Kaunas, Lithuania • June 29 - July 8, 2012

USA head coach Don Showalter and his assistants Mike Jones and Rich Gray piloted a talented squad to an undefeated 8-0 slate en route to defending the USA’s gold medal at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The U.S., which banded together and outscored teams by 39.9 points a game, despite losing Jabari Parker for three games due to a sore foot and inside force of Dakari Johnson in the fourth game with a groin pull.

The Americans’ closest contest of the tournament came in its opener on June 29, an 89-67 victory in which the U.S. led wire-to-wire. Stephen Domingo hit 5-of-8 from 3-point and finished with 17 points to lead five players in double digits. Australia hung close and trailed 43-38 at 8:11 in the third. With the U.S. up 46-40, the red, white and blue put the game away with a 19-1 run and never looked back.

Behind double-doubles of 16 points and 12 rebounds from Dakari Johnson and 10 points and 14 rebounds from Jahlil Okafor, the U.S. put away the Czech Republic 95-57 on June 30.

The U.S. triumphed over Egypt 111-73 on July 1, behind 18 points apiece from Conner Frankamp and Parker.

Utilizing a full-court pressure defense from the opening tip, the U.S. blew past France 86-50 on July 3. Stanley Johnson had a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards and Okafor posted game-highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Closing preliminary round play on the Fourth of July, the U.S. wasted no time in celebrating with a 116-47 win over China. Frankamp was the game’s top scorer with 17 points, while Tyus Jones scored seven points and dished out 11 assists.

Jones and Justise Winslow combined for 39 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists to lead the USA past Canada 113-59 in the July 6 quarterfinal game. Jones contributed game-bests of 22 points and six assists, while Winslow notched 17 points and 13 rebounds.

After holding a six-point lead at half, the U.S. pulled away from Spain in the second half for an eventual 95-66 semifinal victory. The USA earned its gold medal game berth with the help of a powerful performance by Winslow, who finished the night with 17 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Advancing to the gold medal game, the Americans found themselves in a rematch against Australia, which had gone 6-0 following its opening loss to the U.S. Both teams had gotten better and more cohesive throughout the tournament, but the USA went to its obliterating defense, which was beyond a doubt the best in the competition, and the result was a 95-62 gold medal victory. Paced by 22 points from Frankamp, the U.S. received 17 points from tournament MVP Okafor. He was joined on the FIBA U17 World Championship All-Tournament Team by Winslow, who finished the night with 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals.

How good was the defensive-minded American squad through its eight games? The USA averaged a tournament-best even 100.0 ppg., while holding teams to a low of 60.1 ppg. The U.S. also forced teams into shooting lows of 33.8 percent from field overall and 21.8 percent from 3-point, while swatting a third-best 4.75 bpg., nabbing a high of 13.6 spg., and forcing opponents into a high of 22.3 turnovers a contest.

Croatia defeated Spain 93-61 for the bronze medal.

2012 USA Men's U17 World Championship Team Roster

2012 USA Men's U17 World Championship Cumulative Statistics