COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (December 1, 2005) – Both Harvard University's (Mass.) Kathy Delaney-Smith and Villanova University's (Pa.) Jay Wright took a 12-member group of elite athletes to Izmir, Turkey, and returned with flawless records en route to earning 2005 World University Games gold medals. For their efforts the duo was chosen as 2005 USA Basketball Co-Developmental Coach of the Year, USA Basketball announced today. The selections were made by the USA Basketball Executive Committee, and the both coaches will be submitted by USA Basketball to the U.S. Olympic Committee for its Developmental Coach of the Year award.

"I'm once again surprised by USA Basketball," said Delaney-Smith. "I was surprised last spring when I was asked to be the head coach and I had an incredible experience in Turkey, the experience itself was the reward of a lifetime. Winning the gold with the players you dream of coaching and working with two of the greatest coaches in the country in Kathy (Inglese) and Pokey (Chatman) was truly satisfying. Being from the Ivy League, it was an incredible opportunity and to be honored like this is wonderful."

"It is a great honor to be named co-Developmental Coach of the Year," said Wright. "Spending a month with Bobby Gonzalez, Jeff Capel, our team and all of the support staff was an honor in itself. I'm thankful to USA Basketball for the opportunity to represent our country. I'm humbled and honored to be recognized for our team's accomplishments."

"USA Basketball was very fortunate to have Kathy Delaney-Smith and Jay Wright as its head coaches for the World University Games," said USA Basketball Executive Director Jim Tooley. "In a short amount of time, both blended a group of young players into a dominating gold medal winning team, leading their respective teams to perfect marks in Izmir, Turkey. I am grateful for their contributions to USA Basketball, not only this past summer, but throughout the years."

USA Basketball's Development Coach of the Year award was established in 1996 to recognize a USA Basketball head coach who, during the year of the award, made significant impact on the success of individual athlete and team performance at the developmental level.

Delaney-Smith and Wright added their names to the list of USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year award recipients which includes Kelvin Sampson (2004) of the University of Oklahoma, Jim Foster (2003) of The Ohio State University, Marsha Sharp (2002) of Texas Tech University, Debbie Ryan (2001) of the University of Virginia, Geno Auriemma (2000) of the University of Connecticut, Oliver Purnell (1999) currently at Clemson University (N.C.), Jim Boeheim (1998) of Syracuse University (N.Y.), Rene Portland (1997) of Penn State University and Mike Montgomery (1996) formerly of Stanford University (Calif.).

Delaney-Smith guided the 2005 USA Women's World University Games Team to the gold medal with a 7-0 record as the USA dominated the competition, winning by an average margin of 43.4 ppg. and scoring at a clip of

97.7 ppg. in its seven games.

"Congrats to her. I think she deserves it because she's a good coach," said Sylvia Fowles (Louisiana State / Miami, Fla.), the USA's leading scorer at the World University Games. "She makes sure you understand what's going on, she doesn't mind taking the time before or after practice to help us. She breaks everything down so we know what's going on. She helped me with my communication on the floor, talking you through things, she was really helpful."

The U.S. women breezed through preliminary play with victories over the Czech Republic, South Africa, China and Poland to enter the quarterfinals with a 4-0 mark. A 109-57 win over Taiwan in the quarters landed the USA a semifinal contest against Russia, who the U.S. handily defeated 118-67. In the title game, the U.S. was as dominant as ever and rolled to a perfect 7-0 record and the gold medal with a 79-53 win over Serbia & Montenegro.

Assisting Delaney-Smith along the sidelines were collegiate head coaches Pokey Chatman from Louisiana State University and Cathy Inglese from Boston College (Mass.).

The U.S. team included some of the nation's top athletes, including Seimone Augustus (Louisiana State / Baton Rouge, La.); Monique Currie (Duke / Washington, D.C.); Jessica Davenport (Ohio State / Columbus, Ohio); Megan Duffy (Notre Dame / Dayton, Ohio); Candice Dupree (Temple / Tampa, Fla.); Fowles; Erin Grant (Texas Tech / Arlington, Texas); Brandie Hoskins (Ohio State / Dayton, Ohio); Cappie Pondexter (Rutgers / Chicago, Ill.); Liz Shimek (Michigan State / Empire, Mich.); Brooke Smith (Stanford / San Anselmo, Calif.) and Lisa Willis (UCLA / Long Beach, Calif.).

Fowles led the squad in scoring with 15.0 ppg. and was joined in double figures by Augustus' 14.2 ppg. and Davenport's 10.7 ppg. Fowles also grabbed a team-high 7.2 rpg., followed by Shimek, who brought down 6.6 rpg. Smith shot a staggering 80.0 percent from the floor, with Fowles (.722), Davenport (.617) and Augustus (.615) close behind. Augustus averaged a team-best 2.5 spg., while Shimek and Willis both nabbed 2.1 spg. Also leading the USA were Pondexters 3.3 apg. and Dupree's 1.0 bpg.

