Busting Brackets
Fansided

Eleven College Players Named Finalists for Pan-American Games Basketball Roster

By Chris Godfrey

facebooktwitterreddit

The Pan-American Games will open tonight (7:30pm on ESPN) in Toronto. One of the games’ marquee competitions, the eight-team men’s basketball tournament, will begin later during the games. That gives USA Basketball a little more time to select the final roster that they will carry into the games. Yesterday, head coach Mark Few (Gonzaga) and his staff cut their preliminary roster down to 16 finalists.

More from NCAA Basketball News

In 2011, the Pan-Am roster wouldn’t have made news on this college basketball site. The coaching staff and selection pool was made up exclusively of NBA Developmental League players. This year, 11 current collegians are included among the finalists for the team. The group will be looking to be a part of a team that will seek to avenge a semi-final loss in the 2011 games (that team did earn a bronze medal).

These finalists are slated to play college basketball this year:

SG – Ron Baker (Wichita State)
SG – Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia)
PG – Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma)
SF – Kellen Dunham (Butler)
PF – Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin)
PF – Shawn Long (Louisiana-Lafayette)
SF – Taurean Prince (Baylor)
C – Kaleb Tarczewski (Arizona)
PG – Melo Trimble (Maryland)
SF – Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)
PG – Fred VanVleet (Wichita State)

The players listed above will be vying for spots against five unsigned veteran professionals (listed with their most recent affiliation).

C – Ryan Hollins (Sacramento Kings, NBA)
PG – Bobby Brown (Dongguan Leopards, China)
SG – Keith Langford (UNICS Kazan, Russia)
PF – Anthony Randolph (Lokomotiv-Kuban, Russia)
SF – Damien Wilkins (Indios de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)

Live Feed

Why Jayson Tatum playing for Team USA in 2024 helps the Boston Celtics
Why Jayson Tatum playing for Team USA in 2024 helps the Boston Celtics /

Hardwood Houdini

  • Evan Mobley could be a defensive difference-maker for Team USAKing James Gospel
  • Washington Wizards' Kyle Kuzma is absolutely right about USA BasketballWiz of Awes
  • LeBron James has chance to build upon stellar Team USA career in 2024King James Gospel
  • LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024Sir Charles In Charge
  • 2023 FIBA World Cup: 3 Reasons why USA Basketball failed in dramatic fashionSir Charles In Charge

    • College basketball players participating in international competition has been a reoccuring theme this summer. The Kansas Jayhawks (along with an adopted Nic Moore from SMU) are participating in the World University Games in South Korea. A mix of current and future college ballers also took the court in Greece during the FIBA U19 World Championships.

    International play has often been the catalyst for college players to show dramatic improvement during the college season. With many of the college players in position to participate already being stars, players like Taurean Prince and Shawn Long stand out as potential breakout players that can emanate from making the final roster and having a strong showing in Canada.

    The men’s basketball tournament begins July 21st and will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.

    Next: Impact College Players at the FIBA U19 World Championshps

    More from Busting Brackets

    Home/NCAA Basketball News