Thirty-Four Athletes to Take Part in Training Camp for USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team
• Roster
The 2019 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team training camp is expected to feature 34 athletes from June 15-18 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, including 10 gold medalists, 17 athletes with prior experience from at least one USA Basketball training camp and seven athletes who will be new to USA Basketball.
Training camp will be used to determine the official, 12-member roster for the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team, which will be selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee.
Finalists for the team are expected to be announced on the morning of June 18, and the team will be named prior to its departure for the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Greece on June 24. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens born on or after Jan. 1, 2000.
“The committee is excited at the level of talent that will be at training camp for the USA U19 World Cup Team, and we expect to have a difficult decision in trying to narrow down the group to 12 team members,” said Matt Painter (Purdue University), chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee.
Seven athletes will be college sophomores in 2019-20, including Kessler Edwards (Pepperdine/Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State/Oshkosh, Wis.), Kira Lewis Jr. (Alabama/Meridianville, Ala.), Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State/Mansfield, Texas), Jayden Scrubb (John A. Logan College/Louisville, Ky.), Trevion Williams (Purdue/Chicago, Ill.) and Bryce Wills (Stanford/White Plains, N.Y.).
From the graduating high school class of 2019 will be: Eric Dixon (Abington H.S./William Grove, Pa.), Dajuan Gordon (Curie H.S./Chicago, Ill.), R.J. Hampton (Little Elm H.S./Little Elm, Texas), Justin Moore (DeMatha Catholic H.S./Accokeek, Md.), Casey Morsell (St. John's College H.S./Washington, D.C.), Zeke Nnaji (Hopkins H.S./Hopkins, Minn.), Isaac Okoro (McEachern H.S./Powder Springs, Ga.), Onyeka Okongwu (Chino Hills H.S./Chino, Calif.), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (IMG Academy, FL/Overland Park, Kan.), Isaiah Stewart (La Lumiere School, IN/Rochester, N.Y.), Anton Watson (Gonzaga Prep/Spokane, Wash.), Mark Watts Jr. (SPIRE Institute/Pontiac, Mich.), Romeo Weems (New Haven H.S./Chesterfield, Mich.) and Samuell Williamson (Rockwall H.S./Rockwall, Texas).
From the high school class of 2020 will be: Scottie Barnes (University School/West Palm Beach, Fla.), Nimari Burnett (Prolific Prep, Calif./Chicago, Ill.), Joshua Christopher (Mayfair H.S./Lakewood, Calif.), Sharife Cooper (McEachern H.S./Powder Springs, Ga.), Cade Cunningham (Montverde Academy, Fla./Arlington, Texas), Hunter Dickinson (DeMatha Catholic H.S., Md./Alexandria, Va.), Jalen Green (Prolific Prep/Fresno, Calif.), Walker Kessler (Woodward Academy/Newnan, Ga.), Caleb Love (Christian Brothers College H.S./St. Louis, Mo.), Evan Mobley (Rancho Christian School/Temecula, Calif.), Ethan Morton (Butler H.S./Butler, Pa.), Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha Academy/Minneapolis, Minn.) and Ziaire Williams (Notre Dame H.S./Sherman Oaks, Calif.).
The USA will be led by head coach Bruce Weber (Kansas State), with assistant coaches Mike Hopkins (Washington) and LeVelle Moton (North Carolina Central).
The training roster features two-time gold medalists Barnes, Green, Hampton, Suggs and Weems, who all won titles at the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2018 FIBA U17 World Championship.
Additionally, Green was named MVP of the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, and also earning gold at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup were Mobley, Okoro and Stewart.
At the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, Robinson-Earl and Watts won gold medals.
Four athletes helped USA Basketball to a win over the World Select Team in the 2019 Nike Hoop Summit on April 12, including Moore, Okoro, Robinson-Earl and Stewart.
Recently, Burnett and Morton as members of Attack won the 2019 USA Basketball 3x3 U18 National Championship with an 8-0 record from April 13-14 at the USOTC.
Additional athletes with prior USA Basketball training camp experience are Antoine, Christopher, Cooper, Cunningham, Dickinson, Dixon, Kessler, Lewis, Love, Morsell, Nnaji, Okongwu, Watson, Ziaire Williams and Wills.
New to USA Basketball will be Kessler Edwards, Gordon, Haliburton, Likekele, Scrubb, Trevion Williams and Williamson.
Scrubb was named the NJCAA Region 24 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year and to the Great Rivers Athletic All-Conference and All-Region 24 teams.
Lewis (Southeastern Conference) and Kessler Edwards (West Coast Conference) were selected to their respective all-freshman teams following the 2018-19 NCAA season.
Among the 14 athletes from the class of 2019, only Hampton has not yet committed to a college or university. Heading to Villanova University will be Dixon, Moore and Robinson-Earl. Gordon will play at Kansas State University; Morsell will head to the University of Virginia; Nnaji will play at the University of Arizona; Okongwu committed to the University of Southern California; Okoro will play at Auburn University; Stewart will head to the University of Washington; Watson will play at Gonzaga University; Watts committed to Michigan State University; Weems will head to DePaul University and Williamson will play at the University of Louisville.
Fourteen athletes are ranked on the ESPN 100 rankings for the high school class of 2019, including No. 3 Stewart; No. 5 Hampton; No. 14 Robinson-Earl; No. 20 Okongwu; No. 24 Williamson; No. 32 Watts; No. 39 Okoro; No. 44 Weems; No. 47 Nnaji; No. 52 Moore; No. 57 Morsell; No. 60 Watson; and No. 74 Dixon.
All 13 members of the high school class of 2020 list on the ESPN 100 rankings, led by No. 1 Mobley; No. 2 Green; No. 5 Barnes; No. 8 Cunningham; No. 9 Christopher; No. 11 Suggs; No. 15 Kessler; No. 18 Ziaire Williams; No. 19 Cooper; No. 21 Burnett; No. 25 Love; No. 27 Dickinson; and No. 42 Morton.
Taking home Gatorade State Player of the Year honors were: Cooper (Georgia), Hampton (Texas), Mobley (California), Moore (Maryland) and Morsell (D.C.).