Basabe Invited to USA 19U Event

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
IOWA CITY, Iowa - - University of Iowa sophomore-to-be Melsahn Basabe is one of 17 of the nation’s top 19-and-unders that will attend the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp.



The training camp, which will be held June 17-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be used to select the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship.



The USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by NCAA representative Jim Boeheim (head coach, Syracuse University), is expected to announce on June 19 finalists for the 12-member USA U19 World Championship Team roster. Training camp for the selected finalists will begin in the afternoon on June 19, with the official 12-member USA roster being announced prior to the teams’ departure for Europe on June 24. The 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men is being held June 30-July 10 in Valmiera, Liepaja and Riga Latvia.



“I’m honored and excited to have received an invitation to attend the training camp,†said Basabe. “This is a tremendous opportunity for me to meet and practice alongside some of the country’s best young players. My goal is to work hard and be one of the 12 players selected to represent the U.S. in the World Championship.â€



Basabe is one of four Big Ten U19 players that have accepted invitations to attend the training camp. Michigan State guard Keith Appling, Michigan guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Illinois center Meyers Leonard will join Basabe at the training camp.



George Mason Head Coach Paul Hewitt is the team’s head coach, while Randy Bennett of St. Mary’s and Jacksonville University’s Cliff Warren will serve as the assistants.



“We are excited about the opportunity for Melsahn,†said Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery. “He had a terrific freshman season and a fabulous spring. Melsahn will show up in great shape and hopefully he will be participating for the U.S. in Latvia.â€



Basabe, who was recognized on the All-Big Ten Freshman team and an honorable mention all-conference honoree, ranked first in team rebounding (6.8), blocks (41) and free throws made (80) and attempted (112), and second in scoring (11.0). Basabe (6-7, 225) became the first Hawkeye rookie to ever amass over 340 points, 200 rebounds and 40 blocks. His 210 rebounds are the most by a Hawkeye freshman, while his 41 blocks and 57% field goal percentage both rank third best by an Iowa freshman.



The native of Glen Cove, N.Y., ranked second among Big Ten freshmen with six double-doubles, five of which came against conference competition. Additionally, he was one of only four freshmen in the country to have four 20-point and 10-point rebound outbursts.



Sixteen nations will battle for the 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men title June 30-July 10 in Latvia. The United States has been placed in Group D, along with China, Egypt and Serbia. The 12 remaining 19-and-under national teams were distributed as such: Group A includes Brazil, Poland, Russia and Tunisia; Group B consists of Argentina, Australia, Latvia and Taiwan; and Group C is comprised of Canada, Croatia, Lithuania and South Korea.



The U.S. squad’s preliminary round slate opens with a June 30 contest against Egypt, followed by Serbia on July 1. The USA squad will conclude preliminary play July 2 versus China. The top three teams from each preliminary group will qualify for the preliminary second round, while the fourth place teams will qualify for the classification round to determine 13th to 16th places.



The twelve teams qualified for the second round, which will be played July 4-6, will be divided into groups E and F, with six teams in each group. The top three preliminary round teams from groups A and B will advance to Group E, and the top three from C and D will advance to Group F. Each team will play the three new teams in its new group, with the final scores of all games played in the preliminary round carrying over to determine the second round standings.



Teams finishing in first through fourth places in the two second round groups will qualify for the quarterfinals, with the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and finals. Teams finishing in fifth and sixth places in Groups E and F will play for ninth through 12th places. The quarterfinals will be held on July 8, semifinals are slated for July 9 and the gold and bronze medal games, as well as the 5th/6th place and 7th/8th place games, will be contested on July 10.



Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years between 1979-2007. FIBA now conducts the U19 Championship every two years. USA men’s teams are 62-11 in the U19/Junior World Championships and have won four gold and three silver medals, most recently earning the gold medal with a 9-0 record in 2009.



Listed below is the 2011 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team Training Roster.



2011 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team Training Roster



NAME POS HGT WGT DOB YOG SCHOOOL HOMETOWN

Keith Appling G 6-1 180 02/13/92 2014 Michigan State Detroit, MI

Melsahn Basabe F/C 6-7 225 05/29/92 2014 Iowa Glen Cove, NY

Brad Beal G 6-4 195 06/28/93 2011 Chaminade College Prep/*Florida St. Louis, MO

James Bell G 6-5 225 01/07/92 2014 Villanova Orlando, FL

Anthony Brown G 6-6 200 10/10/92 2014 Stanford Huntington Beach, CA

Trevor Cooney G 6-3 180 08/01/92 2011 Sanford School/*Syracuse Wilmington, DE

Allen Crabbe G 6-6 205 04/04/92 2014 California Los Angeles, CA

Tim Hardaway, Jr. G 6-5 185 03/16/92 2014 Michigan Miami, FL

Joe Jackson G 6-0 175 02/08/92 2014 Memphis Memphis, TN

Jeremy Lamb G 6-5 185 05/30/92 2014 Connecticut Norcross, GA

Meyers Leonard C 7-0 240 02/27/92 2014 Illinois Robinson, IL

Doug McDermott F/C 6-7 210 01/03/92 2014 Creighton Ames, IA

Travis McKie F 6-7 205 10/23/92 2014 Wake Forest Richmond, VA

Tony Mitchell F/C 6-9 220 04/07/92 2014 North Texas Dallas, TX

Richard Solomon F/C 6-10 220 06/18/92 2014 California Los Angeles, CA

Josiah Turner G 6-3 175 07/05/92 2011 Quality Education Acd./*Arizona Sacramento, CA

