COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Mike Jones knows a thing or two about the USA Men’s U16 National Team. Jones, the first-year head coach of the next generation of hoop prodigies must whittle his pool of 32 players to a 12-man roster by the end of the month and then it’s to Brazil.
“First and foremost, having seen the guys with the new model of having minicamps in October and April, we’ve been able to familiarize ourselves with the pool,” said Jones, who is former USA assistant and head coach at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. “There will be a couple of new faces there, but overall this is an extremely talented group that provides us with a lot of versatility. We have the potential to be one of the more talented groups that we’ve had from top to bottom. Picking the 12 guys to represent us will not be an easy task for the committee.”
J0nes and his staff will conduct the U16 National Team training camp from May 22-29 at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee, chaired by USA Basketball men’s national team director Sean Ford, issued the invitations to training camp and is responsible for selecting the team.
The training camp will be used to select the 12 athletes who will represent USA Basketball in the FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Men, which will take place June 3-9 in Belém, Brazil, in hopes of securing a gold medal and berth to the 2020 FIBA U17 World Cup. Finalists for the team are expected to be announced May 25, and the 12-member team will be announced prior to departing for Brazil on May 30.
Those accepting invitations include:
Amari Bailey (Sierra Canyon H.S./Chatsworth, Calif.); Nathan Bittle (Crater H.S./Central Point, Ore.); Jaden Bradley (Cannon School/Concord, N.C.); Jameel Brown(Haverford H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.); Kendall Brown (East Ridge H.S./Cottage Grove, Minn.); Andre Casey Jr. (Simeon Career Academy/Chicago, Ill.); Max Christie (Rolling Meadows H.S./Arlington Heights, Ill.); Skyy Clark (Heritage Christian H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.); Zion Cruz (Hudson Catholic H.S./Trenton, N.J.); Eric Dailey Jr. (IMG Academy/Tampa, Fla.); Gradey Dick (Wichita Collegiate School/Wichita, Kan.); Jalen Duren (Roman Catholic H.S., Pa.)/New Castle, Del.); Michael Foster (Washington H.S. of Information Technology/Milwaukee, Wis.); Gregg Glenn III (Calvary Christian Academy/Pompano Beach, Fla.).
AJ Griffin (Archbishop Stepinac H.S./Ossining, N.Y.); Camden Heide (Wayzata H.S./Wayzata, Minn.); Jalen Hood-Schifino (Northside Christian Academy/Charlotte, N.C.); Jett Howard (University School/Miami, Fla.); Dillon Hunter(Westlake H.S./Atlanta, Ga.); Richard Isaacs Jr. (Coronado H.S./Las Vegas, Nev.); Will Jeffress (McDowell H.S./Erie, Pa.); Trevor Keels (Paul VI Catholic H.S., Va./Clinton, Md.); Kamari Lands (La Lumiere School/Indianapolis, Ind.); Tamin Lipsey (Ames H.S./Ames, Iowa); Chris Livingston (Buchtel H.S./Akron, Ohio); Knasir “Dug” McDaniel (Pavl VI Catholic H.S./Fairfax, Va.); Marquise “MJ” Rice (Durham Academy /Creedmore, N.C.); Jabari Smith Jr. (Sandy Creek H.S./Tyrone, GA); Jarace Walker (IMG Academy, Fla./New Freedom, Pa.); Dariq Whitehead (Montverde Academy, Fla./Newark, N.J.); Justice Williams (Roman Catholic H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.); and Kijani Wright (Windward H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.).
Several invitees play for programs that regularly appear in the Blue Star Media Elite 25 boys’ rankings.
“Our goal is always the gold,” Jones emphasized. “The standard has been set pretty high. But I believe in the entire organization from (Jim) Tooley and Sean (Ford) to Samson (Kayode), Show (Don Showalter), our coaches and court coaches, support staff and everyone involved in the USA Basketball organization, and obviously the players. From top to bottom, the USA model is so strong.
“The faces change, but the expectation and performance are pretty consistent. And, that’s what we want to do – we want to be consistent with the success we’ve had in the past.”
Assisting Jones are highly respected high school head coaches Eric Flannery of St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) and Sharman White of Pace Academy (Atlanta).
Senior Writer and national analyst for Blue Media and compiles the Blue Star Elite 25 national boys and girls high school basketball and football rankings during the season. Lawlor, an award-winning writer, is a voting committee member and advisor for several national high school events, including the McDonald’s All-American Games. He previously wrote for USA TODAY and ESPN.com, where he was the national preps writer, while compiling the national rankings in four sports.
