COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The talent is undeniable.
The 12-member World Select Team for the Nike Hoop Summit features many of the world’s leading men’s basketball players age 19 years old or younger and four players that are featured on teams from the Blue Star Media Elite 25 rankings.
The 22nd annual Nike Hoop Summit tips April 12 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The annual game pits the World Team against the USA Basketball Nike Hoop Summit Team, which is composed of elite, American high school seniors. The Americans hold a 14-7 all-time series edge.
The 2019 Nike Hoop Summit World team is led by Josh Green, an athletic shooting guard who played in the 2018 Nike Hoop Summit and is a 2019 McDonald’s All-American. A native of Australia, Green moved to the United States in 2014 with his family and has committed to play at Arizona. He currently plays for IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and is an Australian National Team candidate for FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
Nico Mannion, another 2019 McDonald’s All-American, will be joining Green at Arizona this fall. A native of Italy, the 6-4 Mannion was also selected to play in this year’s Jordan Brand Classic in Las Vegas.
Kofi Cockburn also returns for his second Hoop Summit, representing his native Jamaica. The 6-10 big man plays for Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) and is verbally committed to Illinois.
A native of Mali, N’Faly Dante is the third player to make his second appearance at the Hoop Summit. Dante is a 6-11 junior center from Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.). At 6-9, Precious Achiuwa will also represent Malion the World Team and is senior at Montverde (Fla.) Academy.
Matthew Alexander-Moncrieffe is a 6-7 forward from Orangeville, Ontario, Canada. He represented Canada in the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup and is undecided on college.
One of the youngest players on this year’s squad at 17 years old, Andre Curbelo helped Puerto Rico earn a bronze medal at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup. The 6-1 point guard preps at Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.).
Haowen Guo, a 6-foot-6 versatile wing player from China, competed in the 2018 FIBA U18 Asian Championship where he averaged almost 19 points a game.
Oscar Tshiebwe, a 6-9 West Virginia commit from Congo, is among the best rebounders in the senior class while playing at Kennedy Catholic (Hermitage, Pa.).
Marcos Louzada Silva, a 6-6 guard, represents Brazil and competes for SESI/Franca, a Brazilian men’s professional basketball club based in Franca, São Paulo.
Joshua Obiesie, Munich, Germany native, is a left-handed 6-6 guard competes for s.Oliver Wurzburg, his club team in Germany, and the same club where NBA great and Nike Hoop Summit alumni Dirk Nowitzki once played.
Serbian-born Marko Pecarski is a 6-10 forward plays professionally in the ABA League in Eastern Europe. Pecarski was a member of the Serbian U18 national basketball teams that won the gold medals at the 2017 Championship and the 2018 FIBA Europe U18 Championship, where he was the MVP.
The World Team at the 2019 Nike Hoop Summit will be led by nine-year coach Roy Rana, who currently has a 4-4 record in the series. In 2018, Rana became the longest serving head coach in Hoop Summit history and also has the most wins of any coach in Hoop Summit history. Rana is currently the head coach of the Ryerson University men’s basketball team in Toronto, where he has led the Rams to five consecutive National Tournaments. He will again be assisted by Serbia’s Marin Sedlacek, who is making his 19th Hoop Summit appearance.
Here is the roster for the Hoop Summit USA team.
