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USA Basketball announces 16 finalists for Under-19 team

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Over the last few days USA Basketball has been holding tryouts for its Under-19 national team, which will compete in the FIBA U-19 World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic beginning on June 24.

USA Basketball announced its initial list of 16 players after four training sessions on Sunday, with the team needing to be cut down to 12 players on Wednesday. Among the 16 to make the initial cut are two members of the 2014 graduating class, center Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young HS, Chicago) and forward Justise Winslow (St. Johns HS, Houston).

“I think the biggest thing is just our unity, us being connected, understanding what the goal is and them playing together, playing unselfishly,” U-19 team head coach Billy Donovan said in the release.

“We have a lot of versatile players; guys that can move to different positions; I think we have a lot of size and strength on this team; I think we have guards that can defend and have good quickness and speed.”

Okafor and Winslow are two of three 17-year olds among the 16 players still alive, with Arizona incoming freshman Aaron Gordon being the other. The 16 players still in contention for the 12 U-19 World Championships roster spots are:

G Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova)
F Damyean Dotson (Oregon)
G Michael Frazier (Florida)
G Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech)
F Aaron Gordon (Arizona; incoming freshman)
F Jerami Grant (Syracuse)
F/C Montrezl Harrell (Louisville)
C Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young HS, Chicago)
G Elfrid Payton (UL-Lafayette)
G James Robinson (Pittsburgh)
G Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State)
F Jarnell Stokes (Tennessee)
G Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke)
F/C Mike Tobey (Virginia)
G Nigel Williams-Goss (Washington; incoming freshman)
F Justise Winslow (St. Johns HS, Houston)

The name that may stick out to some is that of 6-3 guard Elfrid Payton, but as Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News noted it was Payton’s versatility on the defensive end that helped him land a spot on the 16-player list.

The surprise of the trials was Louisiana-Lafayette junior Elfrid Payton, a 6-3 combo guard whose defense sizzled and who proved to be nearly impossible for perimeter defenders to keep out of the lane. He averaged 15.9 points and 5.5 assists for the Ragin’ Cajuns last season. He has an excellent chance of making the team because of his ability to defend and to play multiple positions.

Of the 16 players remaining ten have prior experience with USA Basketball and six (Grant, Harrell, Robinson, Smart, Stokes and Sulaimon) were members of the U-18 team that clinched a spot in the U-19 championships last summer.

The US team was drawn into Group D for the Worlds, and that group includes China, Ivory Cost and Russia.

Raphielle can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.