches and players who represented USA Basketball at various collegiate level international competitions such as the Goodwill Games, FIBA 22 and Under World Championships, World University Games, FIBA Junior World Championships and others.

Tom Crean's USA Basketball work with the Young Men's Qualifying Team will actually be his second stint with the red, white and blue. In the summer of 2001, Crean served as a court coach at the 2001 USA Basketball National Team Trials in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"After an unbelievable experience with USA Basketball as a court coach, I'm thankful for the opportunity to be part of the coaching staff for the young men's qualifying tournament," stated Crean. "Being chosen to represent our country is a tremendous honor for me personally, but also for our program and Marquette University. I have the utmost respect for Kelvin Sampson and the entire USA Basketball staff and I look forward to serving as an ambassador in competition."

Last season saw Crean guide the Golden Eagles to the quarterfinals of the NIT and a 19-12 overall mark. Crean's overall head coaching record at Marquette reads 102-53 (.658), his finest season coming in 2002-03, his fourth with the Golden Eagles. That year, Crean guided his team to the Conference USA regular season tittle, a 27-6 record and finished the regular season with a No. 9 ranking in the A.P. Poll, before piloting that fateful Final Four run to New Orleans, La. Crean's work that season earned him the Ray Meyer Conference USA Coach of the Year Award, the second straight year he captured the honor.

Before taking the Golden Eagles to the Final Four in 2003, Crean guided his team to the NIT in the 2000 season and led the Golden Eagles to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002.

Prior to earning the head coaching post at Marquette, Crean served as an assistant coach under Tom Izzo for three seasons (1995-96 through 1997-98) at Michigan State University and before the 1998-99 season Crean was named associate head coach of the Spartans. During his four year stay at Michigan State, Crean helped the Spartans to a record of 88-41 (.682) and four straight post season appearances, including a trip to the Final Four in 1999.

Crean also gained experience as an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh (Pa.), for one season (1994-95), and spent four years (1990-91 through 1993-94) as an assistant at Western Kentucky University. In his stint at Western Kentucky, the Hilltoppers participated in the NCAA Tournament twice (1993 and 1994) and in the NIT once (1992).

The Mount Pleasant, Mich., native got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant under legendary Jud Heathcote at Michigan State during the 1989-90 season, after graduating from Central Michigan in 1989.

Making his second round on the USA Basketball circuit, coach Monson returns to another U.S. staff in search of his second gold medal. His first was captured as an assistant to Oliver Purnell (Clemson University, S.C.), on the 1999 World University Games staff, where the U.S. upended host Spain (88-80) and Yugoslavia (79-65) in the medal round en-route to winning gold.

"It's always a great honor to be asked to represent your country and USA Basketball," remarked Monson. "Coach Sampson is a great coach and a good friend and I am excited about the opportunity to work with him. To do so representing the U.S. makes this very special. I look forward to the having a chance at winning a gold medal in Canada."

Taking over the Gopher program in 1999, Monson has reestablished Minnesota basketball in both the Big-10 conference and on a national level. In his five seasons as Gopher head man (1999-00 to 2003-04), Monson has compiled an overall record of 89-75 (.542) and his seven-year overall tally as a head coach on the Division I level stands at 141-92 (.605).

Success as Minnesota's head coach came early for Monson, as his Gophers improved upon their number of conference wins in each of the coach's first three seasons (4 - in 1999-2000, 5 - in 2000-01, 9 - in 2001-02). In 2001-02 Monson guided his team to their best Big Ten finish (sixth place) since 1992-93.

Minnesota took the next step in 2002-03, when it made a trip to Madison Square Garden and the NIT Final Four, an accomplishment that had not been witnessed by Minnesota fans since 1993 when the Gophers advanced the NIT title game.
An outstanding recruiter, Monson has lured top-flight players to Minneapolis. Like blue-chipper Kris Humphries in 2003, who garnered Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, or the arrival of highly touted transfer Adam Boone, from the University of North Carolina, that same year. In 2000-01, McDonald's All-American Rick Rickert came to Minnesota and made and immediate impact, also taking home Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

Prior to being tabbed head coach of the Gophers, Monson spent nine seasons (1988-89 to 1996-97) as an assistant at Gonzaga University (Wash.) before being named head coach of the Bulldogs prior to the start of the 1997-98 season. In two years (1997-98 to 1998-99) as head mentor at Gonzaga, Monson's record totaled 52-17 (.753). In 1999, Monson and the Bulldogs splashed onto the national scene, advancing all the way to the NCAA Tournament West Regional final, before bowing out to eventual champion Connecticut.

A graduate of the University of Idaho where he was a football player, Monson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, spending two seasons at UAB (1986-87 to 1987-88).

2004 USA Basketball World Championship

For Young Men's Qualifying Team Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Kelvin Sampson, University of Oklahoma
Assistant Coach: Tom Crean, Marquette University (Wis.)
Assistant Coach: Dan Monson, University of Minnesota

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