TEAM J.A.M.
SPOTLIGHT

                 

TEAM J.A.M.
SPOTLIGHT

. . . with JIMMY OLIVER 

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THE TEAM JAM CONNECTION


Jimmy, far left, at a special one day camp he ran for TEAM JAM

In the early 1990's, TEAM JAM would lead open gyms at Revere High School that would attract most of the top area amateur talent.  As each Tuesday or Thursday night passed, so would the word about the "runs" you could get up at the high school.

One night, John was going around meeting the first time visitors for the night.  Upon approaching one young looking athlete, he asked him his name.

He said, "Jimmy".  Thinking he was clever, he asked "Jimmy" if he had a last name too!

Jimmy did. It was Oliver and he was playing for the Cavs at the time.

Being the tolerant, kind hearted young man that he was, Jimmy forgave John of his gaffe and they continued to keep in touch.  The relationship included working camps for each other, special appearances in school classrooms, assistance with coaching TEAM JAM AAU teams and eventually just simply friendship.  

Jimmy is committed to be an active member in the Akron community when he is not playing overseas.  Jimmy, his wife Joli, and their two daughters are as a fine example as we know when it comes to being the kind of Christian young couple who have modeled how to handle success.

PERSONAL 
TESTIMONY

 
           

Jimmy Oliver
6'5"
Guard

 

 

 

 

 

 

LATEST NEWS

December 2nd, 2005

A couple of games ago, Union Olimpija's coach was fired.  His interim chose to bench
Jimmy, in spite of a 35 point game just a couple nights earlier.  He was soon fired and
as of December 1st, Jimmy was again playing under a new coach.

Though he came off the bench, he played almost 30 minutes (he was playing almost
40 minutes per game as a starter) and led Union to a win with 22 points.


Results

Date Opponent Score Minutes  Jimmy's points
         
September 21 Snaidero L 68-78  23 points
September 23 Helios Domzale W 85-75 20 points
September 24 Dynamo Moscow W 91-73 9 points
September 28 Pivovarna L 79-88 18 points
October 1 ToPo L 74-84 24 points
October 2 Honka (Helsinki) L 81-99 8 points
October 8 Zadar L 80-82 18 points
October 12 Unicaja Malaga W 68-52 DNP
October 15 FMP Beograd W 97-82 21 points
October 18 Hemofarm Vrsac W 89-80 19 points
October 22 Pivovarna Lasko W 80-74 17 points
October 29 Crvena Zvezda L 84-85 20 points
November 3 Zalgiris L 73-76 26 points
November 5 Cibona L 81-90 16 points
November 10 Bamberg L 80-81 7 points
 November 13 Vojvodina W  68-61 7 points
November 16 TAU L  70-87 25 points (7-12 from 3)
November 19 HKK W  95-92 35 points
November 24 Strasbourg L  82-90 14 points
November 27 Slovan L  59-68 4 points (off bench)
December 1 AEK W  81-72   22 points
December 4 Helios Domzale W  71-66   11 points
December 8 Climamio Bologna W  87-80   5  points
December 12 Partizan PMB Beoregard L  60-69   8  points
December 15 Benetton L  66-81   4 points
December 18 Zagreb W  94-81   16  points
December 22 Zalgiris L  79-80 28 21  points
December 27 Bosna Asa Sarajevo W  89-80 27 14  points
January  4 GHP Bamberg L  57-59    
January  7 KK Zadar L  78-91 13 3 points
January 12 Tau Ceramica L  63-91 13 0 points
         
         
         
