Additional Quotes >> USA U17 World Championship Team Members

June 21, 2010 - San Antonio, Texas

Don Showalter, 2010 USA U17 National Team head coach
(Mid-Prairie High School, Iowa)

What do you see as the strengths of this team?
"I think we are a really good shooting team.  Everybody can really shoot the ball from our post players inside the lane and then our guards are really good shooters. I think our defensive unit is going to be very good with our bigs.  We have several kids who can play different positions and I think that is big for us. When somebody gets in foul trouble and you have to have maybe a player go from a forward to a guard and when that happens I think we can do that.

How tough was the decision process how tight was the competition out there?
We told the kids we had 19 players and there's not one of them that cut themselves. It was a very talented group overall.  There wasn't anybody here that we would have cut because of a bad attitude, or they didn't play hard or something like that.  So really nobody cut themselves from that standpoint. It was a tough decision that came down to some positions that we needed covered, it came time to maybe versatility a little bit. You wish you could take all 19 of them but of course you can't.

Will the depth available on this team be important?
We found out last year that when you go to a foreign country a lot of things can happen - foul trouble, there could be some sickness come on, or somebody's not playing very well one night, just whatever, so your seven-eight-nine-ten players are very, very important to what you're trying to accomplish.  If you can get energy off the bench, if you can get some production off the bench with those kids, then you're set pretty good.  Hopefully we have that as an advantage when we play those international teams that we have a better second five then maybe our opponents do.

Justin Anderson
(Montrose Christian School, Md. / Montross, Va.)

How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the USA U17 World Championship Team?
It felt great.  My heart finally started beating the right way and I was really excited. It's a great opportunity I have once again this year to go the World Championship and I'm just excited for the opportunity again.

What did you focus on during the training camp to set yourself apart from the others?
I felt the thing that would be important for me to do to make this team and make this team successful was to do the little things.  No too many players want to do the little things.  We have great offensive players and we're not going to be out here if we didn't have an offensive game because not too many people would know us, but the little things like defense and communication and being a great teammate are the little things I wanted to have my team be successful with.  Just that little bit of talking on defense and let my teammate know a screen is coming, he won't get hurt and then he has that instant trust in me all the time.

What will it take for the USA to get a gold medal at the U17 World Championship?
It takes hard work.  Last year we never knew how hard it would be, we never knew if it would be easy or not.  We felt at though it was easy at the end of the tournament, but it's a whole different style of play now.  It's going to be a tough run, but if we stick together and play as a team, never get selfish and we think about each other and get each other involved then I think we can bring the gold home again.

Brad Beal
(Chaminade College Prep H.S. / St. Louis, Mo.)

How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the USA U17 World Championship Team?
Coach told me I that I made the team and I think everybody was a little nervous at first but it's just good to know that I made the team again.

What did you focus on during the training camp to set yourself apart from the others?
Really just trying to do what I did last year, trying to step up and be more of a leader and being more aggressive in practice and trying to carry that over to the games.

What will it take for the USA to get a gold medal at the U17 World Championship?
It will be that much harder, we'll have to work that much harder.  Last year it wasn't that easy but the competition wasn't as good as it probably will be this year because we're playing against a bunch of different guys from around the world. So we really have to step up and just really have to work harder this year.

Quinn Cook
(DeMatha H.S. / Bowie, Md.)

How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the USA U17 World Championship Team?
I was happy, I felt blessed and I'm just determined and getting focused for our goal ahead.

What did you focus on during the training camp to set yourself apart from the others?
Establish my leadership role.  Being a captain of the team last year you have a certain role and not just on the court but off the court as well, encouraging guys.  So I definitely just wanted to come in here and just establish my role as a leader.

What will it take for the USA to get a gold medal at the U17 World Championship?
Chemistry, sacrifice, leadership of course and just heart.  You've got to play with heart.  We're going into unknown territory, we're going out of our comfort zone and we have to go over there with a chip on our shoulder like we have something to prove.

Andre' Drummond
(St. Thomas More School / Middletown, Conn.)

How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the USA U17 World Championship Team?
I was excited because I wasn't sure if I was going to make it or not because I had a rough day the first day so I didn't think I was going to make it.  But then I came out the next two days and played hard and did well.

What did you focus on during the training camp to set yourself apart from the others?
Running the floor, being faster than all the other big men, rebounding and then scoring.

What will it take for the USA to get a gold medal at the U17 World Championship?
I think we have a great chance to win the World Championship because we all work together as a team.  On and off the court we're all close and we have great chemistry.

