MORGANTOWN — Ever feel like it was you against the world?
West Virginia University basketball forward Da’Sean Butler feels that way today and believes it’s a good feeling.
Butler was named Thursday to the 12-member team that will represent the United States in the 2009 World University Games on July 2-11 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Also named to the team were James Anderson (Oklahoma State); Talor Battle (Penn State); Trevor Booker (Clemson); Craig Brackins (Iowa State); Corey Fisher (Villanova); Lazar Hayward (Marquette); Robbie Hummel (Purdue); Quincy Pondexter (Washington); Deon Thompson (North Carolina); Evan Turner (Ohio State); and Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State).
Thompson is the only repeat member of the team.
"It was one of the most difficult decisions we as a committee have had because the team is so balanced," said Jim Boeheim, the Syracuse University coach who chaired the selection committee, in a release. “It’s probably one of the better groups of wing players we have had and all the guys are great players. It looks to be one of our most competitive teams for the World University Games. We have good shooters and athletic wing guys, which gives this team a good chance to compete.”
The team will be coached by Bo Ryan, the head coach at Wisconsin.
"First of all, all 16 players at trials are very good players," Ryan said. "Everybody that competed worked very hard against one another at a very high level. The toughest part was getting down to the 12 players. I don’t want to take anything away from the guys who didn’t make it, but the 12 who are on the final list are the ones that if you look at the overall picture — offense, defense, rebounding, things like that — this was the 12 that stood out. I thought the selection committee did a very good job of evaluating.
"The next step is to make sure we are all on the same page in everything that we do. We can’t have three guys handling screens one way, for example, and two guys doing something different. What we are going to try to defensively is make sure that we understand our rotations and coverage, and from there, understand offensively what our looks are going to be. We need to learn to play to our strengths and not shy away from weaknesses, and those are all nuances that will play out over the next week before we head to Serbia."
Butler, who will be a senior next season, led West Virginia in scoring by averaging in 17.1 points a game. That included one of the most memorable games in Mountaineer history, Butler pouring in a WVU Coliseum record 43 points against Villanova.
Butler was also second on the team in rebounding at 5.9 a game.
The World University Games is organized by the International University Sports Federation and held every other year. The 2009 competition includes 24 men’s basketball teams competing for a gold medal. Eligible athletes for the USA team must be currently enrolled in a college or university and have remaining NCAA athletic eligibility.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com or through Facebook.
Bob Herzel
Butler to play in World University Games
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