         
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COMPLETE CAREER STATS
SEASON TEAM G PTS AVG 2FG
M-A
% 3FG
M-A
% FT
M-A
% REB ST AS BL
1988/89 Purdue 31 164 5.3 34/72 47,2 26/66 39,4 18/31 58,1 74 11 73 9
1999/90 Purdue 30 239 8.0 68/122 55,7 20/58 34,5 43/67 64,2 76 16 59 4
1990/91 Purdue 29 556 19.2 110/222 49,5 79/184 42,9 99/115 86,1 133 20 89 10
1991/92 Cleveland 27 96 3.6 38/89 42,7 1/9 11,1 17/22 77,3 27 9 20 2
1992/93 Sioux Falls 15 259 17.3 95/216 44 7/24 29,2 48/58 82,8 49 9 32 3
  Pescanova 7 95 13.6 18/43 41,9 15/36 41,7 14/18 77,8 15 5 4 1
1993/94 Boston 44 216 4.9 76/182 41,8 13/32 40,6 25/33 75,8 46 16 33 1
1994/95 Salamanca 22 436 19.8 68/151 45 75/151 49,7 75/96 78,1 79 17 28 6
1995/96 Rock-Okla 24 268 11.2 65/150 43,3 35/64 54,7 33/44 75 62 12 46 5
1996/97 Nancy 8 161 20.1 45/101 44,6 15/47 31,9 26/26 100 17 6 14
  Okla-QC 44 682 15.5 137/260 52,7 107/225 47,6 87/101 86,1 132 39 86 10
  Toronto 4 11 2.8 3/7 42,9 1/6 16,7 2/2 100 5 2 1 0
1997/98 Washington 1 5 5.0 1/2 50 1/2 50 0/0 0/0 2 0 1 0
  Huelva 23 454 19.7 105/172 61 64/159 40,3 52/63 82,5 66 25 22
1998/99 MS Siena 16 239 14.9 43/81 53,1 38/90 42,2 39/41 95,1 45 23 29
  Phoenix 2 3 1.5 0/2 0 1/1 100 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0
1999/00 Irakleio 18 342 1.9 61/119 51,3 50/114 43,9 70/79 88,6 96 23 33
2000/01 Maroussi 25 505 20.2 98/168 58,3 73/172 42,4 90/103 87,4 100 41 49
2001/02 Maroussi 26 543 20.9 104/201 51,7 79/205 38,5 98/110 89,1 100 33 92
2002/03 Maroussi 29 438 15.1 89/148 60,1 59/150 39,3 83/98 84,7 123 33 49 6
2003/04 Dynamo M 20 273 13.7 45/79 57 49/103 47,6 36/39 92,3 83 27 33 0
2004/05 KK Split 13 282 21.7 45/85 52,9 59/111 53,2 17/17 100 69 26 12 1


COLLEGE CAREER

          G   MIN  FG FGA 3P 3PA  FT FTA REB PF AST TO BLK STL PTS 
87-88 Did Not Play - Ineligible 
88-89 31  565   60 138    26 66    18  31     74   43  73   36    9    11  164 
89-90 30  705   88 180    20 58    43  67     76   33  59   40    4    16  239 
90-91 29 1026 189 406   79 184   99 115   133  45  89   72   10   20   556
--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
TOT.  90 2296 337 724 125 308  160 213   283 121 221 148  23   47  959 

                          MIN FG% 3P% FT%  RPG APG TPG BPG SPG   PPG 
87-88 Purdue Did Not Play - Ineligible 
88-89 Purdue       18.2 43.5 39.4   58.1  2.4    2.4   1.2   0.3    0.4     5.3 
89-90 Purdue       23.5 48.9 34.5   64.2  2.5    2.0   1.3   0.1    0.5     8.0 
90-91 Purdue       35.4 46.6 42.9   86.1  4.6    3.1   2.5   0.3    0.7    19.2 
----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
       TOTALS      25.5 46.5 40.6   75.1  3.1    2.5   1.6   0.3    0.5    10.7 

Selected by Cleveland Cavaliers in 2nd round (#39 pick overall) of 1991 NBA Draft.

----------------------------------------------------------------


         NBA HIGHLIGHTS

           Complete NBA Career Stats
           Boston Celtics career 1993-94

Wizards too much for Hawks
     
(Oliver scores 30)

Web posted October 26, 1997
Associated Press

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Jimmy Oliver scored 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Chris Whitney got five of his 20 points in the second overtime as the injury-plagued Washington Wizards rallied from a 21-point first-half deficit to beat the Atlanta Hawks 102-96 Saturday night.
     The victory earned the Wizards third place in the two-day Great Western Shootout that is hosted annually by the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers faced Seattle in the nightcap for the tournament championship.
     Ed Gray, whose 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left in regulation tied the score at 78 and capped a 12-point fourth quarter by the rookie guard, led Atlanta with 25 points.
     After a slam dunk by Anthony ``Pig'' Miller tied the score at 88 with 33 seconds left in the first overtime, Whitney missed a jumper from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.
     But Whitney hit a driving layup to give Washington a 95-92 lead and added a 3-pointer with 54 seconds left in the second extra period for a 100-94 lead. Atlanta made only one field goal over the final 2:57.
     The Wizards, missing Juwan Howard and Gheorghe Muresan with ankle injuries and point guard Rod Strickland for the third consecutive game because of an injured left hamstring, also lost swingman Calbert Cheaney with an injured left knee and forward Darvin Ham with a bloody nose.
     Cheaney hurt himself while committing a hard foul on Matt Steigenga, as the Hawks' second-year forward drove the lane on a fast break in the final seconds of the first half. Ham was injured while committing a flagrant foul against Gray in the paint with 7:55 left.
     Gray sank both free throws to increase Atlanta's lead to 71-63 with 4:56 to play, but Oliver triggered a quarter-ending 15-7 run with a 3-pointer. Whitney sank both free throws to put Washington ahead for the first time, 76-75, with 1:05 left.
      Miller missed two free throws at the other end before rookie God Shammgod, who had 16 assists, hit both foul shots to give Washington a 78-75 lead with 8.2 seconds left in the fourth. But Gray responded with his clutch 3-pointer.
     Washington finished the pre-season with a 3-4 record while Atlanta finished at 4-4.

