2011 FIBA U19 World Championship For Men Draw Complete

U.S. Placed In Preliminary Group D With China, Egypt, Serbia

Colorado Springs, Colo. • Feb. 17, 2011

FIBA today conducted the draw to determine the preliminary round groups for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship For Men and the USA has been drawn into Group D, along with China, Egypt and Serbia for preliminary round play. Georgia Tech’s Paul Hewitt will serve as head coach for the U.S. squad as it looks to defend its gold medal at the 2011 U19 Worlds, hosted by Latvia in Liepaja, Riga and Valmiera from June 30-July 10.

The USA assistant coaches will be announced at a later date.

The 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship will feature 16 nations, including the USA, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Egypt, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan and Tunisia.

The preliminary round will be contested June 30 – July 2 in a round-robin format. The game schedule will be announced by FIBA at a later date. Group A, which will play in Valmiera, features Brazil, Poland, Russia and Tunisia; Group B, also competing in Valmiera, includes Argentina, Australia, host Latvia and Taiwan. Groups C and D will compete in Liepaja, with Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and South Korea drawn into Group C.

The top three finishing teams from each preliminary round group will advance to the second round, held July 4-6 in Riga. The twelve nations qualified for the second round will be divided into groups E and F, with six teams in each group. Each team will play the three new teams in its new group, with the final scores of games played in the preliminary round carrying over to determine the second round standings.

Teams finishing in first through fourth places in the second round will qualify for the quarterfinals, with the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and finals. The medal round games will also be played in Riga, with the quarterfinals held on July 8, semifinals are slated for July 9 and the gold medal game will be contested on July 10.

Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years between 1979-2007. FIBA now conducts the U19 Championship every two years. USA men’s teams are 62-11 in the U19/Junior World Championships and have won four gold and three silver medals, most recently earning the gold medal with a 9-0 record in 2009.

The 12-member 2011 USA Men's U19 World Championship Team will be selected by USA Men’s Junior National Team Committee during training camp, which is scheduled for June 16-23 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Only athletes born on or after Jan. 1, 1992 are eligible.

USA U19 World Championship for Men Players of note include: Stacey Augmon (1987); Vin Baker (1991); Michael Beasley (2007); Dee Brown (2003); Vince Carter (1995); Nick Collison (1999); Stephen Curry (2007); Paul Davis (2003); Eric Floyd (1979); Jonny Flynn (2007); Gordon Hayward (2009); Larry Johnson (1987); Stephon Marbury (1995); Gary Payton (1987); Sam Perkins (1979); Wesley Person (1991); Kevin Pittsnogle (2003); J.J. Redick (2003); Bobby Simmons (1999); Scott Skiles (1983); Deron Williams (2003); and James Worthy (1979).