Most Memorable 2019 USA Basketball Moment Down to Final Four
USA Basketball teams saw it all in 2019 - podium sweeps, buzzer beaters, breakout performances and much more.
But which special performance will be USA Basketball’s Moment of the Year?
You get to help decide. USA Basketball originally identified 16 moments from 2019 and paired them into a bracket. Four moments remain in contention.
Final Four voting is open now until Saturday (Dec. 20), 5 p.m. EST – twitter.com/usabasketball
Ionescu Leads Oregon to Upset Win Over USA Women’s National Team vs. Cade Cunningham Slams the Door on FIBA U19 World Cup Title Game
The USA Women’s National Team entered its Nov. 9 exhibition game versus No. 1 ranked University of Oregon owning an all-time 43-1 record versus NCAA teams, and the Ducks rallied from 11 down midway in the second quarter to knock off the USA 93-86 in front of 11,530 fans in Eugene, Oregon. Leading the Ducks to the victory were two players with heavy USA Basketball experience. Oregon guard Sabrina Ionescu (Walnut Creek, Ore.), who finished with 30 points (10-20 FGs) and seven assists, has won gold with USA national teams at the Pan Am Games 3x3, U23, U17 and U16 competitions and has also represented the United States in the 3x3 World Cup. Duck teammate Ruthy Hebard (Fairbanks, Alaska), who has represented USA Basketball at the World Beach Games 3x3, Pan Am Games 3x3, U19s, U18s and 3x3 World Cup, finished with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Six-foot-seven 17-year-old Cade Cunningham (Montverde Academy, Fla./Arlington, Texas) threw down a posterizing dunk and helped lead the USA in its 93-79 gold medal victory over Mali with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. The USA U19 men won all seven of its games at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup in impressive fashion in Heraklion, Greece.
USA Men Win First FIBA 3x3 World Cup vs. USA U19 Women Come Back to Win Gold
The USA men compiled a perfect 7-0 record and won its first FIBA 3x3 World Cup gold medal after securing a hard-fought 18-14 defensive battle over Latvia in the gold medal game in Amsterdam. The USA golden team consisted of Canyon Barry (Iowa Wolves/Florida/Colorado Springs, Colo.); Damon Huffman (Brown/Petoskey, Mich.); tournament MVP Robbie Hummel (Purdue/Valparaiso, Ind.); and Kareem Maddox (Princeton/Los Angeles, Calif.).
The USA gritted out an improbable 74-70 overtime victory to claim gold at the FIBA U19 World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand. With Australia owning a 66-63 lead and in possession of the ball on its offensive endwith just 14 seconds remaining, a USA victory looked extremely unlikely. Australia's Isobel Anstey was called for an unsportsmanlike foul after elbowing USA guard Rhyne Howard (Kentucky/Cleveland, Tenn.) while attempting to protect the ball. Caitlin Clark (Dowling Catholic H.S./West Des Moines, Iowa) made one of the two ensuing free throws to reduce Australia's lead to 66-64. Receiving the ball out-of-bounds, the USA’s Hailey Van Lith (Cashmere H.S./Wenatchee, Wash.) made a back-door cut to the basket and Paige Bueckers (Hopkins H.S./St. Louis Park, Minn.) lofted a pass to her for the game-tying basket with 12.5 seconds to play. The USA went on to outscore Australia 8-4 in overtime to claim the win and the gold medal.