REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Consider the world on notice - the United States team dominated the FIBA U16 Americas Championship more than ever before. And chances are the rest of the world will face a majority of these talented Americans at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018.

Head coach Don Showalter guided the United States to another perfect 5-0 record and the title at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 with an impressive 111-60 victory in the final over a Canada team that was clearly the second-best team in Formosa.

USA head coach Don Showalter has never lost in 55 games as the U16 or U17 national team coach in FIBA action. 

"It never gets old," Showalter said on the USA Basketball website. "This is the first time this group has won gold, so it's new to them, and you just hope it's a great experience for them. It never gets old winning a gold medal."

Winning is all Showalter knows with USA Basketball, completing his fifth straight perfect 5-0 run to the FIBA U16 Americas Championship title for a 25-0 record since 2009 in the biennial competition. That record increases to 55-0 when the four undefeated title runs at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup are included. 

Canada, who were missing two of their top stars in Addison Patterson and Josh Hemmings, were the only team to even manage a lead against the United States - a three-point lead in the opening minutes and losing it when Wendell Moore Jr. made it 7-6 for the USA in the final. But Showalter's team still raced past Canada to the tune of a 51-point victory.

In fact, the United States put together an average winning margin of 58 points, including wins by 72 and 75 points. That 58 point average winning margin was the highest by the United States in the FIBA U16 Americas Championship. The previous average winning margins were 34 points in 2009, 42 points in 2011, 53 points in 2013 and 43 points in 2015 - for an average FIBA U16 Americas Championship winning margin of 46 points. Seventeen of the 25 victories have been by at least 40 points, including 10 of the last 11 games - the USA's 17-point win over Canada in the 2015 final being the only exception.

That dominance has usually carried over to the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup, where the United States are the four-time champions and have never lost a game - twice winning all eight games and then going 7-0 in 2014 and 2016. The average winning margins in those four competitions are 35 points in 2010, 40 points in 2012, 32 points in 2014 and 45 points in 2016.

Only four games have been closer than 20 points - the country's first-ever game in the competition against Argentina in 2010 by 12 points; a 10-point win in the 2014 opener vs Greece; a seven-point victory over Australia in the 2014 final; and an 18-point triumph against Turkey in 2016. Twenty of the 30 wins have been by at least 30 points.

So, how much of this USA U16 team can the world expect to see next summer in Rosario and Santa Fe in Argentina, which will be hosting the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. A major chunk of it, if past U17 history is any indication.

Nine of the 12 players from both the 2009 and 2013 U16 teams went on to play at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cups in 2010 and 2014. And there were seven holdovers from the U16 teams on the USA rosters at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cups in 2012 and 2016. 

So, that means a major portion of the USA U16 team from Formosa will make the return trip down to Argentina next summer. Not only will those players have experienced winning a title already, but they will have gotten better over the course of their high school and AAU seasons.

To close, the average winning margin for the USA in FIBA U16 Americas Championship and FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup games is 41.5 points over 55 games. Only four times have they won by fewer than 15 points.

Coming back to Showalter's quote: "It never gets old." If you are a USA Basketball fan, that is the case, for sure. But it would be nice to see another team give these guys a test.

The rest of the world is officially now on notice.

David Hein

FIBA

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