USA, Canada to square off in gold medal game of FIBA Americas U18 Championship
The USA and Canada will square off
The USA and Canada will square off
By ADAM ZAGORIA
ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO — Josiah James has a busy few weeks ahead.
The 6-foot-5 point guard from Charleston (S.C.) Porter-Gaud School is aiming to win a gold medal this weekend with the USA at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship here and then he plans to focus on recruiting going forward.
“It would mean the world to me [to win gold],” said James, who went for 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists as the USA manhandled Ecuador, 132-55, to advance to a semifinal showing with Argentina. “It would definitely be a dream come true.
“That’s our mindset right now,” he added. “Those first few games were just getting us prepared for the last game that we’ll hopefully play for the gold medal and that’s the ultimate goal for us.
By ADAM ZAGORIA The USA, Canada, Argentina and
By ADAM ZAGORIA
ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO — From Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to Kentucky’s John Calipari to Texas’ Shaka Smart, the men who have coached with USA Basketball have often been said to have a huge recruiting advantage over their competitors.
By virtue of coaching either the U.S. National Team (Coach K) — or a youth team such as the U19 or U18 side (Calipari and Smart) — these coaches get unprecedented access to some of the top high school players in the nation during the summer. Often these coaches are recruiting several of the players they coach in USA Basketball.
As a result, USA Basketball changed the rules two years ago to allow college coaches to attend international events such as the FIBA Americas U18 Championship here this week and next month’s FIBA U17 World Championship in Argentina — as well as the recent tryouts in Colorado Springs, CO — even though they don’t coincide with NCAA live periods.
Kansas coach Bill Self is now coaching the USA U18 team and is once again in a position to both win a gold medal — and coach both one of his future players and two players he’s recruiting in the Class of 2019.
It’s not lost on many of the other coaches here that Self’s starting five for the first three pool play games includes Kansas signee Quentin Grimes plus Matthew Hurt and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, two elite players Kansas is heavily recruiting.
By ADAM ZAGORIA ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO -- On
By ADAM ZAGORIA
ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO — Bill Self was hoping Team USA would get another shot at Duke-bound phenom R.J. Barrett.
Barrett and Team Canada eliminated the John Calipari-led USA team last year in the FIBA U19 World Championship in Cairo, Egypt by authoring a LeBron-esque 38-point, 13-rebound, 5-assist game in the semifinals.
The 6-foot-7 Barrett and Canada went on to win gold, and Self was hoping for a shot at redemption this week at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship here in Barrett’s home country.
But alas, Barrett is training in Los Angeles with other future NBA prospects before heading to Duke at the end of the month and is not with the Canadian U18 side.
By ADAM ZAGORIA ST. CATHARINES, ONTARIO -- College
