USA Men's U18 Team Rolls To FIBA Americas Gold

 

 

Dominating opponents by an average of 29.7 points per game, the USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team cruised to four straight victories at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men, qualifying for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship on June 30 and securing a gold medal on July 2 at Bill Greehy Arena on the campus of St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas.

 

Assisted by Georgia Tech's Paul Hewitt and DePaul's Jerry Wainwright, the University of Washington's Lorenzo Romar led the USA to its fourth title in five U18 Championships (formerly known as the junior championships) and improved the USA's overall tournament record to a sparkling 29-1. Finishing in the top four spots respectively, the USA, Argentina, Brazil and Canada qualified for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men, which will be held July 12-22 in Vancouver, Canada.

'We had depth, we had quickness and athleticism,' Romar said. '(We thought) if we could really get up and pressure these teams and not allow them to get comfortable, then we would have a chance to be successful. Our guys really did a good job.'

 

Jumping to an early lead that was never challenged, the USA first rolled over Uruguay in a 111-64 victory on June 28 that was headed by 17 points from both Jerryd Bayless (St. Mary's H.S. / Phoenix, Ariz.) and Michael Beasley (Oak Hill Academy, Va. / Frederick, Md.). Then on June 30, behind 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting from Stanley Robinson (Huffman H.S. / Birmingham, Ala.), the Americans out slugged Brazil 90-66 to earn Pool A's No. 1 seed and secure a 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship berth.

 

Matched against Canada in the medal round semifinals on July 1, six U.S. players scored in double digits, and behind 16 points from Bayless, 13 from Kyle Singler (South Medford H.S., Ore./Undecided), 12 from Taylor King (Mater Dei H.S., Calif./Duke) and 11 points from Beasley, Nolan Smith (Oak Hill Academy, Va./Duke) and DaJuan Summers (McDonogh School, Md./Georgetown), the USA earned a 92-66 victory over Canada. In the final game on July 2, fueled by a 24-point, 10-rebound effort from 7-0 center Spencer Hawes (Seattle Prep / Seattle, Wash.), the USA men erased a two-point, first-quarter deficit to easily capture gold with a 104-82 victory over Argentina.

 

'A lot of people don't like to take a step back and play in a role, but this team was different from a lot of other teams,' said USA guard Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls H.S., N.Y./Syracuse). 'We got a lot of people in the top 10 of rankings all across the charts. We just all took our role and filled niches to get the job done.'

 

Beasley led the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, followed by Hawes, who tallied 12.5 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. King added 12.0 ppg., and Bayless and Singler each contributed 11.0 ppg.

'The chemistry was great,' Beasley said. 'There were a bunch of guys I didn't know, and after spending 18 days together, I got to know them pretty well. For a team such as this one, that hasn't been together very long, you wouldn't be able to tell on the court.'

 

With eight All-Americans and five USA Today Class of 2007 honorees, seven U.S. players broke into the tournament's top-ten rankings in eight different categories. Bayless ranked first in free-throw percentage with a perfect 13-13 tally from the charity stripe, and Beasley ranked fifth in rebounding. Flynn ranked third in free-throw percentage, shooting 88.2 percent, fifth in assists with 5.3 per game and tied for eighth in free-throws made with an overall mark of 15-17. Hawes ranked fourth in blocked shots with 1.4 per game, eighth in rebounding and tied for eighth in free-throw percentage at 75.0 percent. King sank 10-21 from beyond the arc to rank fourth in both 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage (47.6 ), and Singler ranked fourth in steals, collecting 2.3 per game. Hitting 15-20 from the free-throw line, Smith tied for eighth in free-throws made and free-throw percentage (75.0) and dished 3.5 assists per game to rank 10th.

 

The USA also dominated the tournament's team statistics, ranking No.1 in 13 of the 19 categories, including scoring offense (99.2 ppg.), scoring defense (69.5 ppg.), rebounding margin (+19.7 rpg.), assists (20.5 apg.) and steals (12 spg.).

 

The 2006 squad contributed 10 new entries to the USA U18 Championship record book, including shooting 73.1 percent as a team from the free-throw line to set the USA U18 Championship record. Beasley and Hawes now rank third and fourth respectively for most rebounds averaged per game, and Hawes' 24 points in the gold medal game tied for eighth among USA single-game points. King's 47.6 shooting percentage from 3-point ranks him third in U.S. event history, and Flynn's .882 free-throw percentage ranks him fifth. Flynn also ranks second in most assists averaged with 5.3, followed by Smith's fourth place ranking with 3.5 assists per game. And, finally, Singler collected 2.3 steals per game to rank sixth in the USA U18 Championship record books.

 

Prior to the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship, held July 12-22 in Vancouver, Canada, USA Basketball will again conduct trials and training camp to determine a new 12-member roster.