Three Cats Accept USA U19 World Cup Training Camp Invitations

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Kentucky men’s basketball freshmen Hamidou Diallo, Kevin Knox and PJ Washington have accepted invitations to attend the 2017 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team training camp June 18-25 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Twenty-eight players have accepted invitations with hopes of making the 12-man team that will compete in Cairo July 1-9 at the 2017 FIBA World Cup. The USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee issued the invitations. Athletes eligible for the team must be 19 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1998) and U.S. citizens.

UK men’s basketball head coach John Calipari was named the head coach of the team in March and will oversee the direction of the team, starting with training camp.

Team USA will be looking for its third straight title at the FIBA World Cup after capturing gold at the 2013 and 2015 tournaments. 

“I wanted to take a moment to reiterate how excited I am to be a part of USA Basketball,” Calipari said. “I’m excited about the opportunity on a lot of fronts. To be able to coach a team that represents the United States is a true blessing. And then to be able to do it with Danny Manning and Tad Boyle, both of whom I coached at Kansas and have great respect for, will be an amazing experience. But more than that, I can’t wait to have an opportunity to teach and coach some of the best young talent in our country. I want this to be an experience that is impactful for these young players.”

The 2017 USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team training camp is set to get underway at 7 p.m. ET on June 18. Following two practice sessions on June 19 and a morning session on June 20, finalists for the USA U19 team are expected to be announced. The selected finalists will remain in Colorado Springs and will train twice a day through June 25. The 12-member team is expected to be announced June 22.

All three Wildcat training camp participants have prior USA Basketball experience, including two (Diallo and Washington) who helped the U19 team qualify for this year’s World Cup. 

After testing the waters for a potential entry into the NBA Draft in April, Diallo announced two weeks ago that he was returning to Kentucky. Although he didn’t play for the Wildcats after enrolling midyear, he is expected to be a leading returner on an extremely young team after becoming a vital practice player down the stretch of the 2016-17 season. 

A top-10 prospect in the 2017 class before reclassifying, Diallo led Putnam Science Academy to a 38-3 record with an appearance in the state semifinals. The two-time all-state honoree averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his final full season of high school. He averaged 7.6 points and 4.6 rebounds for the 2016 USA Men’s U18 National Team that won a gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Chile.

Knox, unofficially listed at 6-foot-9 and 203 pounds, is considered a top-10 prospect by Scout, Rivals and ESPN, all of which list him as the second-best player at his position. The Tampa, Florida, native averaged 28.5 points and 11.3 rebounds a game as a senior for Tampa Catholic, where he finished his career scoring 2,760 total points. 

Knox played in the 2017 McDonald’s All American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic and was a 2017 Naismith High School All-America Second Team selection. Knox has been a mainstay with USA Basketball, winning gold medals at the 2015 FIBA Americas U16 World Cup and the 2016 FIBA U17 World Cup. He started all six games in 2016 for a team that went 7-0 to win gold. He averaged 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds during that run.

Washington, measured at 6-8, 229 pounds, is rated as high as the No. 11 overall prospect in the class of 2017 rankings by ESPN. Scout and Rivals tab him at No. 14 overall and 247Sports ranks him No. 18. He was named to the All-USA Boys Basketball Second Team in March and played in the 2017 McDonald’s All American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic. He also won most valuable player honors at the inaugural Allen Iverson Roundball Clasic. 

Washington started all five games and averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds for the gold-medal winning 2016 USA Men’s U18 National Team in Chile. The 6-8, 229-pound forward was also a member of the 2015 USA 3×3 U18 World Championship Team, which finished in eighth place in Debrecen, Hungary.

Another Wildcat, redshirt sophomore Tai Wynyard, is already headed to this year’s FIBA U19 World Cup. It was announced two weeks ago that Wynyard was named one of 12 members of the Junior Tall Blacks, New Zealand’s U19 national team.

The 2017 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team drew Group D for preliminary-round games at the FIBA World Cup and will open against Iran on July 1. Team USA will then play Angola on July 2 and will cap preliminary round action vs. Italy on July 4 (game times are to be determined).

The United States earned its berth into the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup by virtue of claiming gold at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. 

Following the preliminary round, all 16 teams will be seeded according to group-play results and will advance to the July 5 round of 16. Winners will advance to the July 7 medal quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will continue playing out for classification. The medal semifinals will be held July 8, and the gold- and bronze-medal games are slated for July 9.

In the 12 previous U19 competitions held, the USA men’s teams have won six gold and three silver medals, including gold in three of the past four U19 championships (2009, 2013 and 2015).