July 25, 2003
Orlando, Fla. - University of Missouri seniors Rickey Paulding and Arthur Johnson will have the great honor to represent America in the upcoming weeks, having earned spots on the USA Basketball Men's Pan American Games team, it was announced on Friday by USA Basketball. After six days of workouts in Orlando, the roster was trimmed from 17 to 12 in preparation for the Pan Am games, which will be played in Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico Aug. 2-6.
The Tiger duo will be the first MU players to play on a Pan Am games squad in head coach Quin Snyder's four-year tenure. Snyder, who is an assistant coach on the squad under Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, said that he is excited about the talent level and sense of camaraderie that exists on the squad.
"AJ and Rickey both had great weeks down here and they worked extremely hard to earn this honor," Snyder said. "We have an amazing opportunity to represent our country in the Pan Am Games and I look forward to working with such a great group of coaches and young men in the upcoming weeks."
The Pan Am Games competition will consist of eight nations (the United States, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada and three teams that will be determined at the July 21-27 South American Tournament held in Uruguay) split into two preliminary round pools of four teams each. Following round-robin round play, the top two teams in each pool will advance to the medal round to determine 1-4th place teams. The USA squad will continue to work out in Orlando through the 29th before heading to the Dominican Republic on the 30th.
Johnson, who earned third-team All-American honors from Basketball America, was a beast in the middle for Mizzou in 2002-03 as he averaged 16.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. He recorded a Big 12 leading 19 double-doubles and became Mizzou's all-time blocked shots leader with 198 career blocks. Johnson said that the opportunity to represent the USA is definitely a great honor.
"This opportunity means a lot to all of us," Johnson said. "You grow up watching teams like the Dream Team and teams like that representing the United States and you want a chance to wear that USA uniform. Now I've got the chance and I want to make the best of it."
Paulding, who was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection last season, led the Tigers in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per contest. He was particularly amazing in the post-season averaging 27.5 points per contest in the Tigers' two NCAA Tournament contests. Paulding said that being on the squad with Johnson and having coach Snyder on the coaching staff is truly a special event for him.
"I'm really happy to have AJ and Coach Q with me as part of this team and I think it will be a truly special experience to represent the United States." Paulding said. "We have a great mix of guys who are all talented at their respective positions. We definitely want to play hard and together and hopefully that will translate into bringing home the gold."
A full roster for the squad can be found at www.USABasketball.com. For information on Mizzou basketball, log on to the home of Missouri Athletics, www.mutigers.com.