Deivon Smith Invited to USA U19 Trials

USA Basketball U19 Team Home Page

THE FLATS – Deivon Smith, who recently transferred to Georgia Tech and joined the Yellow Jackets for summer practice, has accepted an invitation to attend the 2021 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team training camp. He is among 27 athletes, age 19 years old or younger, who will compete June 20-22 at TCU in hopes of being named to the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup for Men.

The 27 athletes expected to attend the U19 training camp are: Devin Askew (Texas/Sacramento, Calif.); Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Hamilton H.S./Sussex, Wis.); Kendall Brown (Sunrise Christian Academy /Cottage Grove, Minn.); Kennedy Chandler (Sunrise Christian Academy/Memphis, Tenn.); Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin/La Crosse, Wis.); Derek Fountain (Mississippi State/Holly Springs, Miss.); Caleb Furst (Blackhawk Christian School/Fort Wayne, Ind.); Jordan Hall (Texas A&M/Wildwood, N.J.); Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha Academy/Minneapolis, Minn.); Harrison Ingram (St. Mark’s School/Dallas, Texas); Jaden Ivey (Purdue /South Bend, Ind.); Dishon Jackson (Washington State/Vallejo, Calif.); Meechie Johnson (Ohio State/Cleveland, Ohio); Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton/St. Louis, Mo.); Trey Kaufman-Renn (Silver Creek H.S. /Sellersburg, Ind.); Zed Key (Ohio State/Bay Shore, N.Y.); Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech/Port Arthur, Texas); Langston Love (Steele H.S. /Cibolo, Texas); Mike Miles (TCU/Lancaster, Texas); Adam Miller (Louisiana State/Chicago, Ill.); Trey Patterson (Villanova /Somerset, N.J.); Hunter Sallis (Millard North H.S./Omaha, Neb.); Deivon Smith (Georgia Tech/Loganville, Ga.); Dalen Terry (Arizona/Tempe, Ariz.); Jabari Walker (Colorado/Inglewood, Calif.); Peyton Watson (Long Beach Poly Tech H.S./Long Beach, Calif.); and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas/Fort Smith, Ark.).

Smith could become the first Georgia Tech-affiliated player to play on the U19 team since current Minnesota Timberwolves player Josh Okogie, who played most recently in 2017.

 

A four-star point guard prospect in high school, Smith averaged 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists across 33 games last season at Mississippi State, who went 18-15 overall and reached the championship game of the NIT. The 6-1 Loganville, Ga., native compiled a 97/56 assist/turnover ratio, shot 33.9 percent from the floor, 27.9 percent from three-point range and 61.5 percent from the foul line. He was better in SEC games, averaging 5.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in helping MSU go 8-10 in conference. Smith scored double figures in five games, with a high of 17 with three rebounds and three assists in the NIT championship game loss to Memphis.

Smith could become the first Georgia Tech-affiliated player to play on the U19 team since current Minnesota Timberwolves player Josh Okogie, who played most recently in 2017.

“Aside from the Olympics and World Cups, the FIBA U19 World Cup is the most challenging competition on the international calendar, and it will take a team of dedicated, selfless individuals to go to Latvia and try to win gold,” said Matt Painter, chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee and Purdue University head coach. “The committee feels we have a strong group of players coming into camp in June in hopes of securing a spot on the U19 team, and I’m looking forward to watching them fight to be a part of this USA Basketball team.”

Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens, born on or after Jan. 1, 2002.

On the list for training camp are 17 who played for NCAA Division I programs this past season and 10 who will be collegiate freshmen in the fall.

The team will be led by TCU head coach Jamie Dixon and Stanford University head coach Jerod Haase and Yale University head coach James Jones round out the coaching staff as assistant coaches.

Featuring U19 teams from 16 nations, the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup is scheduled to be held July 3-11 in Riga and Daugavpils, Latvia. In addition to the USA and host Latvia, teams that will take part in this summer’s U19 World Cup include Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.

Reigning FIBA U19 World Cup gold medalist, USA men’s teams have won seven gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal while compiling an 98-14 overall record in U19 World Cup play since the event was launched in 1979. Even more impressive, the USA has won four of the past six U19 golds since 2009.

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