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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— While the Spring / Summer club schedule is beginning to hit its stride for 2019, the event that universally draws the most interest tipped off Thursday evening at The United States Olympic Training Center.  The trials for the USA Basketball U16 National Team got underway with a skill session to open the process for over 150 hopefuls in attendance as well as the selection committee.  The 2019 team will represent the United States in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Puerto Aysen, Chile June 16 – 22.

Of the athletes on hand, 33 are invited participants courtesy of USA Basketball.  The remaining competitors are part of the applicant participation program, now in its 8thyear.  Among the participants are 27 athletes who have experienced at least one USA Basketball event under their belt.  There are 52 members of the 2021 class taking part, 74 are 2022’s while the remaining 26 will graduate in 2023.  Texas leads the way in the geographical breakdown claiming 21 native daughters in the mix.  Another 30 can claim Blue Star 30 as bullet point on their resume.

USA Coach Mark Campbell (Union University / Tenn.) led the way Thursday focusing on breakdowns and options within transition settings.  Skill sessions will be on tap for two of three sessions Friday before the first actual trials session in the evening.  Saturday will highlight three trials sessions followed by two more on Sunday. The selection committee will quickly narrow the group as the schedule progresses with finalists being identified Monday morning.  Ultimately the final roster of 12 will be named before everyone heads home the 31st(Friday).  Team members will return for Formal training camp June 5 – 13.

The United States will be defending their FIBA America’s crown from 2017 when they beat Canada for the Gold Medal.  In the five FIBA America’s U16 Championships the US has claimed top honors four different times.  The top four finishers in Puerto Aysen will automatically qualify for the 2020 FIBA U17 World Championships slated for Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Check back with Blue Star Media throughput the trails for more coverage from USA Basketball and the Olympic Training Center.

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Mark Lewis is a national evaluator and photographer for Blue Star Basketball as well as the lead columnist for Blue Star Media. Twice ranked as one of the top 25 Division I assistant coaches in the game by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), he logged 25 years of college coaching experience at Memphis State, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Western Kentucky and Washington State. Lewis serves as a member of the prestigious McDonald’s All-American selection committee as well as the Naismith College Player and Coach of the Year committees.

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