HERAKLION, Crete— Team USA guard and Villanova incoming freshman Jalen Brunson from Stevenson H.S./Lincolnshire, Ill. put a together that will become part of youth development folklore Saturday night, scoring 30 points as Team USA U19 (6-0) came up clutch down the stretch to hold off dangerous Greece, 82-76, at the Sports Arena here to advance to the gold medal game against Croatia tonight in this World championship.
We all knew Brunson could score in big game situations. He had 56 points as a junior when Stevenson lost to 6-11 center Jahlil Okafor and eventual champion Whitney Young High of Chicago in the semi-finals of the 2014 Illinois state Class 4A tournament in Peoria. And he scored 30 points as a senior when Stevenson defeated Normal to win its first state title.
But he concentrated on running this relative inexperienced team from the point guard position at the start of this tournament until USA coach Sean Miller needed him to become the team’s No. 1 scoring option in a hostile, sold out building, which was filled with passionate Greek fans.
“It was probably one of the greatest experiences of my life by far,” Brunson said. “That was the most intense arena I’ve ever played in. Even though we were wearing white, it was an away game. It’s something I know I’m never going to forget. We didn’t play great; I know we can get better. It was a great win for us.”
Brunson, who spent an hour each day after the second session of the trials in Colorado Springs working on his shooting, had a breakout performance when his team needed it the most, put up the fourth most points of any American player in this U19 competition. He shot 9 for 13 from the field, made a pair of threes and was 10 for 12 from the line and had 4 assists for Team USA, which has now won 16 straight games in this event since a 2011 quarterfinal loss to Russia.
“It’s always been there, but I’m getting a lot more confidence and more aggressive,” Brunson said of his 3-point shooting. “The coaches have been saying that I really need to stay aggressive in order for our team to win.”
The 6-1 1/2 Brunson may not have the biggest upside of the players on this young team that only had four players with college experience, but he looks like he would be a solid choice for MVP if America wraps up the gold, given his assist to turnover ratio and efficiency rating on a turnover plagued team.
Senior forward Harry Giles, a versatile 6-10 senior from Wesleyan Christian Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C. one of four U17 prodigies on the roster, finished with his fourth-straight double-double, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds. The other three– guard Terrance Ferguson who is homeschooled from Dallas, Texas, forward Jayson Tatum of Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo. Josh Jackson of Prolific Prep, Calif./Southfield, Mich. all contributed too.
Ferguson and Tatum each scored 11 points. Jackson added seven.
Team USA, looking to earn a second-consecutive world title after winning gold in 2013, will play 5-1 Croatia Sunday at 1:30 p.m. EDT. The USA and Croatia played in a Group A preliminary round play on last Sunday June 28, and the USA sailed to a 103-81 win. Croatia’s reached the finals with an impressive 91-56 demolishing of Turkey (5-1) in the night’s other medal round semifinal in a game where 6-9 forward Marko Arapovic and 7-0 Ivica Zubac combined to shoot 18 for 26 and scored 45 points. The gold medal game will be televised live on ESPNU.
“Croatia is big and strong and they’re going to be ready to go,” said USA and University of Arizona coach Sean Miller. “We respect them a great deal. We’ve played against them, and we have to be ready to go. We didn’t win anything tonight. We just gave ourselves the opportunity to.”
The USA shot 48.3 percent from the field and made 6-of-16 3-point shots. The Americans again controlled the glass, outrebounding Greece 44-33. Greece shot a cool 41.4 percent for the game, but made 10-of-25 3-pointers. Greece committed 19 turnovers, while the USA recorded 22.
The USA has struggled with its ball handling for the past three games, turning the ball over a combined 70 times. The Americans also struggled from the line, making just 20 of 32 free throws.
“That was as hostile of an arena as I’ve ever been in, and I’ve certainly been in my fair share. It’s a great credit to our young players and team for them to hang in there, be resilient, and find a way to win this type of game,” Miller said.
“That was a crazy game,” said Tatum. “That was the biggest atmosphere I’ve played in since I’ve been playing ball. You know it was crazy, 10,000 people against you; you’re on the road; but everybody sacrificed and just gave it their all. I’m just so happy we got the win.”
It was wild game with Greece– which got 23 points from guard Tyler Dorsey and 21 from forward Vasilis Charalampopoulos– cutting the USA lead to 69-66 with 3:34 left in the game before Ferguson drained his third three pointer to give the USA a 72-66 lead and a some needed breathing room. Following a missed 3 by Greece, Brunson was fouled and poked in the eye. Despite his blurry vision, Brunson sank both charity tries, and the U.S. lead was upped to 74-66 with 2:27 left.
“Just concentration,” responded Brunson when asked how he managed to make both free throws. “I was seeing a little bit of double. So I tried to close my eye; just really concentrate; and then I just used the right follow-through; get myself right, and they went in.”
Miller was still blown away by Brunson’s performance afterwards.
“Boy, he really shot the ball well,” Miller said. “He’s our leader. He’s come so far since we left Colorado Springs. He’s had an incredible tournament, and we wouldn’t be where we’re at without him, that’s for sure. It was a team win, and at this level with what we’re trying to accomplish that’s what we need.”
In other results Saturday, Canada (5-1) downed Australia (2-4) 66-58; Italy (5-1) edged Spain (2-4) in overtime 83-77; Argentina (2-4) defeated Egypt (2-4) 74-64; Dominican Republic (1-5) earned its first win beating Tunisia (0-6) 78-59; Iran (2-4) won over China (1-5) 64-69; and Serbia (4-2) slipped past South Korea (1-5) 113-109 in overtime.