Foto

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2005-06 - Slovenia
  
Team: Union Olimpija

2005 - Croatia
  
Team:  KK Split CO
Jimmy was second in the league in scoring (21 pts) behind his own teammate Ukik Roko Leni, who was drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA draft.

2004 - Russia
  
Team: Dynamo
Shot 60% from the field, 90% from the free throw line and 49% from 3 pt. range.  Was Dynamo's leading scorer at 15 points per game.


CAREER:
From Purdue University (1987-91), was selected in the 1991 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers as 2nd round pick (#39). In 1991-92 has made his debut in the NBA with Cleveland and the following season, 1992-93, has played in the CBA with Sioux Falls Skyforce and in Spain with El Ferrol. In 1993-94 was back in the NBA with Boston Celtics and in 1994-95 played at Salamanca Baloncesto (Spain). In 1995-96 has played in the CBA with Rockford Lightning, San Diego Wildcards and Oklahoma City Cavalry. In 1996-97 started at Nancy Basket (France); released by Nancy has then signed with Oklahoma City (CBA), Toronto Raptors (NBA) and Quad City (CBA). In the 1997-98 season signed for Washington Bullets but is released during the preseason and, on November 1997, signs for C.B. Huelva (Spain). For the 1998-99 season signed, on November, with Mens Sana Siena (Italy) but finished the seqason with NBA's Phoenix Suns. In 1999-00 joined, on late November, Iraklio OAA Kritis (Greece).Since 2000-01 was signed by BC Maroussi, still in Greece.

Named All-BIG Ten Conference First Team in 1990-91. Played with the USA National Team the 1998 World Championship in Greece. Played the 2000-01and 2001-02 Greek League All-Star Game and won the 2000-01 Saporta Cup.
Semifinals, 1st Leg MVP: Jimmy Oliver

(Mar 21, 2003) US forward Jimmy Oliver of Maroussi Athens was very close to the "triple-double" in the game against Lokomotiv Mineralnye Vody. He scored 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and gave 9 assists !

 

 

(Editors Note:   In 1998 the NBA was involved in a lockout but the United States still needed to field a team to represent them in the World Championships.  The team would have to be good enough to at least finish in the top three places or it would be relegated to qualifying for the next Olympics in qualifying tournaments.  Intense tryouts involved the best players in the United States who weren't currently under contract with the NBA.   Jimmy was arguably the leader and best player on that team that eventually landed the Bronze medal after a loss in the last second to the team from Lithuania and then blew a 10 pt. lead in the last 3 minutes against Russia  in the semifinal. 

THIRTEENTH WORLD  CHAMPIONSHIP  - 1998
Athens, Greece
July 29 - August 9, l998

Exciting. Inspiring. Suspenseful. Resilient. Persevering. The 1998 USA Men's World Championship Team, under the direction of Rudy Tomjanovich, proved to be all of those things en route to a 7-2 record and the capturing of the bronze medal at the 13th FIBA Men's World Championship.
1998 World Championship Team

1998 USA Men's World Championship Team



1998 USA RESULTS (7-2)

USA 83 Brazil 59
Lithuania 84 USA 82
USA 88 South Korea 62
USA 87 Argentina 74
USA 75 Spain 73
USA 96 Australia 78
USA 80 Italy 77
Russia 66 USA 64
USA 84 Greece 61

1998 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS
1. Yugoslavia
(9-0)
9. Australia (5-3)
2. Russia (7-2) 10. Brazil (2-6)
3. USA (7-2) 11. Puerto Rico (3-5)
4. Greece (5-4) 12. Canada (1-7)
5. Spain (7-2) 13. Nigeria (2-3)
6. Italy (5-4) 14. Japan (1-4)
7. Lithuania (5-4) 15. Senegal (1-4)
8. Argentina (3-6) 16. S. Korea (0-5)

It was a remarkable story from start to finish. With NBA labor problems preventing the use of NBA players as was done in 1994, USA Basketball began assembling a new team just three weeks out from the opening of training, looking to players who had played professionally overseas, in the CBA, or in college.

