The participants in the Rookie Challenge
were selected by a panel of 11 former NBA players and coaches who currently work
as broadcasters covering the league. The game will be broadcast live nationally
at 9 p.m. ET by TNT, Rogers Sportsnet and NBA on ESPN Radio, and features this
year's top rookies against the league's best second-year players. Last year, the
Sophomores defeated the Rookies, 132-112, with Gilbert Arenas of the Golden
State Warriors earning the Most Valuable Player award.
LeBron James is joined on the rookie team by
Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat, Jarvis Hayes of the Washington
Wizards, Kirk Hinrich of the Chicago Bulls, Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks
and Chris Kaman of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Howard was the last pick of the first round
and Haslem was an undrafted rookie from Florida, who went unselected in the 2002
NBA Draft.
Yao Ming is be joined on the Sophomore team
by Carlos Boozer of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Mike Dunleavy of the Golden State
Warriors, Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs, Marko Jaric of the Los Angeles
Clippers, Ronald Murray of the Seattle SuperSonics, Nenê of the Denver Nuggets,
Tayshaun Prince of the Detroit Pistons and 2002-03 NBA Rookie of the Year, Amaré
Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns.
If a rookie or second-year player is
selected to play in the All-Star Game on Sunday, he will also play in the Rookie
Challenge on Friday evening.
This year's game features four international
players: Yao (China), Ginobili (Argentina), Jaric (Serbia-Montenegro) and Nenê
(Brazil).
This is the fifth year under the current
rookie-versus-sophomore format, with the series knotted at two games each. The
game will be played in two 20-minute halves, with each team allowed one full
timeout and one 20-second timeout per half. Individual foul totals will be kept,
but a player can not foul out. A team will be in the penalty situation after 10
team fouls or after the second foul in the final two minutes of each half. In
the event of a tie game, there will be a two-minute overtime to determine the
winner.
|
ROOKIE TEAM
ROSTER |
|
|
|
|
|
Player
|
Team
|
Pos.
|
Ht.
|
Wt.
|
College/Country
|
|
Carmelo Anthony
|
Denver
|
F
|
6-8
|
230
|
Syracuse
|
|
Chris Bosh
|
Toronto
|
F
|
6-10
|
225
|
Georgia Tech
|
|
Udonis Haslem
|
Miami
|
F
|
6-8
|
230
|
Florida
|
|
LeBron James
|
Cleveland
|
G |
6-8
|
258
|
St. Vincent-St. Mary HS
|
|
Jarvis Hayes
|
Washington
|
G/F
|
6-7
|
220
|
Georgia
|
|
Kirk Hinrich
|
Chicago
|
G
|
6-3
|
186
|
Kansas
|
|
Josh Howard
|
Dallas
|
F
|
6-5
|
210
|
Wake Forest
|
|
Chris Kaman
|
L.A. Clippers
|
C
|
7-0
|
268
|
Central Michigan
|
|
Dwyane Wade
|
Miami
|
G
|
6-4
|
212
|
Marquette
|
|
SOPHOMORE TEAM
ROSTER |
|
|
|
|
|
Player
|
Team
|
Pos.
|
Ht.
|
Wt.
|
College/Country
|
|
Carlos Boozer
|
Cleveland
|
F
|
6-8
|
258
|
Duke
|
|
Mike Dunleavy
|
Golden State
|
F
|
6-8
|
230
|
Duke
|
|
Manu Ginobili
|
San Antonio
|
F
|
6-6
|
210
|
Argentina
|
|
Marko Jaric
|
L.A. Clippers
|
G |
6-7
|
217
|
Serbia-Montenegro
|
|
Ronald Murray
|
Seattle
|
G
|
6-3
|
197
|
Shaw
|
|
Nenê
|
Denver
|
F
|
6-11
|
260
|
Brazil
|
|
Tayshaun Prince
|
Detroit
|
F
|
6-9
|
215
|
Kentucky
|
|
Amaré Stoudemire
|
Phoenix
|
F
|
6-10
|
245
|
Cypress Creek HS
|
|
Yao Ming
|
Houston
|
C
|
7-5
|
296
|
China
|
PREVIOUS ROOKIE CHALLENGE
RESULTS
1994: Phenoms 74, Sensations
68
1995: White 83, Green 79
(OT)
1996: East 94, West
92
1997: East 96, West
91
1998: East 85, West
80
2000: Rookies 92, Sophomores 81
(OT)
2001: Sophomores 121, Rookies
113
2002: Rookies 103, Sophomores
97
2003: Sophomores 132, Rookies 112