USA Basketball: 2019 prospect Vern Carey Jr. opens 2017 FIBA Americas Championship with big game
2019 prospect Vern Carey Jr. leads USMNT to win over Puerto Rico on Wednesday night.
The United States men’s national team opened the 2017 FIBA Americas Championship with an 110-69 victory over Puerto Rico behind Vernon Carey Jr.’s 17 points and nine rebounds in Argentina on June 14. With the win, the Americans improved to 21-0 all-time in the FIBA Americas Championship.
“The first game is always interesting because our guys are nervous,” said USA U16 National Team head coach Don Showalter. “Puerto Rico has played together for a while; they won the CentroBasket tournament to get here, so they’ve played together and you could tell. Their guards did a nice job. In the first half, we tried to make the ‘hero’ play where we were trying to throw lobs and had too many turnovers. Then, when we really settled down in the second half, we played the game the way it should be played.”
The U.S. (1-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute of the game and led 24-11 after the opening quarter. The red, white, and blue controlled most of the second quarter, extending their lead to 46-24 with 3:24 left on a Jeremy Roach three-pointer. However, Puerto Rico closed the half on an 11-2 spurt to trail at halftime by just 13.
Carey was dominant in the first half, tallying 11 of his points in the first 20 minutes. The 6’10” forward, who is ranked as ESPN’s No. 2 2019 prospect, finished the game 5-of-8 from the floor. He also grabbed two offensive boards, blocked a shot, and finished 7-of-8 from the free throw line despite seeing only 16 minutes of action.
Carey is garnering a lot attention on the recruiting trail. The soon-to-be-high school junior already has 11 scholarship offers. Although Evan Daniels of Scout.com recently tweeted that the Miami Hurricanes appear to be the most “all-in” on the prospect, Louisville and Florida are also reportedly showing real interest.
Have to imagine Jim Larrañaga made the long trip to Argentina for 2019 top 5 player Vernon Carey. Hurricanes are in deep with him.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) June 14, 2017
The U.S. opened the third quarter on a 17-9 run to re-take control of the game. R.J. Hampton contributed 16 points, six rebounds, and four assists for the Americans. While Zion Hamilton, Jalen Suggs, and James Wiseman each added 11 points apiece.
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The USA will face the Dominican Republic (0-1) on Thursday at 5:45 p.m. (EDT). The Dominicans are coming off an 86-45 whipping at the hands of Mexico (1-0). Canada (1-0) and Paraguay (1-0) also were opening day winners.