On Tuesday evening, Matt Coleman wasn’t certain he would make the 12-man roster for the USA Basketball U18 team.
After all, three Class of 2017 point guards were in the mix for the final 12 spots in Coleman, Quade Green and Trae Young.
“We’re going at it, man, we’re all competing to get on that 12-man roster,” Coleman, a 6-foot-2 floor general from Oak Hill Academy (VA) told me by phone Tuesday before the cuts were made. “We’ll see how it goes [Tuesday night].”
A couple hours later, the 12-man roster was named and Coleman, Green and Young all made it for the team that will compete at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Valdivia, Chile July 13-17.
“It would be an honor and a blessing,” Coleman said. “I don’t want to sound repetitive but I think it’s a blessing to be able to represent your country doing the thing that you love, playing the game of basketball. And then, just coming where I’m from [Norfolk, Va.], not everybody has had this chance. I’m probably the only one from my area that has even had the opportunity to try out. To make the team, it would just be unbelievable.”
USA and Texas head coach Shaka Smart is excited about all three point guards.
“Our point guard play is going to be very important on this team,” he said. “Those guys are going to have to set the tone in terms of leadership, in terms of getting us into offense and defense the way we want to get into it. I’m excited about the guys we have.”
On the recruiting front, Coleman continues to list a slew of schools that are “pushing really hard,” including Syracuse, Xavier, Arizona, Texas, Louisville, Stanford, Washington, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, Ohio State, Providence and Seton Hall.
“If I make the team, I’ll probably [cut the list] when I come back from Chile,” he said. “Probably 7-10 to somewhere in there.”
Meantime, Green and Young are also being recruited at the highest levels. Young is considering 5-6 schools, including Oklahoma, Kentucky and Washington, while Green is considering Duke, Kentucky and Syracuse, among others.
“We talk about it all the time, who’s their top five, top 10, where they’re looking,” Coleman said. “We communicate to see, and you also have to see which point guard commits first so you can see the chain reaction on where everybody else is committing.”
