<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Bruce Bowen walked outside Monday morning to pick up his newspaper and was surprised by what else he found on his doorstep. A contract from USA Basketball. The paperwork was a formal invitation for Bowen to participate in USA Basketball's training camp in July in Las Vegas. Only 22 NBA players will be invited to the camp, which will be used to determine the U.S. national team for this summer's World Championships in Japan and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Cleveland's LeBron James are among the other players who have committed for the camp. Bowen wasted no time in signing the contract Monday and mailing it back to USA Basketball. "I've accomplished a lot in my career," Bowen said. "But this is an opportunity to represent my country." USA Basketball isn't expected to announce the complete group of players until March 1. Bowen, who has said all season he would love to be picked, further impressed officials with his enthusiasm last weekend. After traveling from San Antonio to Miami Thursday to be with his family for the All-Star break, Bowen flew back to Houston on Friday to meet with Jerry Colangelo, USA Basketball's managing director. "I didn't really have any questions for him," Bowen said, "because I was just so excited for the opportunity." Between his defense and timely 3-point shooting, Bowen can provide two skills Team USA needs. Bowen, who turns 35 in June, will be one of the oldest players in the camp, but he has proven to be durable, having started 324 consecutive games for the Spurs. "The thing (Colangelo) is trying to do is build a team, and on that team you have superstars and role players," Bowen said. "They're looking for players that don't have to have the ball the whole time, who can continue to cheer on a teammate even though they might not be getting shots. </div> Source
Weren't they supposed to release the list of the 20 players they were inviting to tryouts during All-Star weekend?
