Jahii Carson makes USA Basketball team
Carson: Little Man With Big Hopes (USA Basketball/June 22, 2011)
ASU-bound Carson proving special (by Scott Bordow, Arizona Republic/Jan. 17, 2011)
USA Basketball announced its official 12-man roster for the USA U19 World Championship Team, and incoming Sun Devil Jahii Carson has made the squad and is the only incoming freshman on the team.
The USA squad will look to defend the gold medal won by the U.S. in 2009 at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship. Along with Carson earning spots on the team were Keith Appling (Michigan State/Detroit, Mich.); James Bell (Villanova/Orlando, Fla.); Anthony Brown (Stanford/Huntington Beach, Calif.); 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.
Carson, who signed with ASU in November of 2010, is a Parade Magazine 2011 second-team All-American and the 2010-11 Arizona Republic Big Schools Player of the Year. He played at Mesa (Ariz.) High School the past two seasons where he set single-season scoring and assists marks in both his junior and senior (32.2 points and 3.6 assists) seasons. He led the team to a 21-6 mark in his senior season and the state Class 5A semifinals. He caught fire in the Class 5A Division I Tourmament, notching 37 points, 38 points and then a 58-point outburst in a semifinal loss. In a 2010 holiday tournament in New York, he set the tournament record with 109 points (36.3 ppg.) in three games.
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. 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. 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 standing
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).