Indianapolis, Indiana • November 29-30, 2020

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Playing the November 2020 window of Group D AmeriCup Qualifying games in a "bubble" in Indianapolis, Indiana, the USA picked up a pair of impressive home wins and secured its spot in the AmeriCup 2020. Due to COVID-19 precautions, team and coaches were tested daily and no spectators or outsiders were permitted to attend the games. Again under the direction of former NBA head coach Mike Fratello, the USA defeated Bahamas 99-59 and Mexico 94-78 to improve its record to 4-0.

	NOV. 2020 USA RESULTS (2-0) USA 99 Bahamas 59 USA 94 Mexico 78

The USA earned its third straight AmeriCup Qualifying victory with an 99-59 romp over the Bahamas on Nov. 29 in its first game of the second window of FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying play at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis.

Never trailing versus Bahamas, the first quarter saw the USA methodically compile a 24-14 lead. The USA came out with the hot hand in the second quarter – sinking four 3-pointers in the first 3:50 to go up 42-23, and by halftime the USA pushed its lead to 24 points, 53-29.The USA opened the second half with back-to-back 3s and rolled in unthreatened for the 99-59 win.

They tried to show a zone. They started zone, switched to man, they switched everything, and you can only do so many things in a game when you have a limited number of bodies, said USA head coach Mike Fratelloof the Bahamas, which suited up just eight players. “And I was really happy with the way our guys recognized whatever it was, attacked it. And defensively, I thought we were good. If I'm right, I think at halftime we did not have any turnovers. And that's obviously vital to you being able to score, because if you don't turn the ball over, you give yourself more opportunities to score the basketball. But we had a number of people, five, six people, in double figures and one or two that were close to being in double figures. I like the unselfishness that we played with and passing the ball to the open man. But for me, the players know this, I start at the defensive end, and we're doing well at the defensive end of the floor.”

The USA shot 51.4% from the field (38-74 FGs) and 41.4% from 3-point (12-29 3pt FGs), dished out 22 assists, committed just seven turnovers, including no turnovers in the first half, and 11 players put points on the board.

Amile Jefferson led the USA with 17 points and 11 rebounds; Tyler Hall, who was 4-of-6 from 3-point on his way to 12 points and four assists; John Jenkins added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point; Levi Randolph, finished with 11 points and seven rebounds; and Travis Trice was credited with 10 points and six assists.

“For a lot of guys, you know, this is their first game, real actual game playing since March,” Jefferson said. “So, to be back out there after a great week of practicing and getting to know each other and building chemistry was amazing. And the fact that we're playing for USA, it's something bigger than ourselves, makes it all that much better. So, I thought our guys played really hard and aggressive, and I thought the coaches put in a great game plan. We executed, so I was really happy with our performance today.”

Facing 2-1 Mexico, who had defeated Puerto Rico x the night before, the USA fended off a resilient Mexico team to earn a 94-78 victory on Nov. 30 at the Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. The victory assured the United States its berth into the FIBA AmeriCup 2022 by virtue of at least a top-three finish in its FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying Group D.

“Winning the two games was great in window number one, but that didn't get us in. That didn’t qualify us,” said Fratello. “And when they invited me back to coach window two, I was very excited and happy, because I wanted to be part of helping the United States move on, qualify for the next thing. So that the fact that we were able to do that was very rewarding to me. I love to see young guys get together, form a team, work together, play defense together, pass the ball together and then have success. And that's what this week, last two weeks has been all about, trying to grow together and get better.”

The first quarter featured six lead changes, and the USA ended the period leading 23-20. The American squad outscored Mexico 29-14 in the second quarter to pull away and led by as many as 26 points in the third quarter, but Mexico fought back to within 11 points in the fourth quarter. The USA fended off the charge, however, helped by its 54.4 shooting percentage and by its 21-of-27 shooting from the free throw line. 

Yante Maten led the USA with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds; Josh Magette, who missed game one because of an injury, added 19 points and was 7-of-7 from the free throw line; Jenkins finished with 16 points; Trice contributed 14 points and six assists; and Randolph compiled 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.

“We're all talented basketball players, and so we just read what the defense gave us and then just executed from there and played unselfishly,” Maten said. “I think that's was the biggest thing was that led to us winning.

