Montevideo, Uruguay and Córdoba, Argentina •
August 25-September 3, 2017
It had been 10 years since the United States last competed in its zone championship.
While the format of the competition was different and the official name of the Americas Championship had been altered to the FIBA AmeriCup 2017, the results weren’t much different.
|
2017 USA RESULTS (5-0)
| USA |
97 |
Panama |
56 |
| USA |
74 |
Uruguay |
66 |
| USA |
72 |
Dominican Republic |
56 |
| USA |
90 |
U.S. Virgin Islands |
62 |
| USA |
81 |
Argentina |
76 |
2017 FIBA AMERICUP FINAL STANDINGS
| 1. USA (5-0) |
7. |
Dominican Republic (1-2) |
| 2. Argentina (4-1) |
8. |
Canada (1-2) |
| 3. Mexico (4-1) |
9. |
Brazil (1-2) |
| 4. U.S. Virgin Islands (1-4) |
10. |
Venezuela (1-2) |
| 5. Puerto Rico (2-1) |
11. |
Colombia (0-3) |
| 6. Uruguay (2-1) |
12. |
Panama (0-3) |
|
The USA won gold for the seventh time in nine appearances. This time the Americans rolled up a 5-0 record to win gold, and in doing so, defeated Uruguay and Argentina on their home courts.
Featuring a team directed by former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy and relying on a roster consisting primarily of NBA G League players, the USA’s success was a remarkable story of team coming together very quickly and working to improve each day and every game.
“We took the competition very seriously. Our team was into it. They wanted to do something special together, and we knew going on the road, both to Uruguay, which was an outstanding team, and here at Argentina, which is a great, great team - that we would have to play well and be mentally strong,” said USA skipper Van Gundy. “To me, that was the greatest thing ... We grew in our mental strength. We stuck together and we fought together. Ultimately, we won together.”
USA center Jameel Warney was named MVP of the AmeriCup and Darrun Hilliard joined him on the five-member all-tournament team.
Sprinting out to a 27-10 first quarter lead, the USA never looked back as it rolled to a dominating 97-56 victory over Panama in its opening game of Group C play in Montevideo, Uruguay. Four players scored in double digits, led by 17 points from Hilliard and Jonathan Holmes.
Trailing by 11 points early in the second quarter, the USA scratched and defended its way back into the game and went on to outscore host Uruguay 24-16 in the fourth quarter to earn a critical 74-66 win. C.J. Williams scored a team-best 16 points, Reggie Hearn scored 15 points and Hilliard added 13 points, while Warney recorded eight points and hauled in a team-high 14 rebounds.
The USA never trailed en route to a 72-56 win over Dominican Republic. C.J. Williams paced the USA's offense with 15 points, Hilliard and Warney added 13 points apiece. Finishing Group C play 3-0, the victory propelled the USA into the AmeriCup medal round semifinals.
Xavier Munford’s double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds helped power the USA to a dominating 90-62 semifinals win over U.S. Virgin Islands and advanced the USA to the AmeriCup gold medal game.
Seeing its gold medal dreams slipping away after falling behind by 20 points early in the third quarter, the USA shooting came to life and the American squad rallied for a remarkable comeback and earned an 81-76 victory over host Argentina to win the FIBA AmeriCup gold medal in Córdoba, Argentina. Warney finished his strong showing with 21 points and seven rebounds; Hilliard added 15 points, six rebounds; Hearn contributed 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3, and added six rebounds; and Munford tossed in 10 points.
