Breakdown of Team USA’s U19 World Cup roster
June 25, 2019
Suiting up in the red, white and blue for Team USA in the 2019 U19 FIBA World Cup in Greece is an uber-talented collection of young players from the high school and college ranks including Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton.
On the 12-man roster, there are six guards and six forwards from the high school classes of 2019 and 2020 and also five collegiate players including Haliburton, who just finished their freshman campaigns.
Guards
Tyrese Haliburton
As a freshman at Iowa State, Haliburton averaged 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists while making 51.5% of his shots from the floor and knocking down 43.4% of his three point attempts.
Haliburton also ranked second nationally and first in the Big 12 with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.5. In his tenth collegiate game, he set the Iowa State record for assists in a game with 17 against Southern.
Kira Lewis Jr.
Lewis Jr. averaged averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists as a freshman at Alabama and connected on 43.3% of his shots from the field and 35.8% of his shots from three.
Due to his performance, Lewis Jr. was named to the 2019 All-SEC Freshman team and is one of two players on the U.S.A. U19 World Cup team to be named to the team.
Issac Likekele
At Oklahoma State, the freshman averaged 8.7 points 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists while shooting 46.6% from the field, but Likekele only was able to connect on 24% of his three-point attempts.
Marcus Smart is the only freshman to record as many steals and assists as Likekele did in his first season.
Cade Cunningham
A five-star recruit from the class of 2020, Cade Cunningham posses elite height at the point guard position and is listed at six feet seven inches.
Cunningham is enrolled at Montverde Academy which has alumni such as Ben Simmons, DeAngelo Russel and recent No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett. Cunningham is the No. 2 player on ESPN’s Top 100 and has offers from Kentucky, Duke and Kansas.
Jalen Green
Green is the No. 3 player on ESPN’s Top 100 for the class of 2020 and has notable offers from Arizona, Kentucky and Kansas.
Jalen Suggs
Suggs is another five-star guard from the class of 2020 and ranks No. 12 on ESPN’s Top 100.
Cyclone fans should keep an eye on Suggs as the point guard has notable offers from both Iowa and Iowa State.
Forwards
Reggie Perry
The second All-SEC Freshman Team honoree on this team, Perry averaged 9.7 points and 7.2 rebounds at Mississippi State. He shot 50.2% from the field (29.6% from three).
Of his 7.2 rebounds a game, an average of 2.6 of those were offensive rebounds and Perry saw an uptick in his per game averages once SEC play started for Mississippi State.
Trevion Williams
At Purdue, Williams averaged 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds a game and shot 54.2% from the floor and 33.3% from three.
Scottie Barnes
Barnes — a class of 2020 five-star recruit — holds offers from Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and others and is the No. 9 player in ESPN’s Top 100.
Evan Mobley
Mobley holds the top spot as the best player in ESPN’s Top 100 and is the only seven footer on American team.
Mobley’s top offers include UCLA, Washington and Southern California, but it is USC which will most likely get Mobley’s commitment. His father, Evan Mobley, is an assistant coach at USC and his brother, Isaiah Mobley, committed to the team as a part of the 2019 recruiting class.
Ziaire Williams
Ranking No. 6 on ESPN’s Top 100 from the class of 2020, Williams holds offers including Arizona, North Carolina and UCLA.
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
The only member of the 2019 recruiting class to make the 12-man roster, Robinson-Earl is inked to play with Villanova next year.
In the class of 2019, the IMG Academy product ranked 14th on ESPN’S Top 100 and also held offers from North Carolina and Kansas.