"It means a lot," added Maten on his opportunity to represent the United states, "just because I get to represent from our country. I think everyone can represent in a different way, and I represent mine through basketball. And so, I'm very honored to be here and get to say that I helped accomplish something big.

NOVEMBER 2019 USA MEN'S AMERICUP QUALIFYING TEAM ROSTER

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	AGE	2019-20 TEAM/SCHOOL	HOMETOWN
Kaiser Gates	F	6-7	225	24	Maine Red Claws/Xavier	Alpharetta, GA
Tyler Hall	G	6-5	209	23	Westchester Knicks/Montana State	Rock Island, IL
Jalen Hudson	G	6-6	192	24	Capital City Go-Go/Florida	Richmond, VA
Amile Jefferson	F	6-9	222	27	Lakeland Magic/Duke	Philadelphia, PA
John Jenkins	G	6-4	215	27	Hapoel Eilat (Israel)/Vanderbilt	Hendersonville, TN
Jemerrio Jones	F	6-5	175	25	Wisconsin Herd/New Mexico State	Memphis, TN
Josh Magette	G	6-1	160	31	Lakeland Magic-Alabama-Huntsville	Birmingham, AL
Yante Maten	C	6-7	240	24	Maine Red Claws/Georgia	Pontiac, MI
Sir'Dominic Pointer	F	6-5	200	28	Canton Charge/St. John's	Detroit, MI
Levi Randolph	G/F	6-6	210	28	Canton Charge/Alabama	Madison, AL
Tyler Roberson	F/C	6-9	237	26	South Bay Lakers/Syracuse	Union, NJ
Travis Trice	G	6-2	175	27	Gemani Basket Brescia (Italy)/Michigan State	Huber Heights, OH
Paul White	F	6-9	225	25	Salt Lake City Stars/Oregon	Chicago, IL
Head Coach:  Mike Fratello
Assistant Coach:  Othella Harrington
Assistant Coach:  Joe Prunty
Team Physician:  Stephen Foley, Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, SD)
Athletic Trainer:  Ed Lacerte, ProSports Therapy, Inc. (Waltham and Westford, MA)
Athletic Trainer:  Ron Weathers, Embodi Physical Therapy and Sports Performance (Charlotte, NC)
Team Scout:  Allen Deep, Westchester Knicks
Video Coordinator:  Mario Casamajor, Iowa Wolves

 

NOVEMBER 2020 USA MEN'S AMERICUP QUALIFYING TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS

NAME	G/S	FGM-A	PCT	3PM-A	PCT	FTM-A	PCT	REB	PTS	AT	BK	ST
Magette	1/0	5-    8	.625	2-    5	.400	7-    7	1.000	2/  2.0	19/ 19.0	3	0	1
Jenkins	2/2	9-  13	.692	8-  12	.667	2-    2	1.000	5/  2.5	28/ 14.0	3	1	0
Maten	2/2	11-  16	.688	1-    2	.500	5-    9	.556	11/  5.5	28/ 14.0	2	2	2
Trice	2/2	8-  16	.500	2-    6	.333	6-    9	.667	5/  2.5	24/ 12.0	12	0	3
Randolph	2/2	7-  14	.500	2-    4	.500	7-    8	.875	12/  6.0	23/ 11.5	7	0	2
Jefferson	2/0	8-  10	.800	0-    0	.---	3-    6	.500	15/  7.5	19/   8.5	4	0	1
Hall	2/0	5-  10	.500	5-    8	.625	0-    0	.---	3/  1.5	15/   7.5	4	0	2
Gates	2/2	6-  18	.333	1-    7	.143	1-    2	.500	14/  7.0	14/   7.0	1	0	1
Roberson	1/0	2-    3	.667	0-    0	.---	1-    1	1.000	2/  2.0	5/   5.0	0	1	0
White	2/0	4-    9	.444	1-    3	.333	0-    0	.---	3/  1.5	9/   4.5	1	1	1
Pointer	2/0	3-    8	.375	1-    3	.333	0-    0	.---	4/  2.0	7/   3.5	4	0	1
Hudson	1/0	1-    6	.167	0-    2	.000	0-    0	.---	6/  6.0	2/   2.0	0	0	1
Jones	1/0	0-    0	.---	0-    0	.---	0-    0	.---	4/  4.0	0/   0.0	0	0	0
USA	2	69-131	.527	23-  52	.442	32-  44	.727	93/46.5	193/ 96.5	41	5	15
OPP.	2	47-130	.362	15-  57	.263	28-  41	.683	60/30.0	137/ 68.5	28	2	10

 

 

 

 

San Juan, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. • February 20-23, 2020

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The 2020-21 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying Tournament got underway in an impressive way for the USA as the squad earned a pair of convincing victories over Puerto Rico in February.

