After being named a finalist for the 2011 USA Basketball U-19 team last week, UConn Huskies sophomore guard Jeremy Lamb has officially made the team.
Here’s the release from USA Basketball:
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Basketball today announced its official 12-man roster for the USA U19 World Championship Team. The USA squad, featuring five players with prior USA Basketball experience, will look to defend the gold medal won by the U.S. in 2009 at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.
Named a member of the 2011 USA U19 World Championship Team were: Keith Appling (Michigan State/Detroit, Mich.); James Bell (Villanova/Orlando, Fla.); Anthony Brown (Stanford/Huntington Beach, Calif.); Jahii Carson (Mesa High School/*Arizona State/Phoenix, Ariz.); Tim Hardaway, Jr. (Michigan/Miami, Fla.); Joe Jackson (Memphis/Memphis, Tenn.); Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut/ Norcross, Ga.); Meyers Leonard (Illinois/Robinson, Ill.); Khyle Marshall (Butler/Davie, Fla.); Doug McDermott (Creighton/Ames, Iowa); Tony Mitchell (North Texas/Dallas, Texas); and Patric Young (Florida/Jacksonville, Fla.).
George Mason University mentor Paul Hewitt is head coach of the USA U19 World Championship Team, and is being assisted by collegiate head coaches Randy Bennett of St. Mary’s College and Cliff Warren of Jacksonville University.
“I like the depth and versatility of this team, in particular our big guys. I think our big guys are a great presence around the basket and do an excellent job of screening,” said Hewitt. “Defense will have to be a staple for this team and we have work to do. I’m not happy with where we are defensively. I think we made steps, we’re doing some good things, but in order to compete for the gold medal we have to get better.
“The selection was harder than I expected. The young man we decided not to keep, Javon McCrae, it was really just a numbers situation, he played more than well enough to make the team. We just didn’t feel comfortable going over there without three point guards,” Hewitt stated.
The team will complete its domestic training Thursday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and then depart for Europe on June 24. The USA squad will train June 25-28 in Lithuania. The Americans will face the Lithuania U20 National Team in an exhibition game on June 26 in Panevrzys, Lithuania, and then meet the Lithuania U19 National Team on June 28 in Vilnius, Lithuania. The 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men is being held June 30-July 10 in Valmiera, Liepaja and Riga, Latvia.
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“The exhibition games are very important because they will help get us adjusted to the type environment we’ll be playing in,” said Hewitt about the USA’s two “friendlies” in Lithuania. “The teams we’re going to be playing there are obviously going to be more organized in their approach offensively and defensively, and they’re going to test us. We’re going to have to think. Right now I think we’re doing it a lot on physical ability. I see some cohesiveness coming together but the two exhibition games in Lithuania will definitely test our cohesiveness.
“Even if we win a game, we’ve got to take a approach that it’s like a practice and take a look at the things we didn’t do well and see how we can improve on them. Certainly we need to keep building on our strengths but from game to game we’ve got to get something out of it that we can use to help us get ready for the next game,” added Hewitt.
Five of the finalists possess prior USA Basketball experience including two players from the 2010 USA U18 National Team that captured gold at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
Mitchell and Young were part of USA Basketball’s 2010 U18 team, while Leonard and Young participated on the USA Junior National Select Team that won the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit. Other players possessing prior USA Basketball trials experience included Appling and Bell, while Jackson was invited to the 2010 U17 Trials but was unable to participate.
Featured on the U.S. roster are 11 student-athletes who attended 11 different NCAA Division I schools in 2010-11 and one player (Carson) who completed his high school career this year. Eight conferences have representation on the USA roster as well.
Lamb helped lead the University of Connecticut to the 2011 NCAA title and along the way was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.2 ppg. and 4.8 rpg. Marshall was a freshman for NCAA runner-up Butler.
Five athletes listed among their NCAA conference all-freshman squads following the 2010-11 season, including McDermott who was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Additionally, Jackson collected MVP honors for the Conference USA Tournament, Lamb was named to the Big East Conference All-Tournament Team and McDermott was also named All-Missouri Valley Conference first team.
Named to their respective conference all-freshman teams were: Brown (Pac-10), Hardaway (Big Ten), Lamb (Big East), McDermott (Missouri Valley) and Young (Southeastern).
Additionally, McDermott was named to the USBWA Freshman All-America second team, while Hardaway, McDermott and Young were each named to the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-American Team.
FIBA U19 World Championship
Led by then University of Oklahoma head coach Jeff Capel, the 2010 USA U18 National Team secured the USA’s berth to the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship with a 5-0 and gold medal finish in its zone qualifier, the 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, held June 26-30 in San Antonio, Texas.
Sixteen nations will battle for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men title June 30-July 10 in Latvia. The United States has been placed in Group D, along with China, Egypt and Serbia. The 12 remaining 19-and-under national teams were distributed as such: Group A includes Brazil, Poland, Russia and Tunisia; Group B consists of Argentina, Australia, Latvia and Taiwan; and Group C is comprised of Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and South Korea.
The U.S. squad’s preliminary round slate opens with a June 30 contest against Egypt, followed by Serbia on July 1, and the USA squad will conclude preliminary play July 2 versus China. The top three teams from each preliminary group will qualify for the preliminary second round, while the fourth place teams will qualify for the classification round to determine 13th to 16th places.
The 12 teams who qualify for the second round, which will be played July 4-6, will be divided into groups E and F, with six teams in each group. The top three preliminary round teams from groups A and B will advance to Group E, and the top three from C and D will advance to Group F. Each team will play the three new teams in its new group, with the final scores of all games played in the preliminary round carrying over to determine the second round standings.
Teams finishing in first through fourth places in the two second round groups will qualify for the quarterfinals, with the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and finals. Teams finishing in fifth and sixth places in Groups E and F will play for ninth through 12th places. The quarterfinals will be held on July 8, semifinals are slated for July 9 and the gold and bronze medal games, as well as the 5th/6th place and 7th/8th place games will be contested on July 10.
Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years from 1979 – 2007. Starting in 2009 FIBA changed its calendar and now holds age-based world championships every other year. USA men’s teams are 62-11 in the U19/Junior World Championships, and have won four gold and three silver medals, most recently earning the gold medal for the first time since 1991 with a 9-0 record in 2009.
USA U19 World Championship for Men Players of note include: Stacey Augmon (1987), Vin Baker (1991), Michael Beasley (2007), Dee Brown (2003), Vince Carter (1995), Nick Collison (1999), Seth Curry (2009), Stephen Curry (2007), Paul Davis (2003), Eric Floyd (1979), Jonny Flynn (2007), Ashton Gibbs (2009), Gordon Hayward (2009), Larry Johnson (1987), Stephon Marbury (1995), Gary Payton (1987), Sam Perkins (1979), Wesley Person (1991), Kevin Pittsnogle (2003), J.J. Redick (2003), Bobby Simmons (1999), Scott Skiles (1983), Tyshawn Taylor (2009), Howard Thompkins (2009), Deron Williams (2003) and James Worthy (1979).
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