USA bringing 10 NBA players into training camp for September window

Colorado Springs (FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers 2019)  – Ten athletes who played for NBA teams last season will be among the 14 called to the USA National Team training camp to compete for a roster spot on the USA’s September World Cup Qualifying Team. 

They will join two WCQ veterans, Reggie Hearn and Jameel Warney, who are currently under G League contracts. Both were key players on the USA's 2017 AmeriCup champions team.

Warney, who was selected the 2017 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year, earned AmeriCup MVP honors after posting 12.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while Hearn contributed 10.0 points a game.

Hearn played with the USA’s November 2017 and June 2018 World Cup Qualifying Teams, and while getting the starting nod in all four games, averaged 12.3 points a game. Warney played for U.S. in the November World Cup Qualifiers and averaged 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds a game. Dakari Johnson, a free agent, and Travis Trice, who plays with the Brisbane Bullets in the Australian NBL round out the invitees.

Reggie Hearn, USA

The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying Team Committee.

"It’s good to have Reggie and Jameel back," said USA head coach Jeff Van Gundy, the former NBA bench leader who led the USA to a 5-1 record in the first round of qualifying and the gold medal at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup Championship. "They’ve already experienced how tough these games are. And by looking to players who have played in the NBA and internationally, I’m hoping we have the experience required to win and qualify the United States for the 2019 FIBA World Cup."

Bryce Alford	Dwayne Bacon	V.J. Beachem	Jordan Crawford
Henry Ellenson	Reggie Hearn	Isaiah Hicks	Dakari Johnson
Frank Mason III	Ben Moore	Chasson Randle	Travis Trice
	Jameel Warney	Derrick White

 The USA training camp opens on Sept. 6 in Las Vegas at the UNLV Mendenhall Center.

It will determine the 12-man team for the USA’s first competition window of FIBA World Cup Qualifying second-round games. NBA G League Westchester Knicks head coach Mike Miller, and former Georgetown University coach John Thompson III, will serve as USA assistant coaches.

The Americans will square off against Uruguay on Sept. 14 at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion, then meet Panama on Sept. 17 in Panama City.

"With our September second-round games marking the start of the most critical part of the World Cup Qualifying, I think it is imperative for us to look for players who possess mental fortitude, who are tough, and who have experience," said Van Gundy. "All of our second-round games are going to very, very difficult and competitive battles. Argentina, Panama and Uruguay are all really good and well coached."

Jameel Warney, USA

The NBA injection will provide some offensive power to say the least.

Jordan Crawford has nine NBA seasons to his credit, playing for Atlanta, Washington, Boston, Golden State, and New Orleans. With the Warriors in 2014, he scored a career high 41 points against the Denver Nuggets.

A rookie with the Hornets last season, Bacon appeared in 53 games with six starts and averaged 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.5 minutes per game. He scored an NBA career-high 18 points at San Antonio on Nov. 3. In four games with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets G League affiliate, Bacon averaged 26.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists and set the Swarm’s single-game scoring record with a 45-point performance.

FIBA