	FEB. 2020 USA RESULTS (2-0) USA 83 Puerto Rico 70 USA 95 Puerto Rico 73

Former NBA head coach Mike Fratello was head coach of the USA Team, and the roster featured 11 players who were active in the NBA G League in 2019-20.

The USA, which led from wire-to-wire, sprinted to a 27-point halftime lead and held off Puerto Rico (0-1) in the  second half to take a 83-70 victory on Feb. 20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ten U.S. players put points on the board, led by a double-double of  16 points and 11 rebounds from Jalen Jones. Also scoring in double digits were James Webb III with 13, Justin Anderson added 11 points and Jaylen Adams, who shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and had a pair of 3s, chipped in 10 points.

“Our team effort in the first half sensational. It was about as good of a first half as you can play. We defended and we shot the ball well,” said Fratello. “Jalen (Jones) is an inspiration to us. Jalen is a guy who when he is on top and talking, he’s a glue, he brings our team together. And then when he steps up and makes a big shot at the right time, or a couple free throws when we need it, they're the keys to us being able to hang on.

Holding an 8-6 lead early on, the USA netted a trio of 3s in a 11-0 run that put the U.S. up 19-6 midway through the first  period. The USA continued to increase its lead to 33-14 behind nine 3s after the first 10 minutes of play. The USA outscored Puerto Rico 18-10 in the second quarter to up its lead at halftime to 51-24. Puerto Rico outscored the USA 26-14 in the third quarter to pull back to within 15 points, 65-50, and although the fourth quarter was relatively even scoring wise, won by Puerto Rico 20-18, the USA lead was cut to 10 points three times in the quarter, but each time the Americans scored a crucial basket to turn back the rally.

“We’ve been putting in so much work like coach said,   practice after practice, a lot of film sessions and we knew this wasn’t going to be an easy game,” said Jones. “The coaches did a great job of preparing us for this, we knew it was going to be a battle, knew it was going to be a fight. I’m just glad we were able to win. Puerto Rico came out with a great competitive spirit and it was a great game. 

The USA men topped Puerto Rico 95-73 to cap off play in the first window of FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying play on Feb. 23 at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. Fogg led the USA with 18 points and a game-high eight assists; Anderson finished with 17 points and seven rebounds; Jones added 14 points; Josh Magette had 11 points; and Eric Mika tallied 10 points.

“I was very proud of the (USA’s) performance,” said Fratello. “Puerto Rico came out very tough, very determined, but we wanted to try and finish what our mission was, and that was to go play two games against Puerto Rio and try to win both of them.

The U.S. limited Puerto Rico to 37.7% shooting from the field (23-61 FGs) and, led by 10 rebounds from Webb III, out-rebounded Puerto Rico 47-36. While the USA shot 44.4% from deep (16-36 3pt FGs), Puerto Rico was limited to just 25.0% from 3-point (6-of-24 3pt FGs). The USA bench outscored Puerto Rico’s 33 to 17.

“The toughest thing we did was to respond like we did and play the way we played in Puerto Rico and not get too high on our ourselves,” Anderson said.  “I think we did a really good job of  coming together, and we were locked in from the jump. We knew that Puerto Rico was going to come out with a lot of       intensity, so as far as how we played, Coach emphasized a couple of things. He gave us a comparison in our meetings about rebounding and assists. Well, today it looks like we won both of those battles, and as a team if we can do that time in and time out with our  athleticism, with our talent and our ability to share the ball, rebound the ball, we’re a tough team to beat, and I think we did a really good job of displaying that as a collective group.

