COLORADO SPRINGS, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Former Duke University All-American guard Jay Williams Wednesday was added to the 2002 USA Basketball Men's World Championship Team. He replaces Ray Allen of the Milwaukee Bucks, who was forced withdraw because of tendinitis in his left knee.
The selection of Williams, originally named March 12 as an alternate on the USA World Championship Team, was made by the USA Basketball Men's Senior National Team Committee.
The 2002 FIBA World Basketball Championship for Men is being held in Indianapolis Aug. 29-Sept. 8. The U.S. team opens its training Friday in San Francisco.
"Playing for your country with the greatest players in the world is truly an honor," said Williams. "The honor is even greater in light of Sept. 11 and what our country has endured and survived since then. I know I'm more patriotic now than I have ever been in my life, and playing for your flag and your country is really the greatest honor you could have. Playing with and against some of the greatest players in the world will be great preparation for my rookie season in Chicago."
USA Basketball President Tom Jernstedt was ecstatic.
"It's very exciting to see that the collegiate community will have representation on the USA Basketball Men's World Championship Team in Jay Williams," Jernstedt said. "He enjoyed a remarkable career as a student-athlete at Duke, winning an NCAA championship as a sophomore and graduating in three years. He is a versatile and multi-talented player who is an excellent addition to this team. Additionally, Nick Collison as an alternate will train with the USA team will gain some invaluable experience before his senior season at Kansas. We are pleased to have representation from the colleges on the 2002 USA World Championship Team."
"We're very fortunate to add a talented young player like Jay Williams to the World Championship 12-man roster," said Stu Jackson, Chairman of USA Basketball's Senior Men's National Team Committee and the NBA's Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. "Jay has tremendous ball handling skills and will combine with Andre Miller and Baron Davis to provide the team with steady leadership from the point guard position. It's unfortunate that Ray Allen's injury will not allow him to compete at this time, but we look forward to Ray's participation with USA Basketball in the future."
Williams, who graduated in just three years from Duke University with a sociology degree, declared himself eligible for the 2002 NBA Draft and was chosen by Chicago with the No. 2 overall pick. Starting every game (108) in his three seasons at Duke, he assisted the Blue Devils to a 95-13 record, a winning percentage of .880, while winning or sharing two Atlantic Coast Conference regular season titles and claiming three ACC Tournament championships.
He took part in three NCAA Tournaments as well. Duke captured the 2001 NCAA championship in Williams' sophomore year.
The consensus 2002 National Player of the Year and two-time first team All-American led the ACC as a junior in scoring at 21.3 points per contest, and ranked fourth in the league in steals, fifth in three-point field goal percentage, and sixth in assists. He also shot 45.7 percent from the field (11th in the ACC).
Williams ended his college career ranked among Duke's all-time top 10 in scoring (2,079), scoring average), three-point field goals made (313), three-point attempts, three-point percentage, assists, and steals (235).
His 2,079 career points ranks second all-time in the ACC among juniors. Only Dennis Scott of Georgia Tech (2,115) had a better scoring total through three seasons. Williams also ranks sixth on the ACC's all-time three-point made field goal list, 14th in steals, and 17th in assists.
Williams became just the third ACC player to reach 2,000 points and 600 assists in a career, joining North Carolina's Phil Ford and Travis Best of Georgia Tech.
Williams is no newcomer to USA Basketball. In 2000, he led the USA World Championship For Young Men Qualifying squad in scoring and ranked fourth overall in the tournament averaging 20.2 points per game.
