VFL and NBA veteran Tobias Harris, who earned Freshman All-America honors during his one-and-done career at Tennessee in 2010-11, is among 35 elite players who will compete for a spot on the USA Basketball Men’s National Team for 2018-20.
Harris, a forward with the Los Angeles Clippers, is joined by a pair of players who were coached collegiately by current Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes, as Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors and Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers also are vying for a spot on the 12-member 2019 USA World Cup and 2020 U.S. Olympic teams. Durant and Turner both played for Barnes at Texas.
Barring injuries, all 35 players are expected to attend the USA Basketball Men’s National Team minicamp at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center in Las Vegas July 25-27. Jerry Colangelo is the USA Basketball Men’s National Team managing director, and the head coach (for 2017-20) is Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
“While we do not have an official competition that we need to prepare for in 2018, the selection and announcement of our new pool of national team members and this year’s July minicamp are important first steps in our preparations to defend the FIBA World Cup and Olympic titles we won during the last two quadrenniums,” said Colangelo, who has served as managing director of the USA National Team since 2005 and has overseen USA teams that have compiled an 88-1 overall record. “This year’s minicamp is an opportunity for us to continue and expand the culture, brotherhood and camaraderie that has been built.
“As is shown by the return of 29 past national team players, our pipeline is well developed, and it is a key factor in our success. We’re also excited about the new players who have been added to the program, and the roster will remain fluid over the next three years as we continue to look for and consider players who can contribute to our program.”
Harris has previous history with USA Basketball, as he was a member of the 2010 Junior National Select Team as well as the 2014 Select Team.
During his lone season with the Volunteers, Harris earned USBWA Freshman All-America honors and second-team All-SEC acclaim after ranking fifth nationally among all major-conference freshmen in scoring (15.3 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (7.3 rpg).
He was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 19th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and had his rights immediately traded to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a three-team, draft-day trade. During his seven NBA seasons, he has played for the Bucks, the Orlando Magic, the Detroit Pistons and now the Clippers.
Harris has appeared in 464 total NBA games with 344 starts while averaging 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He joined the Clippers shortly after the NBA All-Star break this season. He started all 32 games in which he appeared for Los Angeles and averaged a career-best 19.3 points while shooting .414 from 3-point range.
-UT Athletics
