MSU's Timmy Bowers Accepts Invitation To USA Basketball Team Trials
| The 2003 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials will take place May 30-June 1 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. |
A 6-2, 180-pound rising senior and reigning team captain for coach Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs, Bowers ranked 13th in the SEC in scoring (14.6 ppg) this past season as a junior, in addition to standing second in the league in 3-pointers made per game (2.26 treys per game), sixth in three-point field-goal percentage (41.2%) and seventh in steals (1.77 spg). The Gulfport native and former Mississippi prep player of the year at Harrison Central High School was named to The Associated Press All-SEC Third Team this past year, along with being selected to the 2003 SEC All-Tournament Team, en route to helping lead MSU to a 21-10 overall record, an SEC Western Division crown, as well as second-straight appearances in the SEC Tournament championship game and NCAA Tournament.
The USA Collegiate Committee will select finalists from the Trials for two USA Basketball teams -- 2003 USA Basketball Junior World Championship Team and 2003 USA Pan American Games Team. Of the 52 invited players, 28 including MSU's Bowers, because they are older than 19-years-old, will be eligible only for consideration for the Pan Am Games Team.
The first Trials session will be held on Friday, May 30, with two sessions scheduled for Saturday, May 31, and one final practice session to be conducted on Sunday, June 1.
In addition to being used to select finalists for the 2003 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Team, the Trials will also be relied on to determine finalists for the 2003 USA Men's Pan American Games Team. The Pan American Games, held every four years in the year prior to the Olympics, will be held Aug. 1-17, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The men's basketball competition is slated for Aug. 2-6. The United States will be directed by Michigan State University mentor Tom Izzo, and his assistants include college head coaches Lorenzo Romar of the University of Washington and Quin Snyder of the University of Missouri.
Other SEC players who have accepted invitations to participate in the 2003 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials include Alabama's Kennedy Winston, Jonathan Modica of Arkansas, Kentucky's tandem of Gerald Fitch and Kelenna Azubuike, and C.J. Watson of Tennessee.