James McAdoo
(Norfolk Christian H.S. / Norfolk, Va.)

How did you feel when you found out you were selected to the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team?
It was a good feeling overall, sitting in the room with my roommates, three other guys who made it. It was kind of disappointing too because all these guys are my friends, but one of my boys didn't make it, so it was kind of bittersweet. Then again, I know he's going to be cheering us on as we go to Lithuania and Germany to try and bring back the gold medal. It was definitely an overwhelming feeling to know that I made it for the second year in a row.

Did you try to focus on anything in particular during training camp?
Yes, definitely. I know what coach Showalter, coach Sutton and coach Harried are looking for. I definitely was coming in here trying to improve on my game on the international level, trying to work with the team and bring guys along who might not know the tricks of the trade and stuff that the coaching staff is looking for. I was definitely trying to come in here and be a leader.

What do you think it will take to win a U17 World Championship gold medal?
I think it's going to take all 12 guys, even the guys who are sitting at the bench, to all have the same goal, to bring home the gold medal. We all need to be on the same page and give it all 100 percent.  If we do that we can bring back the gold medal.

Johnny O'Bryant
(Eastside H.S. / Cleveland, Miss.)

How did you feel when you found out you were selected to the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team?
I felt excited. I get to travel with some of the same guys I traveled with last year and try to win another gold medal, so I was pretty excited.

Did you try to focus on anything in particular during training camp?
I wanted to focus on bringing a lot of energy and leadership to the team. Me, being a part of last year's team, I think I can bring a bunch of experience and leadership to the team.

What will it take to win a U17 World Championship gold medal?
It's going to take us getting together more, playing hard.

Tony Parker
(Miller Grove H.S. / Lithonia, Ga.)

How did you feel when you found out you were selected to the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team?
I felt great. To play for my country again, twice in a row, it's a great accomplishment for me and my family to represent my home and the whole United States.

Did you try to focus on anything in particular during training camp?
Yes, just to work hard, keep running the floor and rebounding well.

What will it take to win a U17 World Championship gold medal?
It will take a lot of teamwork.  We need to be together, to stick together, because there's going to be a lot of hard teams out there. We need to work through the adversity and play hard.

How will you be able to contribute to the team?
With my defense, leadership and offensive post play.

Chasson Randle
(Rock Island H.S. / Rock Island, Ill.)

How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the USA U17 World Championship Team?
Oh man I was ecstatic.  When they told me I made the team a rush of relief came over me and also a sense of proudness.  I was proud of myself and the hard work paid off.

What did you focus on during the training camp to set yourself apart from the others?
Really I just tried to be the best teammate I could be while making plays on both ends of the floor, the offensive and defensive ends.

What can you bring to this team?
My energy, my passion on the floor and my will to win.

Marquis Teague
(Pike H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.)

How did you feel when you found out you were selected to the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team?
It was really excited. I was relieved. It was a lot of stress, worrying about if I was going to make it. Then when they told me I had made it, it was like the greatest feeling in the world.

Did you try to focus on anything in particular during training camp?
I wanted to come in and communicate, try to be a leader, just play hard. I wanted to give it my best effort and show I can play ‘D' and run a team.

What will it take to win a U17 World Championship gold medal?
I think we all need to be on the same page. Nobody needs to come out and play selfish, we all need to play together. I think if we do that, everything else will take care of itself.

Adonis Thomas
(Melrose H.S. / Cordova, Tenn.)

How did you feel when you learned you had been selected for the USA U17 World Championship Team?
I was excited; I was just looking forward to doing what we did last year.  It was a great experience over there in Argentina so I knew it was going to be fun this year.

What did you focus on during the training camp to set yourself apart from the others?
Just improve my outside shot, knocking that down, still being a defensive player, having fun and great chemistry with the team.

What can you bring to this team?
Just playing my role.  You can't really be individual like on your usual team so it's a team concept and everybody has to play their role. I just want to bring defense and just having fun out there.

Tony Wroten
(Garfield H.S. / Seattle, Wash.)

How did you feel when you found out you were selected to the 2010 USA U17 World Championship Team?
I just let out a sigh of relief. It's God blessing. Not too many people get to do this and I'm blessed to be one of them who got picked for the team.

Did you try to focus on anything in particular during training camp?
Yeah, my distributing (of the ball). A lot of people want to be a scorer, but I want to distribute it and be a team player.

What do you think it will take to win a gold medal at the U17 World Championship?
Togetherness. Everybody coming together to be a team, sacrifice yourself for the other person.