The U.S. team opened the competition by defeating Brazil 83-59 as Wendell Alexis recorded 13 points and eight rebounds and Michael Hawkins tallied 12 points and passed for a USA World Championship single game record 10 assists.

One day later, Jimmy Oliver's would-be game winning three at the buzzer rolled in then out as Lithuania held on to collect an 84-82 victory. Oliver finished with a team high 18 points.

Jason Sasser scored 11 of the USA's first 13 points of the second half to help the USA break away from South Korea and capture an 88-62 victory in its final preliminary round game.

Advancing to second round play, the USA trio of Alexis, Oliver and Hawkins combined to score 53 points and shot 10-of-14 from three-point as the U.S. fought off Argentina 87-74.

Oliver scored a team high 17 points including the go ahead three-pointer with 1:19 remaining to give the USA its first lead of the game as the U.S. rallied to earn a hard fought 75-73 victory over Spain.

Facing Australia in a game the USA needed to win to earn the Group F number one seed and Australia needed just to advance to the medal round quarterfinals, the USA clicked on all cylinders and routed the Aussies 96-78.

Thanks to inspired clutch play from guards Kiwane Garris and Hawkins, the U.S. persevered and managed to record an 80-77 victory over Italy in quarterfinals play. The USA was led by Hawkins' 16 points and six assists, while Alexis added 14 points and Garris finished with 11.

The USA's quest for gold came to a halt after Russia overcame a 10-point USA lead in the final three minutes and forward Serguei Panov went coast-to-coast to score a layup with 4 seconds left to give his team an improbable 66-64 win. Gerard King was the USA's only scorer in double figures with 10 points while adding six rebounds.

Meeting host Greece in the bronze medal contest on August 9, behind Sasser's game high 23 points and a defense that never let Greece find its rhythm, the United States jumped the Greeks early and stormed to an 84-61 victory to capture a bronze medal.

In the gold medal contest, Yugoslavia held off Russia 64-62 to capture the gold medal.

 

 

 

 

1998 USA Men's World Championship Roster


NAME POS HGT WGT AGE AFFILIATION (SCHOOL) HOMETOWN
Wendell Alexis F 6-9 220 34 Alba Berlin (Syracuse) Bridgewater, NJ
Ashraf Amaya F/C 6-8 250 26 Idaho Stampede (S. Illinois) Plainfield, TX
Mateen Cleaves (Injured) G 6-2 195 20 Michigan State University Flint, MI
Bill Edwards F 6-8 220 26 Pompea Roma (Wright State) Cincinnati, OH
Kiwane Garris G 6-2 183 23 Grand Rapids Hoops (Illinois) Chicago, IL
Michael Hawkins G 6-0 178 25 Olympiakos (Xavier) Cypress, TX
Gerard King F 6-9 230 25 Fontanafredda Siena (Nicholls St.) New Orleans, LA
Jimmy King G 6-5 210 25 Quad City Thunder (Michigan) Plano, TX
Trajan Langdon G 6-3 195 22 Duke University Anchorage, AK
Brad Miller C 6-11 240 22 Purdue University Kendallville, IN
Jimmy Oliver G 6-6 208 29 Ciuda De Huelva (Purdue) Akron, OH
Jason Sasser F 6-7 210 24 Sioux Falls Skyforce (Texas Tech) Dallas, TX
David Wood F 6-9 230 33 Rockford Lightning (Nevada) San Antonio, TX
HEAD COACH: Rudy Tomjanovich, Houston Rockets
ASSSISTANT COACH: Del Harris, Los Angeles Lakers
ASSISTANT COACH: Lon Kruger, University of Illinois
TEAM PHYSICIAN: Glenn Perry, Charlotte Hornets
TEAM PHYSICIAN: Harlan Selesnick, Miami Heat
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Lenny Currier, Philadelphia 76ers
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Keith Jones, Houston Rockets

