From USA Basketball Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Eight future stars have been invited to participate in the 2017 USA Men’s U16 National Team training camp it was announced today by USA Basketball.
Scottie Barnes (Cardinal Newman H.S./West Palm Beach, Fla.); Jordan Noah Collier (Westtown H.S./West Chester, Pa.); Zion Harmon (Bowling Green H.S./Bowling Green, Ky.); Jason Harris (Desert Ridge H.S./Mesa, Ariz.); David Johnson (Trinity H.S./Louisville, Ky.); Nico Mannion (Pinnacle H.S./Phoenix, Ariz.); Joshua Nickelberry (Northwood Temple H.S./Eastover, N.C.) and Romeo Weems (New Haven H.S./New Haven, Mich.) were added to the U16 training camp roster, joining 24 previously selected players.
Three of the athletes – Mannion, Nickelberry and Weems – participated in the 2016 USA Junior National Team October minicamp, and this will mark the first USA Basketball experience for the remaining five.
These eight athletes bring the number of the nation’s top young male basketball players slated to attend the 2017 USA Basketball Men’s U16 National Team training camp to 32. The training camp, set to tipoff on June 1 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, will be used to select the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Men. The 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship will be held June 14-18 in Formosa, Argentina, and the top four finishing teams will qualify for the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup for Men.
Invitations to the training camp were issued by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee. Athletes eligible for this team must be 16 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 2001) and U.S. citizens.
“These players we invited have done very well this spring and over the past year on their high school teams,” said USA U16 National Team head coach Don Showalter, who has guided the USA U16/U17 national teams to eight-straight gold medals since 2009. “We felt they would fit in really well with what we’re looking at. They can play different positions. They’re really good defenders. We’re always looking for great defenders on our team. Each one of these players will bring something new to the table, and they’ll compete for a spot on the team.
The 24 previously announced athletes expected to attend training camp are:
Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Seton Hall Prep School/Short Hills, N.J.); Posh Alexander (Our Saviour Lutheran School/Brooklyn, N.Y.); Dudley Blackwell (Westminster Academy/Miramar, Fla.); Gregory Brown III (Vandegrift H.S./Austin, Texas); Vernon Carey Jr. (University School/Southwest Ranches, Fla.); Jyare Davis (Sanford School/Newark, Del.); Eric Dixon (Abington H.S./Willow Grove, Pa.); Xavier Foster (Oskaloosa H.S./Oskaloosa, Iowa); Juwan Gary (Gray Collegiate Academy/Columbia, S.C.); Jalen Green (San Joaquin Memorial H.S./Fresno, Calif.); Lynn Greer III (Roman Catholic H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.); R.J. Hampton (Little Elm H.S./Little Elm, Texas); De’Vion Harmon (John Guyer H.S./Corinth, Texas).
Zach Harvey (Hayden H.S./Topeka, Kan.); Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Adolfo Camarillo H.S./Camarillo, Calif.); Justin Lewis (Calvert Hall H.S./Baltimore, Md.); Wendell Moore Jr. (Cox Mill H.S./Concord, N.C.); Isaac Okoro (McEachern H.S./Powder Springs, Ga.); Micah Peavy (DeKaney H.S./Houston, Texas); Jaden Springer (Rocky River H.S./Charlotte, N.C.); Isaiah Stewart (McQuaid Jesuit H.S./Rochester, N.Y.); Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha Academy H.S./St. Paul, Minn.); Isaiah Todd (John Marshall H.S./Richmond, Va.); and James Wiseman (The Ensworth School/Nashville, Tenn.).
