Andrew Gellert, a junior guard on the Harvard men's basketball team, was selected yesterday to play for the United States in the 16th World Maccabiah Games. Gellert will join over 5,000 Jewish athletes from more than 50 countries this summer in Israel for the quadrennial event.

Gellert, an economics concentrator at Harvard, started all 26 games last season for the Crimson. He averaged 7.5 points per game and had 3.9 boards per game in the 2000-2001 campaign.

Gellert's bread-and-butter, though, is steals. The junior pickpocket finished first in the Ivy League and was ranked nationally in steals. His 2.8 steals per game was good for eighth in the country and at one point in the season, Gellert was in the top five in steals. He has also established Harvard records for steals in a season (74) and consecutive games with a steal (47). Next season, Gellert will be within striking distance of the career steals record of 213held by Mike Gielen '89.

A native of Newtown, CT and a graduate of Newtown High School, Gellert was a varsity letter winner in basketball, baseball and football. In his senior year, Gellert set the state record for interceptions with 17 as a defensive back in football, and was named 1997-98 Basketball Player of the Year by the Connecticut Post.

Gellert was the only New Englander selected for the U.S. Team and is one of nine active college players to make the 12-man roster. The team will be coached by Larry Shyatt, who is currently the head coach of the Clemson Tigers. Other Ivy League players selected are David Klatsky from Penn, and Matt Minoff, Justin Simon and Paul Vitelli from Yale.

Gellert will join the team at the end of June to practice before heading off for the competition, which will begin July 16 and