David-Hein-Column
17/07/2014
David Hein's Eye on the Future
to read

USA coach Showalter prepares for next dominating U17 group

REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - USA head coach Don Showalter doesn't have an easy job. He must form a tight 12-man unit out of a group of superstars who really haven't played with each other that much while also facing the pressure of anything less than winning the title at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship being a major disappointment.

Welcome to Showalter's world. He certainly wouldn't have it any different and he certainly did his part in creating that pressure.

Here a couple of numbers that show just how dominant the USA have been under Showalter.

The United States were a perfect 5-0 in each of the qualifying events - 2009, 2011 and 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship - for the two FIBA U17 World Championships and next month's (8-16 August) one in Dubai. The average winning margin increased with each of the three continental tournaments, from 33.8 to 42.2 to 53.4 points last summer. The average margin of victory across the three events was 43.1 points.

The Americans will head to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with perfect 8-0 records at each of the first two editions of the U17 Worlds in 2010 and 2012.

The USA were nearly as dominating in those two world events, winning their eight games in 2010 by an average of 36.1 points and increasing that average to 42.9 points in 2012.

The 1993-born class of Argentina is the closest team to really challenge the Americans dominance. In the 2009 FIBA Americas U16 Championship Final, the Argentineans were beaten by only 14 points. And the same group was the USA's first opponent at the 2010 U17 Worlds and Argentina lost by only 12 points.

So, that Argentina group must certainly have had a few top level players you say. Well the only two players to make it out of Argentina are swingman Patricio Garino, who is playing his third season at George Washington University and is considered a fringe NBA prospect; and center Matias Bortolin, who from 2011 to 2013 failed to make an impact in Italy but played solidly in Austria before returning to Argentina last season.

The 2010 USA squad, meanwhile, included NBA stars such as Bradley Beal and Andre Drummond as well as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Anthony Wroten, Quinn Cook and James McAdoo.

The 2012 team won their first game by 22 points and then reeled off five wins by at least 36 points before knocking off Spain by 29 points in the Semi-Finals and Australia by 33 in the Final.

That team featured 2014 NBA number two draft pick Jabari Parker as well as NBA locks for 2015-16 season Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Justise Winslow, Stanley Johnson and Dakari Johnson.

With that level of talent, one would argue, any coach could win. But Showalter has done a great job in molding those superstars into a unit which buys into the team concept.

He starts his next building project next week as the U17 USA team will hold a training camp with 36 players trying out for the team that will play in Dubai.

All 12 players who went undefeated at the 2013 U16 FIBA Americas Championship have been invited to the try-outs, which run from July 24-26 in Colorado Springs.

Finalists will be announced on July 26 with Showalter naming his 12-man roster before August 1.

The coach said at the time of the announcement of the training camp player list that everybody has a chance to make the final cut.

"We'll probably have a different roster going to Dubai this summer (than we had at the U16s last summer). It's kind of been our history. Two years ago we didn't take five players who made the U16s, because kids got better and grew and so forth. So, I think we're going to look at it the same way this year, where it's a wide-open process. Everybody who is coming to training camp has a shot at making the U17 team. We don't have any predetermined players who are going to make the team," Showalter said.

That being said, it would seem that a group of players do have very good chances of making the team. Chief among them are Ivan Rabb and Diamond Stone, who are the first and fourth rated prospects respectively in the 2015 class ranked by espn.com. Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, Malik Monk and Harry Giles are the second to fifth-rated prospects in the 2016 class by espn.com.

Of that group, Rabb, Stone, Jackson, Tatum and Giles were on the U16 team last summer.

The FIBA Americas U16 MVP Malik Newman, who is ranked third in the 2015 class, is also invited to the camp but remains a question mark after a severely sprained hand suffered at the LeBron James Skills Academy forced him to miss this week's Peach Jam.

The tough situation is nothing new for Showalter. And he has shown he can have plenty of success.

David Hein

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.

David Hein

David Hein

Walk into the media tribune of any major basketball event and there's a good chance you will come across David Hein. Having covered dozens of FIBA events, including numerous women's and youth events, there are few players Dave doesn't know about, and few players who don't know him. His sporting curiosity means he is always looking to unearth something new and a little bit special. David Hein's Eye on the Future is a weekly column digging out the freshest basketball talent worldwide and assessing what the basketball landscape will look like a couple of years down the line.