Paterson (N.J.) Catholic freshman guard Kyle Anderson and Seton Hall Prep sophomore guard Sterling Gibbs were among those named to the inaugural USA Developmental National Team.
The 6-foot-7 Anderson is a star on the rise at Paterson Catholic, which this past year won the Passaic (N.J.) County championship and beat St. Anthony of Jersey City in the state playoffs.
“He’s very excited, he thinks his chances of making the team are good,” Kyle Anderson Sr. said of his son, who holds offers from Pittsburgh, Georgetown and Temple and has garnered interest from Texas, Baylor, Indiana and Miami.
Gibbs is a 6-1 point considered among the best in the nation in his class. His older brother, Ashton, plays for Pitt. Gibbs told Northstar Basketball Indiana, Pitt, Seton Hall, and Rutgers have offered, yet he lists Villanova as his leader.
The team will first look to capture the gold medal at the inaugural 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship June 17-21 in Mendoza, Argentina, and qualify for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship.
The invited athletes will train June 6-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The 12-member team that will represent the U.S. this summer will be announced prior to the USA’s June 13 departure for Argentina.
Also included on the 2009-10 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team are: Justin Anderson (Montrose Christian School, Md. / Montross, Va.); Brad Beal (Chaminade College Prep H.S. / St. Louis, Mo.); K.C. Caudill (Brea Olinda H.S. / Brea, Calif.); Angelo Chol (Herbert Hoover H.S. / San Diego, Calif.); Quinn Cook (DeMatha H.S. / Bowie, Md.); André Drummond (Capitol Preparatory Magnet School / Middletown, Conn.); Perry Ellis (Wichita Heights H.S. / Wichita, Kan.); Brandan Kearney (Southeastern H.S. / Detroit, Mich.); James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian H.S. / Norfolk, Va.); Johnny O’Bryant (Eastside H.S. / Cleveland, Miss.); Tony Parker (Miller Grove H.S. / Lithonia, Ga.); Norvel Pelle (Dominguez H.S. / Long Beach, Calif.); Chasson Randle (Rock Island H.S. / Rock Island, Ill.); L.J. Rose (Second Baptist School / Houston, Texas); Mike Shaw (De La Salle Institute / Chicago, Ill.); Marquis Teague (Pike H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.); Adonis Thomas (Melrose H.S. / Cordova, Tenn.); Kevin Ware (Rockdale County H.S. / Conyers, Ga.); and Anthony Wroten, Jr. (Garfield H.S. / Renton, Wash.).
“I think we’ve got a very talented group of guys,” said 2009-10 USA Developmental National Team head coach Don Showalter of Mid-Prairie High School (Iowa). “Everyone I’ve talked to at the major college level, the scouting services and from the kids I’ve seen personally, pretty much agrees that these are the top kids in the under 16 age group. They’re all going to be high major college players. It’ll be a great chance for them to play together and see how they stack up against the best kids in their grade.
“One of the things that we need to do from the start is make it clear that this is about building a team. We’re not playing an all-star game. We have to make sure the kids understand about how difficult the competition is going to be. It’s not like we’re going out and playing another AAU team or just another tournament. It’s a very, very high level of competition and as soon as we make the kids understand that, we’ll be better off.
HOOP SCOOP’S RANKINGS FOR 2010 AND 2011
Class of 2010 – 48 of the top 100 juniors are off the board
1-DeShaun Thomas (Ohio State)
2-Tristan Thompson (Texas)
3-Jared Sullinger (Ohio State)
4-Brandon Knight
5-Jeremy Tyler (Europe)
6-Josh Selby (Tennesseee)
7-Harrison Barnes
8-Joshua Smith
9-Kyrie Irving
10-Gary Franklin (USC)
11-Roscoe Smith
12-Ray McCallum
13-Dion Waiters (Syracuse)
14-Josh Hairston (Duke)
15-James Bell (Villanova)
16-Jereme Richmond (Illinois)
17-Tyler Lamb (UCLA)
18-JT Terrell (Wake Forest)
19-Doron Lamb
20-Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)
Class of 2011 – 11 of the top 100 have committed
1-Michael Gilchrist
2-Tony Wroten
3-LaQuinton Rosss
4-Austin Rivers (Florida)
5-Trevor Lacey
6-Wayne Blackshear
7-Aaron Ross (Arkansas)
8-Chris Coleman
9-Mike Shaw
10-James McAdoo
11-Jamal Branch
12-PJ Hairston
13-CJ Barksdale
14-Myck Kabongo (Texas)
15-Marques Teague
16-LaBryan Nash
17-Damien Leonard
18-Rakeem Christmas
19-Grandy Glaze
20-Kevin Johnson