2017 USA MEN'S AMERICUP TEAM ROSTER
| Billy Baron |
G |
6-2 |
195 |
26 |
UCAM Murcia (Spain)/Canisius |
| Alec Brown |
C |
7-1 |
231 |
25 |
Windy City Bulls/Green Bay |
| Larry Drew II |
G |
6-2 |
180 |
27 |
Sioux Falls Skyforce/UCLA |
| Reggie Hearn |
G |
6-4 |
209 |
25 |
Reno Bighorns/Northwestern |
| Darrun Hilliard |
F |
6-6 |
205 |
24 |
Detroit Pistons/Villanova |
| Jonathan Holmes |
F |
6-9 |
242 |
24 |
Canton Charge/Texas |
| Kendall Marshall |
G |
6-4 |
195 |
26 |
Reno Longhorns/North Carolina |
| Xavier Munford |
G |
6-3 |
190 |
25 |
Greensboro Swarm/Rhode Island |
| Marshall Plumlee |
C |
7-0 |
250 |
25 |
New York Knicks/Duke |
| Jameel Warney |
F |
6-7 |
259 |
23 |
Texas Legends/Stony Brook |
| C.J. Williams |
G |
6-5 |
230 |
27 |
Texas Legends/North Carolina State |
| Reggie Williams |
F |
6-6 |
210 |
30 |
Oklahoma City Blue/VMI |
| Head Coach: Jeff Van Gundy, USA Basketball |
| Assistant Coach: Ty Ellis, Northern Arizona Suns |
| Assistant Coach: Mo McHone, USA Basketball |
| Team Physician: Stephen Foley, Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, South Dakota) |
| Athletic Trainer: Motoki Fujii, Houston Rockets |
| Scout: Ken McDonald, Austin Toros |
2017 USA MEN'S AMERICUP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
| Hilliard |
5/4 |
25- 62 |
.403 |
2- 17 |
.118 |
15- 21 |
.714 |
17/ 3.4 |
67/ 13.4 |
8 |
0 |
3 |
| Warney |
5/0 |
24- 37 |
.649 |
0- 0 |
.--- |
16- 26 |
.615 |
43/ 8.6 |
64/ 12.8 |
7 |
4 |
1 |
| Munford |
5/0 |
18- 40 |
.450 |
5- 15 |
.333 |
10- 11 |
.909 |
19/ 3.8 |
51/ 10.2 |
15 |
3 |
8 |
| Hearn |
5/1 |
16- 34 |
.461 |
10- 21 |
.476 |
8- 12 |
.667 |
18/ 3.6 |
50/ 10.0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Williams, C.J. |
5/2 |
19- 37 |
.514 |
4- 12 |
.333 |
2- 2 |
1.000 |
16/ 3.2 |
44/ 8.8 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
| Williams, R. |
5/5 |
16- 42 |
.381 |
7- 22 |
.318 |
4- 7 |
.571 |
15/ 3.0 |
43/ 8.6 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
| Drew |
5/0 |
9- 17 |
.529 |
4- 7 |
.571 |
1- 2 |
.500 |
10/ 2.0 |
23/ 4.6 |
25 |
0 |
5 |
| Plumlee |
5/4 |
6- 13 |
.462 |
0- 0 |
.--- |
8- 10 |
.800 |
25/ 5.0 |
20/ 4.0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
| Marshall |
5/5 |
6- 16 |
.375 |
1- 7 |
.143 |
5- 6 |
.833 |
13/ 2.6 |
18/ 3.6 |
24 |
0 |
2 |
| Holmes |
3/3 |
5- 10 |
.500 |
3- 5 |
.600 |
4- 5 |
.800 |
10/ 3.3 |
17/ 5.7 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Baron |
4/0 |
3- 12 |
.250 |
3- 1 |
.273 |
0- 0 |
.--- |
2/ 0.5 |
9/ 2.3 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
| Brown |
3/0 |
3- 5 |
.600 |
2- 4 |
.500 |
0- 0 |
.--- |
3/ 1.0 |
8/ 2.7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| USA |
5 |
150-325 |
.462 |
41-121 |
.339 |
73-102 |
.716 |
216/43.2 |
414/82.8 |
99 |
12 |
37 |
| OPP. |
5 |
117-339 |
.345 |
28-130 |
.215 |
54- 80 |
.675 |
192/38.4 |
316/63.2 |
65 |
13 |
21 |
