USA Basketball 2015 Men’s U19 World Championship Team Named
Eight players boasting of prior USA Basketball experience were among the 12 players named by USA Basketball to the 2015 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team. Training will continue at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, through June 21.
The USA U19 squad will look to defend its 2013 U19 gold at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship from June 27-July 5 in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens who are 19 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1996).
The returning gold medalists named to the U19 squad include: Isaiah Briscoe (Roselle Catholic H.S./Union, N.J.); Jalen Brunson (Stevenson H.S./Lincolnshire, Ill.); Terrance Ferguson (Homeschooled/Dallas, Texas); Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C.); Josh Jackson (Prolific Prep, Calif./Southfield, Mich.); Caleb Swanigan (Homestead H.S./Fort Wayne, Ind.); Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.) and Allonzo Trier (Findlay Prep, Nev./Seattle, Wash.).
Also selected for the USA U19 Team were: Jawun Evans (Kimball H.S./Dallas, Texas); Chinanu Onauku (Louisville/Lanham, Md.); L.J. Peak (Georgetown/Gaffney, S.C.); and Thomas Welsh (UCLA/Redondo Beach, Calif.).
The 2015 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team will be led by Sean Miller (Arizona), along with USA assistant coaches Ed Cooley (Providence) and Archie Miller (Dayton).
“I thought the 16 players, really everybody, but especially when we got it to 16, they did a fantastic job. Each one of them should leave here, especially the four that didn’t make it, with no regrets. The 12 that made it are excellent players and really talented,” said Sean Miller, who served as an assistant coach for the 2014 USA U18 National Team that finished 5-0 and qualified the U.S. for the FIBA U19 World Championship.
“Obviously it was a hard fight to make this team because of the talent. The thing that we like a lot is the fact that we have eight players of the 12 that have competed and won a gold medal, several have won multiple gold medals. We have a lot of versatility in our lineup, we have players that can play more than one position and I think playing pressure basketball like we want to play defensively and offensively, that we have the depth, athleticism and quickness, and also some shooting that will really allow us to play a style that we can be successful at,” added Sean Miller.
Briscoe, Brunson and Trier helped the USA to qualify for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship by compiling a 5-0 record and winning gold at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Five players won gold together at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship, including Ferguson, Giles, Jackson, Swanigan and Tatum; and one player, Tatum, was on the gold-medal winning USA team at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
Suiting up for the USA in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit were Briscoe, Brunson, Swanigan and Trier.
The 12 selected players include three players who competed as NCAA freshman in 2014-15, five players who recently completed their senior year of high school and four players who have one year of high school remaining and will graduate in 2016.
In addition to Boeheim the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee includes: NCAA appointees Bob McKillop (Davidson), Matt Painter (Purdue) and Lorenzo Romar (Washington); and athlete representative Curtis Sumpter, who won a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2004 FIBA Americas U20 Championship and a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Games.
2015 FIBA U19 World Championship
The USA has captured a record five FIBA U19 World Championship gold medals and three silver medals in the 11 editions of the event, which first was held in 1979. Played every four years through 2007, the U19s now are held every other year, and the USA men own an all-time record of 78-13 at the event.
As defending U19 champions, the USA has an opportunity to win consecutive FIBA U19 World Championships for just the second time since the competition began in 1979. The United States captured back-to-back gold in 1979 and 1983, and since then, Yugoslavia (1987), Greece (1995), Spain (1999), Australia (2003), Serbia (2007) and Lithuania (2011) have won a single gold medal, with the USA also earning gold in 1991, 2009 and 2013.
For the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship, the USA has drawn preliminary round Group A and will play Iran on June 27, Croatia on June 28 and Egypt on June 30. Playing in preliminary round Group B will be Argentina, China, Spain and Turkey; Group C features Australia, Canada, Italy and Tunisia; and Group D includes Dominican Republic, Greece, Serbia and South Korea.
All 16 teams advance to the round of 16 that will be played on July 1. The winners advance to the medal-round quarterfinals on July 3, while the round of 16 losers will compete out for 9th-16th places. The semifinals are on July 4, and the finals are on July 5.
Members of past USA U19 teams have included standouts such as: Stacey Augmon (1987); Vin Baker (1991); Vince Carter (1995); Nick Collison (1999); Stephen Curry (2007); Eric Floyd (1979); Aaron Gordon (2013 MVP); Tim Hardaway Jr. (2011); Montrezl Harrell (2013); Gordon Hayward (2009); Larry Johnson (1987); Jeremy Lamb (2011); Stephon Marbury (1995); Doug McDermott (2011); Jahlil Okafor (2013); Gary Payton (1987); Sam Perkins (1979); J.J. Redick (2003); Marcus Smart (2013); Klay Thompson (2009); Deron Williams (2003); Justise Winslow (2013); and James Worthy (1979).
