2012 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team To Begin Training June 15 In Colorado Springs

-- Robert Hubbs, James Young Added To 2012 USA Developmental National Team Roster --

June 11, 2012 • Colorado Springs, Colo.

Thirty-one of the nation’s top prep players who are 17-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1995) will begin training in defense of the FIBA U17 World Championship gold medal on June 15 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Additionally, the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team roster is bolstered by the addition of Robert Hubbs III (Dyer County H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.) and James Young (Troy H.S. / Troy, Mich.), while former University of Arizona standout and current head coach for AAU California Supreme, Miles Simon will return to USA Basketball as a court coach for the training camp.

“It’s interesting because you always have players who tend to develop rapidly during their season and both of these guys certainly did that,” said Don Showalter, USA and Iowa City High School head coach. “With international basketball, we’re always looking for versatility. These two guys have some versatility that they can offer our team. They’re going to obviously add some depth and they’re going to make it more difficult for the committee to pick 12 players out of this group. They’re going to be able to play a number of positions, they can both shoot the ball really well and they’re both good rebounders. They’re going to fit into what we’re looking for to go up against international players.”

In addition to Hubbs and Young, members of the 2011-12 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team participating in the June 15-17 training camp are: Shaqquan Aaron (Homeschooled / Apple Valley, Calif.); Beejay Anya (DeMatha Catholic H.S. / Gaithersburg, Md.); Larry Austin (Lanphier H.S. / Springfield, Ill.); Anton Beard (Parkview Magnet H.S. / North Little Rock, Ark.); Joel Berry (Lake Highland Prep School / Apopka, Fla.); James Blackmon, Jr. (Bishop Luers H.S. / Fort Wayne, Ind.); Dom Collier (Denver East H.S. / Denver, Colo.); Stephen Domingo (Saint Ignatius Prep / San Francisco, Calif.); DeMonte Flannigan (Villa Angela-St. Joseph H.S. / Richmond Heights, Ohio); Conner Frankamp (Wichita North H.S. / Wichita, Kan.); Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S. / San Jose, Calif.); Justin Jackson (Homeschool Christian Youth Association / Spring, Texas); Rondaé Jefferson (Chester H.S. / Chester, Pa.); Dakari Johnson (Montverde Academy, Fla. / Brooklyn, N.Y.); Stanley Johnson (Mater Dei H.S. / Fullerton, Calif.); Tyus Jones (Apple Valley H.S. / Apple Valley, Minn.); Dwayne Morgan (Baltimore City College H.S./Baltimore, Md.); Kendrick Nunn (Simeon H.S. / Chicago, Ill.); Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young H.S. / Chicago, Ill.); Jabari Parker (Simeon H.S. / Chicago, Ill.); Theo Pinson (Wesleyan Christian Academy / Greensboro, N.C.); Malik Price-Martin (Monsignor Pace H.S. / Miami, Fla.); Jordan Swopshire (Montrose Christian Academy, Md. / O’Fallon, Mo.); Jimmie Taylor (Greensboro H.S. / Greensboro, Ala.); Charles Tucker (Lansing Eastern H.S. / Lansing, Mich.); Paul White (Whitney Young H.S. / Chicago, Ill.); Isaiah Whitehead (Lincoln H.S. / Brooklyn, N.Y.); Johnathan Williams (Southwind H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.); and Justise Winslow (St. John’s School / Houston, Texas).

Trey Lyles (Arsenal Technical H.S. / Camby, Ind.), withdrew from the 2011-12 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team.

 “We saw a lot of these guys play this spring, and I saw several play with their high school teams last winter,” said Showalter. “It just energized me to watch them play with their AAU teams and their high school teams. I’m ready to go and have them all here so we can try to win a gold medal.”

Inducted into the University of Arizona Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Pacific 10 Conference Hall of Fame in 2008, Simon earned 1997 NCAA Final Four MVP honors after leading the Wildcats to the NCAA crown. His professional career saw him play in the NBA; Europe, where he played in Italy, Israel and Turkey and was the 2001 Italian League MVP; and the CBA, where he earned 2002 Newcomer of the Year and MVP honors. In leading the Dakota Wizards to the 2002 CBA championship, Simon also was tabbed MVP of the 2002 CBA Playoffs.  The 1998 consensus All-America first team member, as selected by the Associated Press, National Association of Basketball Coaches and The Sporting News, Simon returned to Arizona for three seasons (2005-06 through 2007-08) as an assistant coach. Simon, who has worked as college basketball analyst for ESPN since 2008, began coaching the AAU California Supreme 17U in 2011 and is the No. 2 seed heading into this year’s Peach Jam. Simon also has served as the pre-NBA Draft trainer for several athletes, including Landry Fields in 2010 and Jimmer Fredette in 2011.

