USA Basketball 3x3 U18 World Cup Teams Unveiled
The 2019 USA Basketball Men’s and Women’s 3x3 U18 World Cup Teams have been finalized and are comprised of eight athletes who competed in the 2019 USA 3x3 U18 National Championship, including the men’s and women’s tournament MVPs and gold medalists, Dawson Garcia (Prior Lake H.S./Prior Lake, Minn.) and Olivia Cochran (Carver H.S./Columbus, Ga.).
Rounding out the men’s roster are the other three members of Attack, which captured the 2019 USA 3x3 U18 title: Devin Askew (Mater Dei H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.); Nimari Burnett (Prolific Prep/Chicago, Ill.); and Ethan Morton (Butler H.S./Butler, Pa.).
The women’s team includes Cochran’s TGB teammate Madison Hayes (East Hamilton H.S./Ooltewah, Tenn.); as well as Rickea Jackson (Detroit Edison Public Academy/Detroit, Mich.), who played on It’sJustWork; and Hailey Van Lith (Cashmere H.S./Wenatchee, Wash.), who played for Quest. Van Lith is the lone representative to have previously represented her country, winning gold at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup and the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Both teams will train at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from May 27-30 prior to traveling to Mongolia for the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup, which will be held June 3-7 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup has been held on an annual basis since 2011, except the years of the Summer Youth Olympic Games (2010, 2014, 2018). Twenty men’s and 20 women’s teams are expected to compete in the 2019 event. In addition to the men’s and women’s 3x3 tournaments, included in the 2019 3x3 program will be skills contests, giving athletes chances to win additional medals.
The USA 3x3 U18 men play preliminary round games against Latvia (5 a.m. EDT) and Georgia (7:50 a.m. EDT) on June 4, followed by Belarus (6:50 a.m. EDT) and Mongolia (8:30 a.m. EDT) on June 6.
The USA 3x3 U18 women play preliminary round games against New Zealand (1:20 a.m. EDT) and Russia (4 a.m. EDT) on June 4, followed by Poland (1:20 a.m. EDT) and Hungary (4 a.m. EDT) on June 6.
Following conclusion of pool play, teams will be seeded based on their records, and the top two teams from each of the four pools advance to the June 7 knockout round, starting with quarterfinals. Winners will advance to the semifinals, and the gold and bronze medal games will be played later that day.
Teams qualified for the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup for Men include: host Mongolia, the 2018 Youth Olympics Games gold medalist Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the United States.
Including results from the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, which was a 3x3 U18 competition, and results from the six FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cups held between 2011-2017, the USA men are 28-13 all-time and earned the silver medal in 2012 and placed 4th in the 2010 Youth Olympic Games.
Teams qualified for the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup for Women include: host Mongolia, the 2018 Youth Olympic Games gold medalist United States, Belgium, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland and Ukraine.
The USA women’s 3x3 U18 teams, including the U18 squads in the Youth Olympic Games, have compiled a 68-8 overall record and captured gold at the 2014 and 2018 Youth Olympics and the 2012, 2013 and 2017 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cups; silver at the 2015 and 2016 3x3 U18s; and a pair of bronze medals at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and 2011 3x3 U18 Worlds.
Athletes eligible for these teams must be 18 years old or younger (born on or after 1/1/01) and U.S. citizens.
The athletes were chosen by the USA Basketball 3x3 Selection Committee, which is comprised of USA Basketball Women’s National Team director Carol Callan, USA Basketball Youth & Sport Development director Jay Demings, USA Basketball Men’s National Team assistant director Samson Kayode, 2008 Olympic gold medalist and USA 3x3 team consultant Kara Lawson and 1997 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year Mo McHone, who has served on numerous USA Basketball coaching staffs from 1998-2018 and has coached in the NBA, NBA G League, Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and internationally in South Korea.
