USA - 2006 USA U18 national team moves to 13 finalists

SAN ANTONIO (FIBA Americas U18 Championship) - Head coach Lorenzo Romar advanced one step closer to the final 2006 USA Men's U18 National Team roster with a reduction from 14 to 13 finalists on Sunday. Among the 13 finalists, who are 18-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1988), are eight All-Americans and five USA Today Class of 2007 honorees. The finalists will continue to train in San Antonio, Texas, hoping to earn a roster spot on the official 12-member USA U18 squad that will compete in the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men from June 28-July 2 in San Antonio.

"I'm not good about predicting, but I feel good about the fact that our guys are gonna come out and compete, and then we'll see what happens," Romar said about the upcoming FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men.

"I am surprised at some of the things that we've been seeing in practice. Number one our unselfishness. You get a group of guys who are used to being the man, and now they come out here and are unselfish, I think that's great. Number two, our level of intensity has been good. Our focus is on continuing to get better at what we've already put in. We need to be a better rebounding team defensively."

The remaining USA Basketball U18 finalists are: Chris Allen (Meadowcreek H.S., Ga./Michigan State); Jerryd Bayless (St. Mary's H.S., Ariz./Undecided); Michael Beasley (Oak Hill Academy, Va../Undecided); Johnny Flynn (Niagara Falls H.S., N.Y./Syracuse); Donte Greene (Towson Catholic H.S, Md./Syracuse); Spencer Hawes (Seattle Prep, Wash./Washington); Taylor King (Mater Dei H.S., Calif./Duke); Gani Lawal (Norcross H.S., Ga./Georgia Tech); Stanley Robinson (Huffman H.S., Ala./Connecticut); Kyle Singler (South Medford H.S., Ore./Undecided); Nolan Smith (Oak Hill Academy, Va./Duke); DaJuan Summers (McDonogh School, Md./Georgetown); and Lance Thomas (St. Benedict's H.S., N.J./Undecided).

University of Washington mentor Romar is heading the USA's U18 Team, and Georgia Tech head mentor Paul Hewitt and DePaul University (Ill.) head coach Jerry Wainwright are assisting.

Hawes was named to the five-member 2006 USA Today All-USA Prep Basketball first team, while Beasley was named third team for a second consecutive year. Bayless, Johnson, King, Singler and Smith were included in USA Today's Class of 2007 list of honorees.

Included on the 2006 Parade Magazine All-America High School Boys Basketball Teams were Hawes as a first team pick, Beasley, Robinson, Singler and Thomas as second team honorees and Bayless as a fourth team selection.

The USA U18 finalists will continue their training Sunday evening at 5 p.m. (CDT), with a scrimmage against Brazil at Bill Greehey Arena, St. Mary's University. The team is also slated to continue its training with morning and evening practice on June 26 and 27. The 12-member USA squad will then compete in the June 28-July 2 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.

2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men

The 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, which will qualify the top four finishing teams for the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship, is being held at the Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary's University in San Antonio from June 28-July 2.

The FIBA Americas U18 Championship format divides the eight teams into two preliminary round groups consisting of four teams each. Preliminary round play will be held June 28, 29 and 30, and each team will play the other three teams in its preliminary group. The top two finishing teams in each preliminary round group will then advance to the Saturday, July 1, medal round semifinals and play for 1st-4th places. Teams placing third and fourth in each preliminary round group will advance to the consolation semifinals and play for 5th-8th places. The FIBA Americas U18 Championship For Men Finals will be held Sunday, July 2.

The host nation United States was drawn into preliminary round Group A with Brazil, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay, while Group B consists of Argentina, Bahamas, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Originally known as the FIBA Americas Junior World Championship Qualifier, the tournament has been held every four years since 1990. USA men's teams boast of a sensational 25-1 overall record in the U18/junior qualifiers and have won gold in 1990, 1994 and 1998, while capturing bronze most recently in 2002. The awarding of the U18 Championship For Men to USA Basketball and San Antonio marks the first time the event has been hosted in the United States.

Some of the top players who have represented the United States in past U18 tournaments include Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1994); Carmelo Anthony (2002); Chris Bosh (2002); Dee Brown (2002); Nick Collison (1998); Grant Hill (1990); Allan Houston (1990); Andre Iguodala (2002); Stephon Marbury (1994); Mike Miller (1998); Quentin Richardson (1998); and Deron Williams (2002).

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