 

FEBRUARY 2019 USA MEN'S AMERICUP QUALIFYING TEAM ROSTER

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	AGE	AFFILIATION/SCHOOL	HOMETOWN
Jaylen Adams	G	6-2	190	23	Wisconsin Herd/St. Bonaventure	Baltimore, MD
Justin Anderson	F	6-6	230	26	Long Island Nets/Virginia	Montross, VA
Cody Demps	G	6-4	195	26	Stockton Kings/Sacramento Kings	Elk Grove, CA
Kyle Fogg	G	6-3	188	30	Beijing Royal Fighters (China)/Arizona	Brea, CA
Devon Hall	G	6-2	215	24	Oklahoma City Blue/Virginia	Virginia Beach, VA
Jalen Jones	F	6-7	220	26	Capital City Go-Go/Texas A&M	Dallas, TX
J.P. Macura	G	6-5	203	24	Canton Charge/Xavier	Lakeville, MN
Josh Magette	G	6-1	160	30	Lakeland Magic/Alabama-Huntsville	Birmingham, AL
Eric Mika	C	6-10	230	25	Stockton Kings/Brigham Young	Highland, UT
Ivan Rabb	F	6-10	220	23	Westchester Knicks/California	Sacramento, CA
Levi Randolph	G/F	6-6	210	27	Canton Charge/Alabama	Madison, AL
James Webb III	F	6-9	202	26	Iowa Wolves/Boise State	Augusta, GA
Head Coach:  Mike Fratello
Assistant Coach:  Andy Greer
Assistant Coach:  Othella Harrington
Team Physician:  Stephen Foley, Sanford Health (Sioux Falls, SD)
Athletic Trainer:  Ed Lacerte, ProSports Therapy, Inc. (Waltham and Westford, MA)
Team Scout:  Sydney Johnson
Video Coordinator:  Ryan Winters

 

FEBRUARY 2020 USA MEN'S AMERICUP QUALIFYING TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS

NAME	G/S	FGM-A	PCT	3PM-A	PCT	FTM-A	PCT	REB	PTS	AT	BK	ST
Jones	2/2	9-   18	.500	6-  10	.600	6-    8	.750	16/  8.0	30/ 15.0	1	0	0
Anderson	2/2	10-  22	.455	7-  18	.389	2-    2	.500	10/  5.0	28/ 14.0	3	1	2
Fogg	2/2	5-  12	.417	4-    7	.571	12-  14	.857	7/  3.5	26/ 13.0	12	0	3
Adams	1/0	4-    4	1.000	2-    2	1.000	0-    0	.---	0/  0.0	10/ 10.0	0	0	0
Magette	2/2	4-  15	.267	3-  12	.250	7-    7	1.000	5/  2.5	18/   9.0	6	0	3
Mika	2/2	6-  10	.600	0-    0	.---	6-  10	.600	11/  5.5	18/   9.0	4	0	0
Webb III	2/0	5-  15	.333	3-    9	.333	3-    4	.750	14/  7.0	16/   8.0	0	4	2
Demps	2/0	4-    8	.5000	0-    0	.---	4-    4	1.000	3/  1.5	12/   6.0	1	0	1
Hall	1/0	2-    5	.400	1-    3	.333	0-    0	.---	0/  0.0	5/   2.5	1	0	1
Randolph	2/0	3-  10	.300	2-    5	.400	2-    2	1.000	4/  2.0	9/   4.5	5	0	2
Macura	1/0	1-    1	1.000	0-    0	.---	0-    0	.---	1/  1.0	2/   2.0	0	0	0
Rabb	2/0	1-    6	.167	0-    0	.---	2-    2	1.000	7/  3.5	4/   2.0	3	2	1
USA	2	54-126	.429	27-  63	.429	43-  53	.811	85/42.5	178/ 89.0	36	7	14
OPP.	2	53-130	.408	12-  48	.250	25-  43	.581	75/37.5	143/ 71.5	34	11	11

 

 

 

 

Action photos from the USA's AmeriCup Qualifying game win over the Mexico.

Quotes from USA head coach Mike Fratello and USA player Yante Maten.

The victory assured the United States its berth into the FIBA AmeriCup 2022.

Fresh off a 99-59 win over the Bahamas, the USA AmeriCup Qualifying Team faces Mexico Monday night. Here's some things to know about the game.

Action photos from the USA's 99-59 AmeriCup Qualifying game win over the Bahamas.

Quotes from USA head coach Mike Fratello and USA player Amile Jefferson.