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Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins named co-head coach of USA Select national team

MikeHopkins

Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins will work with the USA Select Team this summer, after being selected to serve as the co-head coach Monday, The Post-Standard is reporting.

The Select Team features players who were not chosen for the National Team that will compete in the Olympics, and includes former Duke guard Kyrie Irving, former Butler hero Gordon Hayward, and Ivy League standout and Knicks guard Jeremy Lin.

The team will practice against the USA National Team this July in Las Vegas, before the top team moves on to London for the 2012 Olympics.

Hopkins played for Syracuse from 1989-1993, with his best season coming during his senior year, when he averaged 9.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He went on to play professionally in Europe and Holland.

He has been with Syracuse since 1995, as a major asset in recruiting, notably credited with developing former Syracuse guard Jason Hart, an NBA veteran and now an assistant at Pepperdine, as well as Jonny Flynn and Gerry McNamara.

The Orange finished 34-3 last season, winning the Big East and advancing to the Elite Eight, where they were eliminated by Ohio State.

The USA Select Team will train with the National Team from July 6-11.

“The USA Select Team was a vital part of the USA Men’s National Team’s training in 2007, 2008 and 2010, and again in 2012 we’ll utilize this team of select NBA players to help get our National Team ready for the very competitive summer that is ahead of us,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said in a statement.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_