THIRTEENTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP -- 1998
Athens, Greece • July 29 - August 9, l998
Exciting. Inspiring. Suspenseful. Resilient. Persevering. The 1998 USA Men's World Championship Team, under the direction of Rudy Tomjanovich, proved to be all of those things en route to a 7-2 record and the capturing of the bronze medal at the 13th FIBA Men's World Championship.
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1998 USA RESULTS (7-2)
1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
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The U.S. team opened the competition by defeating Brazil 83-59 as Wendell Alexis recorded 13 points and eight rebounds and Michael Hawkins tallied 12 points and passed for a USA World Championship single game record 10 assists.
One day later, Jimmy Oliver's would-be game winning three at the buzzer rolled in then out as Lithuania held on to collect an 84-82 victory. Oliver finished with a team high 18 points.
Jason Sasser scored 11 of the USA's first 13 points of the second half to help the USA break away from South Korea and capture an 88-62 victory in its final preliminary round game.
Advancing to second round play, the USA trio of Alexis, Oliver and Hawkins combined to score 53 points and shot 10-of-14 from three-point as the U.S. fought off Argentina 87-74.
Oliver scored a team high 17 points including the go ahead three-pointer with 1:19 remaining to give the USA its first lead of the game as the U.S. rallied to earn a hard fought 75-73 victory over Spain.
Facing Australia in a game the USA needed to win to earn the Group F number one seed and Australia needed just to advance to the medal round quarterfinals, the USA clicked on all cylinders and routed the Aussies 96-78.
Thanks to inspired clutch play from guards Kiwane Garris and Hawkins, the U.S. persevered and managed to record an 80-77 victory over Italy in quarterfinals play. The USA was led by Hawkins' 16 points and six assists, while Alexis added 14 points and Garris finished with 11.
The USA's quest for gold came to a halt after Russia overcame a 10-point USA lead in the final three minutes and forward Serguei Panov went coast-to-coast to score a layup with 4 seconds left to give his team an improbable 66-64 win. Gerard King was the USA's only scorer in double figures with 10 points while adding six rebounds.
Meeting host Greece in the bronze medal contest on August 9, behind Sasser's game high 23 points and a defense that never let Greece find its rhythm, the United States jumped the Greeks early and stormed to an 84-61 victory to capture a bronze medal.
In the gold medal contest, Yugoslavia held off Russia 64-62 to capture the gold medal.
1998 USA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM ROSTER
| NAME |
POS
|
HGT
|
WGT
|
AGE
|
AFFILIATION (SCHOOL) | HOMETOWN |
| Wendell Alexis |
F
|
6-9
|
220
|
34
|
Alba Berlin (Syracuse) | Bridgewater, NJ |
| Ashraf Amaya |
F/C
|
6-8
|
250
|
26
|
Idaho Stampede (S. Illinois) | Plainfield, TX |
| Mateen Cleaves (Injured) |
G
|
6-2
|
195
|
20
|
Michigan State University | Flint, MI |
| Bill Edwards |
F
|
6-8
|
220
|
26
|
Pompea Roma (Wright State) | Cincinnati, OH |
| Kiwane Garris |
G
|
6-2
|
183
|
23
|
Grand Rapids Hoops (Illinois) | Chicago, IL |
| Michael Hawkins |
G
|
6-0
|
178
|
25
|
Olympiakos (Xavier) | Cypress, TX |
| Gerard King |
F
|
6-9
|
230
|
25
|
Fontanafredda Siena (Nicholls St.) | New Orleans, LA |
| Jimmy King |
G
|
6-5
|
210
|
25
|
Quad City Thunder (Michigan) | Plano, TX |
| Trajan Langdon |
G
|
6-3
|
195
|
22
|
Duke University | Anchorage, AK |
| Brad Miller |
C
|
6-11
|
240
|
22
|
Purdue University | Kendallville, IN |
| Jimmy Oliver |
G
|
6-6
|
208
|
29
|
Ciuda De Huelva (Purdue) | Akron, OH |
| Jason Sasser |
F
|
6-7
|
210
|
24
|
Sioux Falls Skyforce (Texas Tech) | Dallas, TX |
| David Wood |
F
|
6-9
|
230
|
33
|
Rockford Lightning (Nevada) | San Antonio, TX |
| HEAD COACH: Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston Rockets | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Del Harris, Los Angeles Lakers | ||||||
| ASSISTANT COACH: Lon Kruger, University of Illinois | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Glenn Perry, Charlotte Hornets | ||||||
| TEAM PHYSICIAN: Harlan Selesnick, Miami Heat | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Lenny Currier, Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||
| ATHLETIC TRAINER: Keith Jones, Houston Rockets | ||||||
1998 USA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| NAME | G/S |
FGM-A
|
PCT
|
3PM-A
|
PCT
|
FTM-A
|
PCT
|
REB
|
PTS
|
AT
|
BK
|
ST
|
| Oliver | 9/9 |
40- 80
|
.500
|
20- 44
|
.455
|
6- 6
|
1.000
|
25/ 2.8
|
106/ 11.8
|
9
|
3
|
11
|
| Alexis | 9/0 |
37- 70
|
.529
|
16- 34
|
.471
|
14- 26
|
.538
|
36/ 4.0
|
104/ 11.6
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
| Sasser | 9/9 |
41- 88
|
.466
|
2- 9
|
.222
|
12- 18
|
.667
|
33/ 3.7
|
96/ 10.7
|
5
|
0
|
4
|
| J. King | 9/0 |
32- 59
|
.542
|
3- 10
|
.300
|
14- 24
|
.583
|
18/ 2.0
|
81/ 9.0
|
16
|
0
|
9
|
| Hawkins | 9/9 |
21- 45
|
.467
|
7- 19
|
.368
|
20- 25
|
.800
|
20/ 2.2
|
69/ 7.7
|
37
|
0
|
7
|
| Garris | 9/0 |
20- 41
|
.488
|
6- 16
|
.375
|
7- 8
|
.875
|
12/ 1.3
|
53/ 5.9
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
| G. King | 9/9 |
19- 33
|
.576
|
0- 0
|
.---
|
15- 20
|
.750
|
48/ 5.3
|
53/ 5.9
|
7
|
0
|
5
|
| Miller | 9/0 |
16- 25
|
.640
|
0- 0
|
.---
|
15- 27
|
.556
|
30/ 3.3
|
47/ 5.2
|
7
|
3
|
1
|
| Wood | 9/9 |
18- 35
|
.514
|
5- 13
|
.385
|
3- 3
|
1.000
|
26/ 2.9
|
44/ 4.9
|
4
|
4
|
1
|
| Amaya | 9/0 |
17- 24
|
.708
|
0- 0
|
.---
|
6- 11
|
.545
|
42/ 4.7
|
40/ 4.4
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
| Edwards | 7/0 |
9- 27
|
.333
|
4- 12
|
.333
|
4- 8
|
.500
|
14/ 2.0
|
26/ 3.7
|
6
|
0
|
3
|
| Langdon | 7/0 |
5- 9
|
.556
|
4- 7
|
.571
|
6- 6
|
1.000
|
6/ 0.9
|
20/ 2.9
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
| USA | 9 |
275-536
|
.513
|
67-164
|
.409
|
122-182
|
.670
|
326/36.2
|
739/82.1
|
110
|
13
|
50
|
| OPP. | 9 |
220-519
|
.424
|
65-171
|
.380
|
129-189
|
.630
|
257/28.9
|
634/70.4
|
94
|
31
|
50
|
