USA basketball has selected 17 finalists from a pool of 32 candidates for its UI7 World Championship team that will participate in the global 16 team tournament Aug 8 -16 in Dubai. The roster includes 10 members of the gold medal 2013 USA U16 National team and has powerhouse potential.
It was really a difficult decision,” said USA head coach Don Showalter (Iowa City H.S., Iowa), who has never lost a game in international youth development competition, in a statement from the Colorado Springs Olympic training site. “I think it boiled down to a few things, like what do we feel is going to make the best team, who can play defense and who can hit shots. I think the 17 guys that we have right now can all fit that category. It’s going to be difficult to cut this group down to 12, but having a few more practices allows us to look at the players in different positions and how we’re going to use the kids as a team, see what happens when we put in a system.”
The list includes:
— 6-4 guard Malik Newman (Callaway H.S./Jackson, Miss.).
— 6-5 guard Tyus Battle (Gill St. Bernard’s School/ Edison, N.J.)
— 6-9 forward Thomas Bryant (Huntington Prep, W.Va./Rochester, N.Y.)
— 6-9 forward/center Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake H.S./Rice Lake, Wis.).
— 6-6 guard Terrence Ferguson(Prime Prep Academy/Flower Mound, Texas).
— 6-2 guard De’Aaron Fox (Cypress Lakes H.S./Katy, Texas).
— 6-9 forward Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C.)
— 6-5 guard Mustapha Heron (Sacred Heart H.S./West Haven, Conn.)
— 6-6 guard Josh Jackson (Consortium College Prep H.S./ Southfield, Mich.)
— 6-6 forward V.J. King (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S./Akron, Ohio)
— 6-8 forward T.J. Leaf (Foothills Christian H.S./Lakeside, Calif.)
— 6-10 forward Ivan Rabb (Bishop O’Dowd H.S./ Oakland, Calif.)
— 5-10 guard Devearl Ramsey (Sierra Canyon H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.)
— 6-10 center Diamond Stone (Dominican H.S./Milwaukee, Wis.)
— 6-7 forward Caleb Swanigan (Homestead H.S./Fort Wayne, Ind.)
— 6-7 guard Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.)
— 6-2 guard Derryck Thornton (Findlay Prep, Nev./Simi Valley, Calif.).
The USA U16 team — which included Rabb, Newman, Ferguson, King, Stone, Tatum, Giles, Ramsay, Bryant and Jackson– rolled through the FIBA Americas tournament in Maldonardo, Uruguay, averaging 106.8 points and winning by an average of 53.4 points. Newman, who averaged 16.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2.8 steals, was selected MVP. Stone averaged 13.6 points and Rabb, considered the best American prospect in the class of 2015, averaged 12 points.
