ZARAGOZA, Spain– This FIBA U 17 boys World Championship was a celebration of American youth basketball.

The United States captured the gold medal, ripping the heart out of Turkey, 96-56, here Sunday night in the final at Siglo XXI Arena to remain unbeaten in all U 16 and U 17 international competitions. The U.S., which averaged 106.1 points, put 133 on Korea and scored at least 90 points in six of its seven games and won its games by an average of more than 40 points.

Here’s some takeaways from both the boys’ and girls’ international tournaments.

— The best thing USA Basketball did in the past year was hire youth coach Don Showalter as a full time employee. His presence and wisdom not only provides continuity, but also allows him to implement a relentless full court pressing system that has produced a Woodenesque-like 50-0 record and eight championships in the U 16 Tournament of Americas and the U 17 Worlds.

— This was the most talented and by far the best defensive U.S. youth team Showalter has coached since his arrival at USA Basketball in 2009. All 12 players are destined to play big time Division I basketball and at least half of this roster will likely play in the NBA. Team USA held four teams to under 60 points. They completely shut down Turkey in the final, limiting them 20 points in the first half and 31 percent shooting, 13 percent (2-for-15) from the three overall while forcing 24 turnovers.

— Collin Sexton, a 6-2 guard from Pebblebrook High in Marlboro, Ga. who was the leading scorer in the Nike EBYL spring league and averaged 17 points. 4 rebounds and 4.1 assists in his first FIBA event, was selected MVP of the tournament. The cat quick Sexton demonstrated he was a dynamic scorer off the bench who could also distribute the ball and is an elite defender. He made his first six shots and finished with 16 points and eight assists in the final against Turkey. Sexton is being heavily recruited by Alabama, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Iowa State and his stock should only soar higher after this spotlight performance.

— Sexton and 6-10, 255-pound power rising senior forward Wendell Carter Jr. of Pace Academy in Atlanta, who led Team USA in rebounds and blocked shots, both made the FIBA All Star five, along with 6-8 point guard Dzanan Musa from Bosnia and Herzgovina, 6-7 forward Sergi Martinez and 6-4 point guard Arnas Velicka of Lithuania, but truth be told, there probably wasn’t any player other than Musa who could have started for Team USA. I could have made a case for five Americans– rising senior guard Gary Trent Jr of Apple Valley, Minn. HS, Carter, 6-8 rising junior forward Carte’Are Gordon of Webster Grove, Ill, 6-8 rising senior forward Kevin Knox II from Tampa, Fla. Catholic and Sexton– as legitimate candidates for the All Star five.

— Carter, who is ranked No. 3 in the class of 2018, is being recruited hard by Kentucky, Duke, Georgia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina. But the honors student with a 3.7 GPA says his first official visit will be to Harvard. When he stayed out of foul trouble, he was an unstoppable force in the low post.

— When the NCAA allowed college coaches to attend FIBA championship events, it opened the flood gates for resourceful programs looking to upgrade their recruiting. Some 65 men’s programs and 42 women’s programs made the cross Atlantic journey to watch the U 17 Worlds. The biggest names to show up were John Calipari of Kentucky and Geno Auriemma of Connecticut, but there were coaches from everywhere in the country, several from non-Power five programs. Hartford and Florida Atlantic each sent two representatives. Head coaches Mark Fox of Georgia, Matt Painter of Purdue and Washington assistant Raphael Chillious, a rising star in recruiting, were among the familiar faces in the gym every day.

— The most intriguing internationals we watched on the boys’ side were 6-10 Samson Froling of Australia, guard Onuralp Bitim of Turkey, Veilicka, Musa from Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6-8 forward Jaylen Hoard of France, licka and 6-6 rising sophomore guard RJ Barrett. Bitim, who attends Huntington, W. Va. Prep, and Barrett, the son of Canadian international Rowan Barrett who attends Montverde, Fla. Academy and is ranked as one of the best players in his class, should both attend American colleges as should Froling, who attends the Centre for Excellence in Melbourne, averaged over 10 points and 10 rebounds in this tournament and could be the best prospect in a family that has already sent an older brother– 6-11 Harry and two sisters to SMU on basketball scholarships. Hoard, another in a long line of highly regarded prospects to come out of the INSEP basketball program, is the son of former French women’s international Katia Foucade, who played for the University of Washington.

— Musa, who averaged 34 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3 assists in this tournament and went off for 50 against Chinese Taipei in a classification game, isn’t going anywhere. After he led Bosnia-Herzegovina to its first ever FIBA title and was selected MVP in the 2015 U16 European championship, he became the ninth-youngest player to debut in the Euroleague with Cedevita Zagreb at 16 years, five months and seven days.

— Australia, which defeated Italy, 62-38, to win the gold medal on the women’s side, had at least four players– center Ezi Macbegor, forward Jasmine Simmons, point guard Montique Conti and guard Jazmin Shelley– who could be future Olympians. The 6-4 Macbegor, who averaged 12.5 points and 8 rebounds for the 6-0 Sapphires, was selected MVP of the tournament. No player from the USA’s bronze medal team made the All Star Five.

— This tournament has become too big for its own good. FIBA needs to cut the size of the U 17 World Championships from 16 to 12 teams with four quarterfinals and two classification games. The players looked exhausted after two weeks away from home and the gold medal, bronze medal and fifth place games were non-competitive.Tired legs and too many turnovers.