FIBA AMERICAS U18 CHAMPIONSHIP FOR MEN-- 2006

San Antonio, Texas
June 28-July 2, 2006

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.

2006 USA U18 Championship Team 2006 USA RESULTS (4-0) USA 111 Uruguay 64 USA 90 Brazil 66 USA 92 Canada 66 USA 104 Argentina 82 2006 U18 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS 1. *USA (4-0) 5. Puerto Rico (2-2) 2. *Argentina (4-1) 6. Uruguay (1-3) 3. *Brazil (2-2) 7. Bahamas (0-4) 4. *Canada (2-3) *Qualified for 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship

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.

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.

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.

2006 USA U18 National Team Roster

2006 USA U18 Championship Team Cumulative Statistics