USA Men Draw Group A at FIBA Americas U16 Championship
• Schedule
The USA men will compete in preliminary round Group A at the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship that is being held June 3-9 in Belém, Brazil, along with Argentina, Dominican Republic and Mexico. Group B will feature Brazil, Canada, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.
The top four finishing teams at the event will qualify for the 2020 FIBA U17 World Cup.
“The coaches, staff and players are all looking forward to competing in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship next month,” said USA U16 head coach Mike Jones (DeMatha Catholic H.S., Md.). “We anxiously awaited the draw, and now we can’t wait to get to work. Now that we know who we will face in group play, our focus and preparation can be even more detailed. We are excited and can’t wait to compete in Brazil.”
The USA’s assistant coaches are Eric Flannery (St. Edward H.S., Ohio) and Sharman White (Pace Academy, Georgia).
The preliminary round games will be played on June 3-5. All eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals on June 7, the semifinals will be played on June 8 and the gold medal game will be on June 9.
Training camp to select the 12-member team will be held May 22-29 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Players eligible for this team must be 16 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 2003) and U.S. citizens.
The 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship will feature eight national teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean.
USA Basketball has claimed the gold medal in all five editions of the biennial event, which was first held in 2009. The USA is now 25-0 in men’s FIBA Americas U16 Championship action.
USA U16 team members of note include: Bradley Beal (2009), Vernon Carey Jr. (2017), Quinn Cook (2009), Andre Drummond (2009), Terrance Ferguson (2013), Aaron Gordon (2011), Zion Harmon (2017), Markus Howard (2015), Tyus Jones (2011), Kevin Knox (2015), James Michael McAdoo (2009), Malik Newman (2013), Jahlil Okafor (2011), Jabari Parker (2011), Diamond Stone (2013) Gary Trent Jr. (2015), Jarred Vanderbilt (2015) and Seventh Woods (2013).
