USA U18 Men Roll To Perfect 5-0 Mark To Capture Gold And Qualify U.S. For 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship
younger players (born on or after Jan. 1, 1994), the USA team captured gold at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship that was held June 16-20 in Sao Sebastiáo do Paraiso, Brazil. Led by University of
F
Florida mentor Billy Donovan, the U.S. featured a well balanced scoring attack that averaged 97.2 points and won its five contests by an average of 38.6 points a game. The 12-man USA
Basketball Men’s U18 National Team was announced on June 9. Named a member of
the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team were: Nathaniel Britt, II (Gonzaga H.S., D.C./Upper Marlboro, Md.); Sam Dekker (Sheboygan Lutheran H.S./Sheboygan, Wis.); Shaq Goodwin (Southwest DeKalb H.S./Decatur, Ga.); Jerami Grant (DeMatha Catholic/ Bowie, Md.); Montrezl Harrell (Hargrave Military Academy/ Tarboro, N.C.); Jake Layman (King Phillip Regional H.S./ Wrentham, Mass.); Rodney Purvis (Upper Room Christian/ Raleigh, N.C.); Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian Academy/ McKinney, Texas); James Robinson (DeMatha Catholic H.S./Mitchellville, Md.); Marcus Smart (Marcus H.S./ Flower Mound, Texas); Jarnell Stokes (Memphis, Tenn.); and Rasheed
USA Basketball News
eaturing some of the nation’s top 18-year-old and
2012 MEN’S U18 CHAMPIONSHIP “There was a lot of
sacrifice. We had a lot of good players and I think they all understood that they all could probably score more, they all
could probably do more, but maybe it wouldn’t be the best thing for our team. I was just really proud of the way they sacrificed for one another, they sacrificed for our country and they really wanted to win.” USA Head Coach Billy Donovan
Randle, the
Top: The gold medal winning USA U18 coaching staff consisted of collegiate standout mentors Shaka Smart (left), Billy Donovan (middle) and Mark Few (right). Above: It was a golden 5-0 showing by the USA Men’s U18 National Team in Sao Sebastiáo do Paraiso, Brazil. The Americans defeated their foes by an average of 38.6 ppg.
Sulaimon (Strake Jesuit College Prep/ Houston, Texas). Led by a trio of experienced and
successful college coaches, assisting USA head mentor Donovan were Mark Few of Gonzaga University and Shaka Smart from Virginia Commonwealth University.
USA’s youngest player, averaged USA team highs of 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. University of Tennessee’s power forward Stokes added 14.0 ppg. and 5.6 rpg., while Goodwin added 12.4 ppg. and 4.8 rpg., and Sulaimon was credited with 10.0 ppg. and 3.4 rpg. Marcus Smart accounted for team bests
4.0 assists and 3.6 steals a game to go with 7.4 points a game. First held in 1990 and known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament, with its 5-0 finish in 2012 the U.S. men improved their overall win-loss record to a sparkling 43-2.