A number of U.S. records fell at the 2005 World University Games. As a team, the 2005 squad's 134 total assists set a new mark, which was 20 more than the previous record set in 1991, and its 25 blocked shots tied the old mark set in 1999 and 2001. The team's free throw shooting percentage of 1.000 (12-12) percent against Poland on Aug. 15, tied the old record and with 27 assists against South Africa on Aug. 11, the USA set a new record.

Wright's 2005 USA Men's World University Games team dominated its competition much the same as the women's team did, running through opponents with unselfish play for a perfect 8-0 record.

"One of the things he told me when I was working out in Colorado Springs for the USA team was he saw me play all the time on TV and just to be the kind of player that I am," said Duke University's (N.C.) Shelden Williams (Forest Park, Okla.), the 2005 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year. "The first couple of days I wasn't showing that because I was trying to get used to the altitude and he got on me about being hungry. He was a guy who stayed on me about what I needed to do for our team to be successful. That was one of the things I tried to take away from it and fortunately I became one of the captains on the team."

The U.S. rolled through the preliminary rounds with a 5-0 record, its margin of victory never less than 10 points. After rolling past Australia 88-68 in the quarterfinals, the U.S. overcame a sluggish start to roar past Russia 120-80 in the semifinals and reach the gold medal game. With a dominant 85-70 win over Ukraine in the title game, the U.S. earned its first World University Games gold medal since 1999.

Acting as Wright's assistants were collegiate head coaches Jeff Capel from Virginia Commonwealth University and Bobby Gonzalez from Manhattan College (N.Y.).

The U.S. team included some of the nation's top athletes, including Greg Brunner (Iowa / Charles City, Iowa); Randy Foye (Villanova / Newark, N.J.); Mike Gansey (West Virginia / Olmsted Falls, Ohio); Vincent Grier (Minnesota / Charlotte, N.C.); Matt Haryasz (Stanford / Page, Ariz.); Chris Hernandez (Stanford / Fresno, Calif.); Eric Hicks (Cincinnati / Greensboro, N.C.); Bobby Jones (Washington / Compton, Calif.); Gerry McNamara (Syracuse / Scranton, Pa.); Craig Smith (Boston College / Los Angeles, Calif.); Patrick Sparks (Kentucky / Central City, Ky.) and Williams.

The USA averaged a tournament-best 93.5 ppg. and had four players average double digits, led by Williams' 14.9 ppg. Smith poured in a team second-best 13.9 ppg., Foye added 12.6 ppg. and Grier notched 11.1 ppg. Smith shot a healthy 66.7 percent from the floor, followed closely by Williams' 62.0 percent from the field. Williams also led the team with 9.3 rpg., while Brunner grabbed 5.8 rpg. and Smith took down 5.4 rpg. Grier nabbed 3.3 spg., Williams 2.6 spg. and Foye 2.5 spg. Williams rejected 2.3 bpg. and Haryasz averaged a team second-best 1.3 bpg.

As a team, the U.S. ranked No. 1 among the 32-team field for scoring offense (93.5), scoring margin (+29.9), blocks per game (5.63), steals per game (17.75), turnover margin (+11.63), assist-to-turnover ratio (0.92) and offensive rebounds per game (17.0). Additionally, the USA ranked second for rebounding margin per game (+12.4) ranked third in rebounds per game (42.8), fourth in free throw percentage (.668) and fifth in field goal percentage (.475).

Among all tournament leaders, Williams finished ranked No. 2 in blocks (2.3), third in offensive rebounds (4.5), fifth in rebounds (9.3), ninth in field goal percentage (.620) and 17th in scoring (14.9). Grier finished fifth in steals (3.25) and Smith ranked fifth in field goal percentage (.667). Additionally, McNamara came in No. 7 in 3-pointers per game (2.25) and Haryasz finished 17th in blocks (1.25).

Three of the 2005 World University Games Team members found their names in the U.S. record books at the end of the tournament. Grier set a new U.S. mark with 26 overall steals in the Games, while Williams's 21 rank him second and Foye's 20 put him in a tie for third with Allen Iverson. Williams' 18 blocks stands as the second-highest output at a Games and his 74 total rebounds place him third on the list.

USA Basketball Developmental Coach of the Year Award Recipients

2005 Kathy Delaney-Smith, Harvard University / Jay Wright, Villanova University

2004 Kelvin Sampson, University of Oklahoma

2003 Jim Foster, The Ohio State University

2002 Marsha Sharp, Texas Tech University

2001 Debbie Ryan, University of Virginia

2000 Geno Auriemma, University of Connecticut

1999 Oliver Purnell, University of Dayton

1998 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse University

1997 Rene Portland, Penn State University

1996 Mike Montgomery, Stanford University