“It’s really exciting for us coaches, me, Mike Jones and Rich Gray, to have Miles come in and help us,” said Showalter. “We saw him at the Nike EYBL, and he did a great job of coaching there. He obviously brings in some experience from the college end, from the professional end, from an international standpoint, and he’s going to do a great job with the point guards we have coming in.” 

Opening camp on June 15 at 5:00 p.m. (all times listed are local), the USA Developmental National Team will train twice a day, tipping at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., on June 16 and June 17. It is anticipated the final 12-member USA U17 World Championship Team will be announced after the morning session on June 17, and those 12 athletes will remain in Colorado Springs to train at 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. each day through June 20. Prior to arriving in Lithuania, the USA will train and compete June 22-25, in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. During that time the U.S. will participate in the 2012 Spain U17 International Invitational, featuring U17 teams from Australia, Latvia and host Spain, June 24-25.

Opening 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship play on June 29 against Australia, the U.S. will face the Czech Republic on June 30, Egypt on July 1 and France on July 3 before closing preliminary play against China on July 4. The top four finishing teams from each group will advance to the medal round with the quarterfinals staged on July 6, the semifinals on July 7 and the finals on July 8.

The inaugural FIBA U17 World Championship for Men was held in 2010. The USA captured gold with a perfect 8-0 record and former University of Florida standout Brad Beal was tabbed MVP of the tournament. The event is held every other year (2012, 2014, etc.). The USA qualified for this event by winning the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.

Under the guidance of Showalter and 2011-12 USA Men's Developmental National Team assistant coaches Rich Gray (St. Louis Eagles AAU, Mo.) and Mike Jones (DeMatha H.S., Md.), twelve members of the 2011-12 USA Men’s Developmental National Team earned a gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, including Austin, Collier, Frankamp, Gordon, Jackson, Stanley Johnson, Jones, Nunn, Okafor, Parker, Pinson and Williams.

After averaging 15.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, Parker was named MVP of the zone qualifier, and Gordon led five U.S. players who averaged double-figure scoring with 17.0 ppg. and also paced the eight-team tournament in rebounds after hauling down 11.1 rpg. Okafor contributed 14.6 ppg. while Pinson scored 11. 5 ppg. and Jackson added 10.4 ppg. Further, Jones dished out a tournament-best 5.6 apg., Gordon was second with 4.6 apg., and Austin tied Chile’s Martin Lobos for third-most assists among all participants with 4.4 apg.. The USA won its five games by an average margin of 42.2 ppg.

Additionally, Aaron, Jefferson, Price-Martin and Swopshire competed in the inaugural FIBA 3x3 Youth World Championship, compiling a 7-5 record for an eighth-place finish Sept. 9-11 in Rimini, Italy.

The invitations to the team were issued by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee, which also includes USA Basketball Men’s National Team Director Sean Ford (non-voting chair), as well as Eric Flannery, head coach and head coach at St. Edward High School (Lakewood, Ohio) and John Olive, head coach at Torrey Pines High School (Encinitas, Calif.), from the National Federation of State High Schools Association; appointed by the AAU are Ron Crawford, head of the Arkansas Wings AAU program, and Boo Williams, head of the Boo Williams Summer League (Va.); and 1999 USA Pan American Games Team member Kermit Holmes, who serves as the athlete representative.

About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for men's and women's basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the United States by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA teams that compete in FIBA sponsored international basketball competitions, as well as for some national competitions. Since 2008, USA Basketball men’s and women’s teams have compiled a sterling 134-6 win-loss record in FIBA or FIBA Americas competitions. USA teams are the current men’s and women’s champions of the Olympics and the FIBA World Championships; FIBA women’s U19 world champions; the men’s and women’s title holders for the FIBA U17 World Championships; and the men’s and women’s U18 and U16 FIBA Americas champions. USA Basketball currently ranks No. 1 in all five of FIBA's world ranking categories, including combined, men's, women's, boys and girls. For further information about USA Basketball, go to the official Web site of USA Basketball at www.usabasketball.com and connect with us on facebook.com/usabasketball , twitter.com/usabasketball and www.youtube.com/therealusabasketball.