REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - USA Basketball announced a list of 24 hopefuls who will try to make the team for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. The competition will be fierce and while USA coach Don Showalter will be looking for as much continuity as possible, there will definitely be a couple of changes from the U16 team last summer.

The development from 16 to 17 years can be quite dramatic. And that fact - as well as injuries - will undoubtedly lead to at least a few new players getting the call for the Red, White and Blue.

All 12 members from the title-winning team at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2017 were included in the 24-player pool for the training camp from June 15-18. Ten players who have at least one USA Basketball training camp were also selected and two players who are new to USA Basketball.

Just for history, Showalter has swapped out at least three players from every U16 Americas team going into the U17 World Cup. In 2010 it was three players, followed by five players in 2012, three in 2014, and half of the team was different in 2016 from 2015.

"The committee is excited that these 24 athletes accepted invitations to the 2018 USA Men's U17 World Cup Team training camp, and we feel that we will have a strong, competitive group from which to select the 12-member roster," said Sean Ford, USA Basketball men's national team director and chair of the USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team Committee. "We will have a great mix of athletes, and we look forward to starting the team selection process in June."

The group of 24 is highlighted by U16 FIBA Americas MVP Vernon Carey Jr., who along with Scottie Barnes helped University School reach the final of the US high school championship - where they lost to RJ Barrett and Montverde.

Right along with physical beast Carey atop the 2019 class is Memphis big man James Wiseman, who is a big man in the model of Anthony Davis and Kevin Garnett.

The U16 team also included the top four players from the 2020 US high school class in scoring guard Jalen Green, smooth guard RJ Hampton, another big man in Isaiah Todd and point guard Jalen Suggs.

But even those guys will have some tough battles to make Showalter's team for Argentina, where the four-time reigning champions are drawn into Group B with Mali, China and Serbia.

Among the 10 players were not on the U16 team but have been part of at least one USA Basketball camp already are Jalen Johnson and Josh Christopher - both top 10 prospects in the 2020 high school class; while Julian Strawther is a top-20 player in the class.

There is also Isaiah Stewart, yet another physical beast who can run the floor as a power forward and helped La Lumiere get to the US high school championship tournament. The two players new to USA Basketball are Evan Mobley and Jahmius Mobley.

One name that also stands out is Nico Mannion, who was one of the final cuts from the U16 USA team. The flashy guard actually did play internationally last summer as he represented Italy at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2017 as his father played basketball in Italy, where his mother was a professional volleyball player.

Mannion, who was actually born in Siena, Italy, led the U16 European tournament in scoring at 19.9 points while finishing second on the Italian team in rebounding and first in assists. But his inclusion in the USA pool begs the question if Mannion actually would be able to play in Argentina. Because he played a FIBA competition before his 17th birthday, FIBA regulations stipulate that the player can only play for the national team of another country if "both national member federations agree". Should there be no agreement, then the FIBA secretary general would be called upon to decide.

"WE WILL HAVE A GREAT MIX OF ATHLETES, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO STARTING THE TEAM SELECTION PROCESS IN JUNE."FordFord

An official in the Italian basketball federation confirmed to Eye on the Future that there has been no request from USA Basketball at this time regarding clearance regarding Mannion's participation in the U17 World Cup.

Regardless if Mannion plays or not, United States will a force to be reckoned with in Argentina. What will the final USA roster look like? That's anybody's guess at the moment.

Two things are certain though.

One is there will be some amazing talent and the other is that Coach Showalter will not have a lot of time to form his team. The training camp will not tip off until June 15 with the final 12-man roster not expected until June 18. The team will depart for Argentina on June 23 and the Americans' opening game is on June 30 against China.

Sure, expect some continuity but there will also be a few changes from last summer's U16 team.

David Hein

FIBA

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