May 26, 1999

Colorado Springs, Colo. - University of Missouri men's basketball standout KEYON DOOLING (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) will compete in the 1999 USA Basketball Men's National Team Trials, which get underway Thursday, May 27 and continue through Saturday, May 29 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Dooling, who was named to the Big 12 Conference all-Freshman team for the 1998-99 season, is one of 26 players who will vie for a spot on the 12-player Junior World Championship Team. The team is open to players age 19 and under (born on or after Jan. 1, 1980), and will compete in the FIBA Men's Junior World Championship, July 15-25 in Portugal. Finalists for the team will be announced on Sunday, May 30.

Dooling is looking to make the team for the second straight year. Last year, as an incoming freshman at Mizzou, he was an integral part of the Junior World team which went a perfect 6-0 at the Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament, held July 5-11, 1998 in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. By virtue of winning the Qualifying Tournament, the USA team earned a spot in this year's World Championships.

A starter for the USA Team in all six games last year, Dooling averaged 7.8 points, 2.3 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game in helping lead America to the gold medal. He had a high of 12 points in the USA's semifinal victory over Venezuela, and added 10 more points in the gold-medal game vs. Argentina.

As a freshman at the University of Missouri, Dooling helped guide Missouri to a 20-9 record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 8.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds in 28 games, including 10 starts.