Patric Young F/C 6-9 245 02/01/92 2014 Florida Jacksonville, FL



Head Coach: Paul Hewitt, George Mason University

Assistant Coach: Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s College

Assistant Coach: Cliff Warren, Jacksonville University

Athletic Trainer: Tim Hansen, United States Military Academy Prep School (Fort Monmouth, N.J.)
 
So they gotta at least select 4 Fowards right? He just has to beat out two fowards then with 7 being selected
 
I wonder how much, if any, Melsahn will play in the PTL. Any one know how the schedule of this intersects with the PTL schedule?
 
I wonder how much, if any, Melsahn will play in the PTL. Any one know how the schedule of this intersects with the PTL schedule?

I am not sure of the schedule but the competition here will be 100 times more beneficial than the PTL.
 
I wonder how much, if any, Melsahn will play in the PTL. Any one know how the schedule of this intersects with the PTL schedule?

It stinks to miss him in person, but this will be way more beneficial for his developement than PTL. I don't see players wanting to do two different summer leagues even including cartwright and gatens.
 
It stinks to miss him in person, but this will be way more beneficial for his developement than PTL. I don't see players wanting to do two different summer leagues even including cartwright and gatens.

I would see both as a potential blessing in disguise.

1) All 3 players will be pushed to play with some of the best at their level which should not only help their game but hopefully their confidence as well.

2) I seem to recall there was a limit of 2 active IA players per roster in PTL so oddly enough we could have had some returning guys not make a team but now there will be arguably 3 spots that would be been filled open up so others can begin getting a first hand look at how the remaining teammates play.
 
Great news for Mel and the program! I can't think of a way for him to get better experience, plus (if he makes the team) that would look really good for potential recruits.
 
2) I seem to recall there was a limit of 2 active IA players per roster in PTL so oddly enough we could have had some returning guys not make a team but now there will be arguably 3 spots that would be been filled open up so others can begin getting a first hand look at how the remaining teammates play.
If there were that many Iowa players interested, they would just up the rule to 3. The problem is the distribution, not the total number.

NFW the PTL is turning down Iowa players.
 
If there were that many Iowa players interested, they would just up the rule to 3. The problem is the distribution, not the total number.

Another statement by somebody who doesn't know what he is talking about. Entirely clueless, just speaking off the top of his head.

According to NCAA regulations "[e]ach team shall include on its roster no more than two players with intercollegiate basketball eligibility from any two-year of four-year college..."

Here is the link http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect...ERES&CACHEID=616077804e0b9d4fa86af81ad6fc8b25

Just ignorance, plain & simple.
 
Another statement by somebody who doesn't know what he is talking about. Entirely clueless, just speaking off the top of his head.

According to NCAA regulations "[e]ach team shall include on its roster no more than two players with intercollegiate basketball eligibility from any two-year of four-year college..."

Here is the link http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect...ERES&CACHEID=616077804e0b9d4fa86af81ad6fc8b25

Just ignorance, plain & simple.

Lay the smack down my man. This rule really makes the PTL glorified streetball and nearly useless in terms of developing these players games. Only having two division one teams participate really takes down the quality of the league. The good summer leagues have numerous professional players in them and not surprisingly they normally end up happening in large metro areas. Eric May taking on D3 guys really doesn't help his handles.
 
Lay the smack down my man. This rule really makes the PTL glorified streetball and nearly useless in terms of developing these players games. Only having two division one teams participate really takes down the quality of the league. The good summer leagues have numerous professional players in them and not surprisingly they normally end up happening in large metro areas. Eric May taking on D3 guys really doesn't help his handles.


Eric May just needs to work on going left. Period.

He is a shooter, he will get his touch back. Shooting off the dribble, with a quick popup jumper & playing some lockdown defense on everybody he guards this summer, will not hurt.

There will be at least one player on each team that can move and will be difficult to defend, probably two with all the UNI guys, ex-college players and everybody else. Every Iowa player should try to defend that player as best as possible for at least 10+ minutes a game. That would be good practice, and something you don't see in PTL too often. Coach Mac should demand that it happens for a short period during each half of each game. Couldn't hurt.
 
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