Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hill joins U.S. Pan Am team

MSU junior guard Chris Hill is set to go from MSU baller to representative of the United States.

Hill was among 12 college players chosen nationwide for the USA Basketball Men's Pan American Games Team.

"I am extremely excited about the opportunity to be representing my country," Hill said in a written statement. "It's something that so few people actually have the opportunity to do. I'm not sure that its impact has fully sunk in with me yet."

The team, headed by MSU head coach Tom Izzo, will compete in the Pan American Games, which are held every four years. The multisport men and women's competition, held Aug. 2-6 in the Dominican Republic, represents athletics from eight countries from North, South and Central America as well as the Caribbean. The Pan Am Games are touted as one of the most prestigious sporting events for nonprofessionals.

With Hill and other college all-stars vying for spots on the team, Izzo said deciding on the final lineup was a tough call.

"This is definitely one of the toughest decisions I have ever faced," Izzo said in a written statement. "We had so many players that could have made the team and probably deserved to make it, but you can only have 12.

"I think we have a very solid, exciting team that can play good defense, rebound and shoot the ball - you need all three of those things to compete for a medal."

Izzo said the team's practices will include scrimmages and experimentation with different defensive and offensive strategies in order to pinpoint players' individual strengths.

"The trademark of this team will be toughness," Izzo said. "We need to gel now and get everyone in a position to be successful."

The U.S. men's basketball team fell to Brazil in the last Pan Am competition in 1999. With a solid team at his reigns, Izzo said he hopes the team will continue its gold-medal tradition that began in 1983.

"Obviously, I think we have the talent to win a medal," Hill said. "If everyone buys into what Coach Izzo is teaching, this team is very capable of winning a gold medal."

Izzo said discipline and interdependence between players and coaches will be instrumental in the team's overall performance at the games.

"I told the team that the key is going to be trust," Izzo said. "They have to trust us as coaches and each other that everything is being done with one thing in mind- being the best.

"When we come together, this is going to be a very tough team to play."

A.P. Kryza can be reached at kryzaand@msu.edu.

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