1998 USA Men's World Championship Cumulative Statistics

NAME G/S
FGM-FGA
PCT
3PM-3PA
PCT
FTM-FTA
PCT
REB/AVG
PTS/AVG
AT
BK
ST
Oliver 9/9
40- 80
.500
20- 44
.455
6- 6
1.000
25/ 2.8
106/ 11.8
9
3
11
Alexis 9/0
37- 70
.529
16- 34
.471
14- 26
.538
36/ 4.0
104/ 11.6
4
3
4
Sasser 9/9
41- 88
.466
2- 9
.222
12- 18
.667
33/ 3.7
96/ 10.7
5
0
4
J. King 9/0
32- 59
.542
3- 10
.300
14- 24
.583
18/ 2.0
81/ 9.0
16
0
9
Hawkins 9/9
21- 45
.467
7- 19
.368
20- 25
.800
20/ 2.2
69/ 7.7
37
0
7
Garris 9/0
20- 41
.488
6- 16
.375
7- 8
.875
12/ 1.3
53/ 5.9
10
0
0
G. King 9/9
19- 33
.576
0- 0
.---
15- 20
.750
48/ 5.3
53/ 5.9
7
0
5
Miller 9/0
16- 25
.640
0- 0
.---
15- 27
.556
30/ 3.3
47/ 5.2
7
3
1
Wood 9/9
18- 35
.514
5- 13
.385
3- 3
1.000
26/ 2.9
44/ 4.9
4
4
1
Amaya 9/0
17- 24
.708
0- 0
.---
6- 11
.545
42/ 4.7
40/ 4.4
2
1
4
Edwards 7/0
9- 27
.333
4- 12
.333
4- 8
.500
14/ 2.0
26/ 3.7
6
0
3
Langdon 7/0
5- 9
.556
4- 7
.571
6- 6
1.000
6/ 0.9
20/ 2.9
3
0
1
USA 9
275-536
.513
67-164
.409
122-182
.670
326/36.2
739/ 82.1
110
13
50
OPP. 9
220-519
.424
65-171
.380
129-189
.630
257/28.9
634/ 70.4
94
31
50

Contact USA Basketball.com
© 2003 USA Basketball, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
No part of the hereby supplied images and texts may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the prior written authorization of USA Basketball, Inc.

U.S. is back in the hunt at Worlds

Photo By Howard Fendrich, Associated Press writer

ATHENS, Greece -- The no-name U.S. team is suddenly in the thick of things at the World Basketball Championship.
Jimmy Oliver led a second-half surge with 17 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:18 left, as the United States beat previously undefeated Spain 75-73 yesterday and locked up a quarterfinal berth.
Yugoslavia and Greece also fell from the unbeaten ranks Monday, but advanced to the quarterfinals.
Italy upset European champion Yugoslavia 61-60 as center Gregor Fucka made two free throws with 20 seconds remaining, while Russia beat Greece 60-48 behind Sergei Babkov's 18 points.
Six teams have 4-1 records and the United States, Spain, Yugoslavia, Russia, Greece and Lithuania -- which beat Argentina 84-75 Monday -- have assured themselves of quarterfinal spots with one game remaining in the round-robin second round.
"It's wide open right now. The teams are really evenly matched. A lot of games are going to come down to the last couple minutes," U.S. coach Rudy Tomjanovich said.
The win over Spain did, with plenty of contributions from unsung players.
Brad Miller, who went undrafted out of Purdue this spring, had 12 points and six rebounds in his strongest outing of the tournament. Kiwane Garris, who played at Illinois and is now in the CBA, had 11 points and Wendell Alexis, who starred at Syracuse in the 1980s and now plays in Germany, added 10 points.
But as it has almost all tournament, the United States started flat, missing 12 of its first 15 shots and trailing 20-8 nine minutes into the game.
The crew of castoffs, most of whom play in either the CBA or Europe, shot 11-for-31 from the field (35 percent) in the first half and trailed 42-31 at halftime.
But they battled back behind Oliver's hot hand and some increased intensity on defense.
"We're a working-class team," said Oliver, a former Purdue standout who now plays in Spain. "We're not high class, highly paid individuals. We need to go out and work for it. If we do, this gold medal should be ours."
Spain's Alberto Herreros scored 27 points.
The Americans, playing here because the NBA labor dispute led to the dumping of the roster of NBA stars, never led until Oliver hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game to make it 72-71.
Free throws by both teams made it 75-73 with 10 seconds left, giving Spain time to tie or win the game. But Ignacio Rodriguez missed a 3-pointer from the corner and Jose Antonio Paraiso, who grabbed the rebound, threw up a wild shot.
Since losing to Lithuania in its second game, the United States has won three straight and no one has a better record.
"This is all going to be work here. We're not going to breeze through any game," said Jimmy King, a part of Michigan's Fab Five which reached two NCAA title games. "That's how competitive this tournament is."
Elsewhere, Australia (3-2) rallied for a 75-63 victory over Brazil (1-4), and Puerto Rico (2-3) kept alive its slim hopes for a quarterfinal spot by beating Canada (1-4) 94-81.

