USA Basketball: 32 players to attend U16 Men’s Training Camp
32 of the top young high school players are gearing up to participate in the upcoming USA Basketball U16 men’s training camp.
USA Basketball recently announced the addition of eight players to its U16 men’s training camp, bringing the number to 32. The U16 training camp is slated to run from June 1 to June 10 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The training camp roster consists of 13 players from the class of 2019. 18 of the players are from the class of 2020 and one player is in the class of 2021.
Vernon Carey Jr., a 6’9″ power forward, is the highest ranked player in the class of 2019. Carey is ranked No. 2 in the class by ESPN Recruiting Nation and second by 247 Composite. He is also ranked sixth by Scout as well as third by Rivals. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native currently has 10 scholarship offers.
Carey is not the only top NCAA prospect from the class of 2019. James Wiseman, Eric Dixon, Zach Dieterich-Harvey, Juwan Gary, De’Vion Harmon, Jaime Jaquez Jr., David Johnson, Wendell Moore, Josh Nickelberry, Isaac Okoro, and Isaiah Stewart are also ranked by top recruiting services.
Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Jy’are Davis, Xavier Foster, and Jalen Suggs are the players from the class of 2020 listed as college prospects by Scout.
“It’s a good group, as far as having a lot of versatility with guys who can play a lot of different positions,” said USA U16 National Team head coach Don Showalter. “We have a good backcourt with guys who can play point guard, off guard, wing. Then we have a good frontcourt, where they can kind of intermix with post players, back-to-the-basket types of players, and then face the basket. That helps. We need that for international competition. And we have a good crew overall, as far as our defensive philosophy is concerned. We’re going to be able to pressure the ball and play good defense. So, those are the two things that we’re looking for in this group.”
Once the squad is cut to 12, the USA will head to Argentina for three practices before opening the 2017 FIBA Americas Championship. The U.S. is in Group B of the eight-team tournament along with Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. The top four finishers will earn a berth in the 2018 U17 Championship.
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The U16 FIBA Americas Championship’s preliminary rounds will run from June 14-16. Semifinals will be played June 17 and the finals are slated for June 18.
Showalter, a 42-year veteran high school coach, is a veteran USA Basketball coach. Showalter has guided USA’s U16 and U17 teams to eight straight gold medals. Fairport High School (N.Y.) head coach Scott Fitch and Sanford High (Del.) head coach Stan Waterman are assistant coaches.