Iranian squad to play at Revue

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Jul 2, 2008 | by Tim Buckley Deseret News

A game between the Jazz and the Olympic-qualified Iranian National Team highlight the schedule for this month's Rocky Mountain Revue summer league, which was released Tuesday.

The Revue will be held July 18-25 at Salt Lake Community College's Lifetime Activities Center.

Eight teams -- two more than originally announced -- will take part in the 17-game event, though two do not directly represent NBA franchises.

One will be an All-Star team from the NBA Development League. It will play three games, but none against the Jazz.

The other is the Iranian team that qualified for the upcoming Summer Olympics in China by winning last year's FIBA Asia Championship in Japan.

Iran is one of three nations that make up the so-called "Axis of Evil" -- the phrase used by President Bush in his 2002 State of the Union address to describe governments he accused of seeking weapons of mass destruction.

Its national team will be playing in its first Olympic men's basketball tourney since 1948.

The Iranians will be in the opposite group of Team USA in Beijing, and they feature 7-foot-5 center Jaber Rouzbahani -- who made himself eligible for, but went unselected in, the 2004 NBA Draft.

The Jazz-Iran game will be played at 7 p.m. on July 21. Iran will play one other Revue game, against Dallas on July 19.

It will mark the first time a non-NBA team will play in the Revue since 1996, when the schedule included a Jazz loss to the French national team in which now-retired Jazz center Greg Ostertag posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Other NBA teams in the field: Atlanta, Golden State, New Jersey and San Antonio.

New Jersey, making its Revue debut, has a roster that includes 2008 first-round draft choices Brook Lopez of Stanford and Ryan Anderson of Cal, '08 second-rounder Chris Douglas-Roberts of the University of Memphis and undrafted Utah State shooting guard Jaycee Carroll.

Dallas will be playing in the Revue for an 11th straight year, while San Antonio returns for a sixth consecutive appearance.

Atlanta -- featuring 2007 first-round draft choices Al Horford and Acie Law IV -- will be taking part for the fifth year in a row.

And Golden State -- whose roster includes '07 first-rounder Marco Belinelli and '08 lottery pick Anthony Randolph of LSU -- is making its sixth Revue appearance but its first since 1997.

Among those not in the field is Philadelphia, a frequent Revue participant in recent years.

The Jazz's roster is expected to include '08 first-round draft choice Kosta Koufos, a 7-foot center from Ohio State, and '07 picks Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko, who spent most of last season playing in Orem for the D-League's Utah Flash.

Utah's first Revue game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on July 18, vs. San Antonio.

No games will be played July 20 or July 23.

Tickets cost $10 ($8 for SLCC students and faculty), and are on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, the EnergySolutions Arena box office, ticketmaster.com or by calling 801-325-7328. Day-of-game tickets will available only on-site.

NOTES: First installment of "Road Redemption" -- a five-part documentary about the Team USA Olympic squad that includes Jazz point guard Deron Williams and Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer -- will air at 5 tonight on ESPN2 ... Ex-Jazz guard and 2004 first- round draft choice Kirk Snyder was not tendered a qualifying contract offer by the Minnesota Timberwolves, making him an unrestricted free agent ... Ex-Jazz forward Louis Amundson wasn't tendered a qualifying contract by the Philadelphia 76ers, making him an unrestricted free agent as well ... Kevin Kruger -- starting point guard last season for the Jazz-affiliated Flash -- will be playing for a second straight summer with the host Orlando Magic's entry in the Orlando Pro Summer League, which gets under way Monday in Florida ... Flash forward Brian Hamilton is on New Jersey's roster for Orlando league, where the Nets will play five games before heading to the Revue.

E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com