Photo by The Associated Press
American Kiwane Garris, left, tries to score during their game with Spain yesterday at the World Basketball Championships.

 

U.S. team plays like dream

Wednesday, August 5, 1998

BY The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece -- It was about as close to a dream performance as this U.S. team has mustered.

Jimmy Oliver scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures Tuesday and the unheralded Americans dominated Australia from the outset in a 96-78 victory that earned them a top seeding for the quarterfinals of the World Basketball Championship.

The game was not as close as the final score indicated and the Americans' best performance at the week-old tournament showed that the collection of castoffs is a legitimate threat to contend for the gold medal.

"We finally put two halves together," said Oliver, who has played for nine different teams in the NBA, CBA and Spanish League since leaving Purdue in 1991. "It was unselfish basketball, forcing them to play good defense."

Jason Sasser added 15 points and seven rebounds for the U.S.; Jimmy King had 14 points, Wendell Alexis 13 and Kiwane Garris 11.

Xavier product Michael Hawkins, one of the team's leading scorers, was held scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting.

The United States shot 61 percent from the field (41-of-67), including 8-of-12 from three-point range. For a change, the team was hot right from the start, taking control with a 22-5 run that made it 35-17 14 minutes in.

"Everybody realizes this team has been getting off to slow starts," Alexis said. "We needed to push the ball and be aggressive early."

It was the sort of lopsided game that was commonplace for the various versions of the Dream Team, which is not here because of the NBA labor dispute.

"We have made big progress as far as understanding the team game and what the game plan is," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "Every guy now understands what his role is."

The United States (5-1) will face Italy in Friday's quarterfinals. The Italians (4-2) edged Puerto Rico 68-63, and Argentina (3-3) held off Brazil 86-76 Tuesday to earn the last two quarterfinal berths.

In games which determined seedings for the quarterfinals, Yugoslavia, the other top seed, beat Greece 70-56; Russia defeated Canada 81-72; and Spain beat Lithuania 86-80 in overtime.

The other quarterfinal matchups are: Yugoslavia (5-1) vs. Argentina; Spain (5-1) vs. Greece (4-2); and Lithuania (4-2) vs. Russia (5-1).

Tomjanovich's mix-and-match roster showed patience on offense, moving the ball well.

"We kept changing defenses," Australia coach Barry Barnes said. "We tried pressure, we tried laying off their shooters. But nothing worked."

Alexis, who played at Syracuse more than 10 years ago and is now playing in Germany, had all of his points in the first half, which ended with the U.S. leading 54-31 when Oliver hit a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Australia never got closer than 18 points the rest of the way.

UNITED STATES (75) -- Hawkins 0-4 0-0 0, Sasser 6-12 3-6 15, Oliver 7-10 1-1 18, G.King 2-4 0-0 4, Wood 2-3 0-0 4, Langdon 0-0 0-0 0, Garris 5-7 0-0 11, J.King 6-8 2-2 14, Edwards 2-4 0-0 5, Alexis 5-7 0-0 13, Amaya 3-4 0-2 6, Miller 3-4 0-1 6. Totals 41-67 6-12 96.

AUSTRALIA (73) -- Ronaldson 0-3 0-0 0, Gaze 3-7 2-4 8, Heal 12-18 2-3 31, Vlahov 3-5 0-0 7, Rogers 2-4 2-3 6, Maher 3-5 0-0 8, Fisher 0-0 0-0 0, Drmic 0-1 0-0 0, Mackinnon 2-7 0-0 4, Dwight 2-4 3-3 7, Melmeth 1-3 2-2 4, Anstey 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 29-61 12-17 78. United States 54 42_96 Australia 31 47_78

3-Point goals_United States 8-12 (Oliver 3-3, Alexis 3-3, Edwards 1-1, Garris 1-3, Hawkins 0-2), Australia 8-14 (Heal 5-7, Maher 2-2, Vlahov 1-2, Gaze 0-1, Ronaldson 0-2). Rebounds_United States 40 (Sasser, Amaya 7), Australia 26 (Rogers 7). Assists_United States 14 (Oliver 3), Australia 9 (Heal 5).

 


Copyright © August 04, 1998, Pocono Record
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