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Many American basketball fans pay little attention to our teams in international competition—until the Olympics roll around. Then, on the world’s biggest stage, those in the USA play strict attention. But in 2019, there were three teams from the United States that performed at a high level. After each were impressive while capturing perfect records and gold medals this past summer, the USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team, the USA Women’s U19 World Cup Team and the USA Men’s 3x3 World Cup Team will share the 2019 USA Basketball Team of the Year award. USA Basketball has presented the Team of the Year award annually since 1996. “These three teams each had exceptional performances in 2019, and USA Basketball is proud to recognize these teams for their gold medal efforts,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball chief executive officer. The 2019 USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team won gold with a 7-0 record from June 29-July 7 in Heraklion, Greece, along with two exhibition wins. The USA U19 men topped their competition by an average of 28.7 points per game and beat Mali 93-79 in the final. “It was a lot harder of an experience than I anticipated to build a team to compete at a FIBA U19 World Cup,” said USA Men’s U19 head coach Bruce Weber, who was named a co-recipient of the 2019 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award. “First, you have to help put a team together. You have to select and cut guys in a short period of time. Second, when you make that decision, you have to figure out roles and buy-in from the players. A lot of these players have never been through a process where they can be cut, and some have never come off the bench. It’s a new experience for all of them. I was really happy with how they bought in and how they really wanted to win the gold medal. To see their faces when they received their gold medals on the podium was just a very rewarding experience and a special moment for them. Even when I have run into them this summer in recruiting or the college guys during the year, their faces light up talking about the experience and to be a part of that is special.” The 2019 USA Women’s U19 World Cup Team won gold with a 7-0 record July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand. The USA U19 women topped their opponents by an average of 25.2 points per game and beat Australia 74-70 in overtime in the gold medal game. “It was a group of young women who bought into playing together,” said USA Women’s U19 head coach Jeff Walz, who was named as a co-recipient of the 2019 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award. “I think it is unique, that age, because you had players who played a year in college, and then you also had high school players. I thought they all came together well and were competing for the same goal, and that was to win a gold medal. I thought their competitiveness and their willingness to play together was really important for this team.” The 2019 USA Men’s 3x3 World Cup Team won the USA’s first gold medal at the event with a 7-0 record from June 18-23 in Amsterdam. “It was a very selfless group,” said USA forward Robbie Hummel (Valparaiso, Ind.), who was named tournament MVP. “No one cared about stats. No one cared about who was scoring, or whatever. We just wanted to win. I think when you have a team that is willing to play in that sense and you have some talent and we actually got to practice together, which is a rarity for us, I think we saw what we are capable of. It was a really fun two weeks. A fun group to be around, a fun group to play with. It was a really special team.” The 2019 USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team also included tournament MVP Reggie Perry (Mississippi State/Thomasville, Ga.) and all-tournament selection Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State/Oshkosh, Wis.), as well as Scottie Barnes (University School/West Palm Beach, Fla.), Cade Cunningham (Montverde Academy, Fla./Arlington, Texas), Jalen Green (Prolific Prep/Fresno, Calif.), Kira Lewis Jr. (Alabama/Meridianville, Ala.), Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State/Arlington, Texas), Evan Mobley (Rancho Christian H.S./Temecula, Calif.), Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (Villanova/Overland Park, Kan.), Jalen Suggs (Minnehaha Academy/Minneapolis, Minn.), Trevion Williams (Purdue/Chicago, Ill.), Ziaire Williams (Notre Dame H.S./Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and assistant coaches Mike Hopkins (Washington) and LeVelle Moton (North Carolina Central). The USA’s well-rounded effort featured four athletes who averaged in double digits for scoring. Among the 16-team tournament, the USA U19 men ranked No. 1 in points per game (100.9), field goal percentage (.475), assists per game (28.6) and steals per game (15.9). The USA also recorded two exhibition wins in Greece before opening U19 world cup play – over Greece 72-58 on June 26 and Serbia 92-88 on June 27. The USA Women’s U19 World Cup Team included tournament MVP Paige Bueckers (Hopkins High School/St. Louis Park, Minn.) and all-tournament selection Rhyne Howard (Kentucky/Cleveland, Tenn.) as well as Fran Belibi (Stanford/Centennial, Colo.), Aliyah Boston (South Carolina/St. Thomas, USVI), Cameron Brink (Southridge H.S./Beaverton, Ore.), Caitlin Clark (Dowling Catholic H.S./West Des Moines, Iowa), Queen Egbo (Baylor/Houston, Texas), Nazarah Hillmon-Baker (Michigan/Cleveland, Ohio), Ashley Joens (Iowa State/Iowa City, Iowa), Diamond Miller (Maryland/Somerset, N.J.), Celeste Taylor (Texas/Valley Stream, N.Y.), Hailey Van Lith (Cashmere H.S./Wenatchee, Wash.) and assistant coaches Natasha Adair (Delaware) and Cori Close (UCLA). Among the 16-team tournament, the USA U19 women ranked No. 1 in points per game (80.6), field goal percentage (.425) and blocks per game (5.7). Joining Hummel in capturing the USA men’s first 3x3 World Cup gold medal were Canyon Barry (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Damon Huffman (Petoskey, Mich.) and Kareem Maddox (Los Angeles, Calif.). All four of the USA’s players ranked in the top 27 in scoring among all competitors at the 20-team FIBA 3x3 World Cup. Hummel was third at 6.6 points per game, Barry was fifth at 5.6 ppg., Huffman was No. 12 with 4.6 ppg. and Maddox was No. 27 at 3.9 ppg.
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