USA MEN'S YURI GAGARIN CUP TEAM -- 1978
Vilnius, Soviet Union - August 24-29, 1978
In a reciprocal effort for the World Invitational Tournament that the United States hosted in April of 1978, the Soviet Union held the Yuri Gagarin Cup Tournament in Vilnius, Soviet Union, from August 24-29, 1978. The tournament featured six teams, including two from the Soviet Union, and was played in a round-robin format that awarded the team with the best record top honors.
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1978 USA RESULTS (4-1)
1978 YURI GAGARIN CUP
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Ouachita Basptist University (Ark.) mentor Bill Vining served as head coach of the USA squad that was headlined by future NBA superstar guard Earvin 'Magic' Johnson. At only 19-years-old, Michigan State's Johnson, who also played on the USA World Invitational Tournament Team earlier in the Spring, 6-9 Southern California center Cliff Robinson and 6-7 Duke forward Eugene Banks headed up the USA's campaign that saw them post a 4-1 record and claim the silver medal.
After playing a warm-up scrimmage with each of the two USSR teams, the USA opened the Yuri Gagarin Cup in strong fashion by pounding Lithuania 106-68. The Americans continued their winning ways by posting nearly identical scores, 118-87 and 118-86, over the Soviet Union's second team and Mexico, respectively.
Czechoslovakia was the USA's next victim as the U.S. handily defeated the Czechs 112-104.
The USA entered its final game undefeated with a 4-0 record and squared-off against the also unbeaten top Soviet team. The U.S. held a narrow 54-53 lead at halftime, but the USSR proved to be a little more than the young USA contingent could handle as the Soviets rallied to claim a slim five-point 104-99 win and the gold medal.
Johnson and Robinson shared honors as the USA's top scorer at 15.2 ppg. and were joined in double figures by Duke's Eugene Banks with 14.0 ppg., Iowa's Ronnie Lester with 11.6 ppg. and North Carolina's Mike O'Koren with 11.2 ppg. Banks was also the USA's leading rebounder with 10.2 rpg.
Finishing in first place, the Soviets finished with a perfect 5-0 record, while Czechoslovakia finished in third with a 3-2 mark. The second-tier Soviet team placed fourth at 2-3 while Lithuania (1-4) and Mexico (0-5) rounded out the field in fifth and sixth place.
1978 USA YURI GAGARIN CUP TEAM ROSTER
| NAME | POS | HGT | WGT | AGE | SCHOOL | HOMETOWN |
| Eugene Banks | F | 6-7 | 210 | 19 | Duke | Philadelphia, PA |
| Roosevelt Bouie | C | 7-0 | 230 | 19 | Syracuse | Kent, NY |
| Rickie Brown | F/C | 6-10 | 230 | 19 | Mississippi State | Canton, MS |
| Reggie Carter | G | 6-3 | 195 | 20 | St. John's | Brookville, NY |
| Earvin Johnson | G | 6-8 | 210 | 19 | Michigan State | Lansing, MI |
| Ronnie Lester | G | 6-1 | 165 | 19 | Iowa | Chicago, IL |
| Mike O'Koren | F | 6-7 | 205 | 20 | North Carolina | Jersey City, NJ |
| Clifford Robinson | F | 6-9 | 215 | 18 | Southern Cal | Oakland, CA |
| Craig Shelton | F | 6-7 | 215 | 21 | Georgetown | Washington, DC |
| Darnell Valentine | G | 6-1 | 195 | 19 | Kansas | Wichita, KS |
| Danny Vranes | F | 6-7 | 195 | 19 | Utah | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Michael Woodson | G | 6-5 | 195 | 20 | Indiana | Indianapolis, IN |
| HEAD COACH: Bill Vinning, Ouachita Baptist University |
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| ASSISTANT COACH: Gerald Myers, Texas Tech University |
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| MANAGER: Frank Kovaleski, New Castle High School (IN) |
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| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Doug Huffman, Georgetown University |
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| CHIEF OF MISSION: Duane Woltzen, Lakeland College |
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1984 U.S. MEN'S OLYMPIC TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
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G | FGM-A | PCT | FTM-A | PCT | REB/AVG | PTS/AVG |
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| Earvin Johnson | 5 | 34- 54 | .630 | 8- 9 | .889 | 18/ 3.6 | 76/ 15.2 |
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| Cliff Robinson | 5 | 34- 52 | .654 | 8- 10 | .800 | 17/ 3.4 | 76/ 15.2 |
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| Eugene Banks | 5 | 31- 54 | .574 | 8- 10 | .800 | 51/10.2 | 70/ 14.0 |
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| Ronnie Lester | 5 | 23- 36 | .639 | 12- 12 | 1.000 | 7/ 1.4 | 58/ 11.6 |
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| Mike O'Koren | 5 | 22- 29 | .759 | 12- 13 | .923 | 20/ 4.0 | 56/ 11.2 |
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| Darnell Valentine | 5 | 17- 44 | .386 | 13- 17 | .765 | 10/ 2.0 | 47/ 9.4 |
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| Mike Woodson | 5 | 18- 33 | .545 | 6- 8 | .750 | 5/ 5.0 | 42/ 8.4 |
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| Craig Shelton | 5 | 17- 31 | .548 | 3- 5 | .600 | 31/ 6.2 | 37/ 7.4 |
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| Roosevelt Bouie | 5 | 13- 20 | .650 | 10- 14 | .714 | 19/ 3.8 | 36/ 7.2 |
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| Reggie Carter | 4 | 9- 19 | .474 | 6- 6 | 1.000 | 9/ 2.3 | 24/ 6.0 |
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| Rickey Brown | 5 | 11- 15 | .733 | 5- 8 | .625 | 9/ 1.8 | 27/ 5.4 |
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| Danny Vranes | 1 | 2- 5 | .400 | 0- 0 | .--- | 5/ 1.0 | 4/ 4.0 |
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| USA TOTALS | 5 | 231-392 | .589 | 91-112 | .813 | 201/40.2 | 553/110.6 |
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| OPP. | 5 | 449/ 89.8 |
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