July 7, 1998
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern center Evan Eschmeyer (New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville) has been named one of 30 players invited to tryout for the 1998 USA Basketball World Championship Team, as announced this afternoon by USA Basketball. Training camp will run from July 8-14 in Chicago, with 12 of the 30 invitees earning a spot on the team, which will compete at the World Championships from July 29-Aug. 9 in Athens, Greece.
Eschmeyer, who will return to NU this season for a sixth-year of eligibility, is a two-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree. He ranked 11th in the NCAA last year in rebounds (10.7 rpg) and field goal percentage (.610) and was 13th in scoring (21.7 ppg). Eschmeyer was one of just two players to rank in the top 15 nationally in each of those three categories. The other was Pacific center Michael Olowokandi, who became the top pick in this years NBA draft.
Seven of the 30 invitees have Big Ten Conference ties: Eschmeyer, Mateen Cleaves (Michigan State), Acie Earl (Iowa), Kiwane Garris (Illinois), Jimmy King (Michigan), Brad Miller (Purdue) and Jimmy Oliver (Purdue).