From USA Basketball Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Col. – Eight players boasting of prior USA Basketball experience were among the 12 players named Wednesday by USA Basketball to the 2015 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team. Training will continue at the United States Olympic Training Center here through June 21.
The USA U19 squad will look to defend its 2013 U19 gold at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship from June 27-July 5 in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens who are 19 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1996).
The returning gold medalists named to the U19 squad include: Isaiah Briscoe (Roselle Catholic H.S./Union, N.J.); Jalen Brunson (Stevenson H.S./Lincolnshire, Ill.);Terrance Ferguson (Homeschooled/Dallas, Texas); Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C.); Josh Jackson (Prolific Prep, Calif./Southfield, Mich.); Caleb Swanigan (Homestead H.S./Fort Wayne, Ind.); Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.) and Allonzo Trier (Findlay Prep, Nev./Seattle, Wash.).
Also selected for the USA U19 Team were: Jawun Evans (Kimball H.S./Dallas, Texas); Chinanu Onauku (Louisville/Lanham, Md.); L.J. Peak (Georgetown/Gaffney, S.C.); and Thomas Welsh (UCLA/Redondo Beach, Calif.).
The 2015 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team will be led by Sean Miller (Arizona), along with USA assistant coaches Ed Cooley (Providence) and Archie Miller (Dayton).
“I thought the 16 players, really everybody, but especially when we got it to 16, they did a fantastic job. Each one of them should leave here, especially the four that didn’t make it, with no regrets. The 12 that made it are excellent players and really talented,” said Sean Miller, who served as an assistant coach for the 2014 USA U18 National Team that finished 5-0 and qualified the U.S. for the FIBA U19 World Championship.
“Obviously it was a hard fight to make this team because of the talent. The thing that we like a lot is the fact that we have eight players of the 12 that have competed and won a gold medal, several have won multiple gold medals. We have a lot of versatility in our lineup, we have players that can play more than one position and I think playing pressure basketball like we want to play defensively and offensively, that we have the depth, athleticism and quickness, and also some shooting that will really allow us to play a style that we can be successful at,” added Miller.
Briscoe, Brunson and Trier helped the USA to qualify for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship by compiling a 5-0 record and winning gold at the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Five players won gold together at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship, including Ferguson, Giles, Jackson, Swanigan and Tatum; and one player, Tatum, was on the gold-medal winning USA team at the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.
Suiting up for the USA in the 2015 Nike Hoop Summit were Briscoe, Brunson, Swanigan and Trier. The 12 selected players include three players who competed as NCAA freshman in 2014-15, five players who recently completed their senior year of high school and four players who have one year of high school remaining and will graduate in 2016.
