COLORADO SPRINGS (FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017) - USA Basketball announced the 24 players who will be attending the training camp for the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 with one player picking up an invite after not participating in the first camp last October.

USA head coach Don Showalter is impressed with the grouping of talent from which he will have to choose.

"It's a good group, as far as having a lot of versatility with guys who can play a lot of different positions," said USA U16 head coach Don Showalter, who has since 2009 guided the United States to four straight U16 continental titles and then four consecutive crowns at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup with nary a loss at either competition.

"We have a good backcourt with guys who can play point guard, off guard, wing. Then we have a good frontcourt, where they can kind of intermix with post players, back-to-the-basket types of players, and then face the basket. That helps. We need that for international competition."

There are some high-level bloodlines among the 24 players who will come together from 1-10 June for tryouts for the 12-man roster for the eight-team tournament from 14-18 June in Argentina. The top four finishers will qualify for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018.

We have a good backcourt with guys who can play point guard, off guard, wing. Then we have a good frontcourt, where they can kind of intermix with post players, back-to-the-basket types of players, and then face the basket. That helps. We need that for international competition." - Showalter

Former NBA All-Star and 2000 Olympic gold medallist Shareef Abdur-Rahim’s son Jabri is among the invitees as well as Lynn Greer III, the son of Lynn Greer, who played for USA Basketball at the FIBA AmeriCup 2005 and briefly in the NBA before a long career in Europe until retirement in 2015. And Jaden Springer’s father Gary Springer was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers but never played professionally.

Vernon Carey Jr.’s father Vernon Carey spent eight years playing American football in the NFL while Greg Brown III’s father, Gary Brown Jr., played a couple years in the NFL as well.

All of the 24 players except  Jalen Sluggs took part in the 2016 USA Junior National Team’s October minicamp, which was used as an introductory camp to USA Basketball for the players.

"We have a good crew overall, as far as our defensive philosophy is concerned. We’re going to be able to pressure the ball and play good defense. So, those are the two things that we’re looking for in this group," Showalter added.

Texas is the home for the highest number of players with four of the 24 invitees coming from the Lone Star state - Brown, R.J. Hampton, De'Vion Harmon and Micah Peavy.

Other connections have Springer and Wendell Moore Jr. both coming from Charlotte though Springer attends Rocky River high school and Moore is at Cox Mill.

Among the players in ESPN’s top 25 for the 2019 high school class are: Carey (ranked 2nd) James Wiseman (12th) and Juwan Gary (18th)

Here is the full list of the 24 players invited to the USA Basketball camp: Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Posh Alexander, Dudley Blackwell, Gregory Brown III, Vernon Carey Jr., Jy’are Davis, Zachary Dieterich-Harvey, Eric Dixon, Xavier Foster, Juwan Gary, Jalen Green, Lynn Greer III, R.J. Hampton, De'Vion Harmon, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Justin Lewis, Wendell Moore Jr., Isaac Okoro, Micah Peavy,  Jaden Springer, Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Suggs, Isaiah Todd, James Wiseman

FIBA