Pool Play Finished At USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team Tournament

Colorado Springs, Colo. • July 30, 2012

• U18 3x3 Men's Tournament Rosters

• U18 3x3 Men's Tournament Results

• Day 1 Recap

The 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team Training Camp/Tournament continued on Monday as 12 men’s teams completed pool play at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. The tournament will conclude on Tuesday as the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be contested. The 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team men’s and women’s teams will be announced after the tournament.

The 12 men’s teams in attendance were placed into two pools of six teams, and completed five games of round-robin pool play on Monday. Team High Altitude won Pool A and Team Bulldogs won Pool B, with both teams posting perfect 5-0 records.  

“I thought it went really well today,” said Don Showalter, USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team Committee member. “I thought the kids competed really hard. We saw some basketball I.Q. with 3x3 that you don’t see with 5-on-5; the 12-second shot clock and having to know the time and score a little bit more. I thought we really saw some kids with a high basketball I.Q.”

Team Altitude will face Team Titans in one quarterfinal on Tuesday, with the winner facing the winner of Team Summit versus Team New Mexico Rain. On the other side of the bracket, Team Bulldogs will take on Team Elite, and the winner will be paired with the victor of Team Ktownhoopsquad against Team Dirty U.

“I think the kids today got the idea of how to play the game a little bit more and a little bit better,” Showalter said. “I think tomorrow they’re going to expand on that and we will have even better games here.”

Earlier this summer, Showalter led the USA U17 National Team to an 8-0 record and gold medal at the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship For Men in Kaunas, Lithuania. Showalter has also has led the USA to gold at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship and 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.

Joining Showalter on the 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team Committee is USA Basketball 3x3 Program Director Travis Johnson. A men’s team, though not necessarily the tournament’s winning team, will be chosen as the 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team by the 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team Committee following the conclusion of the tournament.

Members of the USA Basketball U17 and U18 women’s teams Diamond DeShields (Norcross H.S./Norcross, Ga.), Allisha Gray (Washington County H.S./Sandersville, Ga.), Erica McCall (Ridgeview H.S./Bakersfield, Calif.) and Brianna Turner (Manvel H.S./Pearland, Texas) practiced twice as a team on Monday. The foursome is expected to officially be announced as the 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 Women’s National Team on Tuesday by the 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Team Committee.

DeShields, McCall and Turner will remain in Colorado Springs to participate in training camp for the USA Women’s U17 National Team (August 1-8), and Gray to participate in training camp for the U18 National Team (August 3-11).

DeShields has won two gold medals with USA Basketball, as a member of the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship Team and 2010 FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team. McCall won gold for the USA at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.

The members of the men’s and women’s 2012 USA Basketball U18 3x3 National Teams will represent the U.S. at the inaugural FIBA U18 3x3 World Championship played September 27 – 30 in Seville, Spain. Prior to departing for Seville, the men’s and women’s teams will reconvene at the USOTC for a training camp from Sept. 23 – 26. Athletes eligible for this competition must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1994.