May 8, 2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo has been named the head coach of the 2003 USA Basketball Men's Pan American Games Team, which will compete August 2-6 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Washington's Lorenzo Romar and Missouri's Quin Snyder will serve as assistant coaches on the squad.

This will be Izzo's second coaching stint with USA Basketball, having served as an assistant coach to the Minnesota Timberwolves' Flip Saunders on the gold-medal winning 2001 Goodwill Games squad. That squad consisted of young NBA standouts and posted a perfect 5-0 record in Australia.

"After a great experience with USA Basketball as an assistant at the Goodwill Games, I'm excited to have the opportunity to be the head coach at the Pan American Games," said Izzo. "I look forward to working with the best college basketball players in the nation. USA Basketball is a class organization that represents excellence. This is a great opportunity to represent the United States as we work towards winning the gold medal against what is sure to be a challenging field of competition.

"USA Basketball has selected two excellent assistants for the team in Lorenzo Romar and Quin Snyder. Both men have established themselves as two of the best coaches in the nation. Before becoming head coaches, they each developed their skills as assistant coaches at championship programs, and I hope to take advantage of their expertise as we represent the United States."

The 2003 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials, which will be used to select finalists for the 12-member USA Men's Pan American Games Team, will be held May 30-June 1 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The USA squad is slated to train July 21-28 at the RDV Sportsplex in Orlando, Fla.

"Tom Izzo is recognized as one of the very best coaches in the college game today," stated Terry Holland, chairman of the USA Basketball Men's Collegiate Committee. "His teams are always well coached and superbly prepared for the opposing team."

In eight seasons as head coach at MSU, Izzo has compiled a record of 189-78, a winning percentage of .708. He has led the Spartans to the 2000 NCAA Championship, four regular-season Big Ten Championships, three Final Fours and two Big Ten Tournaments. Michigan State has appeared in six straight NCAA Tournaments and has advanced to the Elite Eight in four of the last five years.

The USA men, who fell, 95-78, to Brazil in the 1999 gold medal game, have earned a medal in 12 of their 13 Pan Am Games appearances, including a record eight golds, as well as three silvers and one bronze. The USA owns a 79-8 (.908) all-time mark at the Pan Am Games. The field of competiton, which will consist of eight teams, has not yet been determined.