Tryouts got underway this weekend in Colorado Springs for USA Basketball’s U19 team. If you’re a fan of ACC basketball, there’s good reason to pay attention. Several ACC elements — players, coaches and prospects — are involved.
The actual competition, which runs July 1-9, will take place in Cairo, Egypt. Tryouts will conclude on Tuesday, June 20.
USA Basketball won gold medals at the two previous U19 World Championships — back in 2013 and 2015.
Players
Duke big man Marques Bolden, a former five-star recruit, is one of the headliners amongst the group of 27 players competing for roster spots. The hope in Durham is that Bolden’s participation with Team USA will help launch a powerful sophomore season.
Bolden isn’t the only ACC sophomore in the mix, though: Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie will also try to land a roster spot.
Okogie starred for an upstart 21-win Georgia Tech team, and emerged as one of the best cutters in the conference.
NC State wing Devon Daniels — a transfer from Utah — joins Bolden and Okogie in the Rockies. Big things are expected of Daniels when he returns to action in 2018-19.
Wake Forest commit Chaundee Brown, a top 35 prospect in the 2017 class, is also a participant.
Coaches
Danny Manning of Wake Forest will be an assistant coach to John Calipari this summer. Manning is fresh off taking the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010.
This isn’t Manning’s first experience with Team USA basketball. As a player, Manning won a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics with USA basketball; he also contributed as a court coach for the 2014 U18 team.
Prospects
Several high-level 2018 prospects are a part of the program, too. This list of players includes five-star small forward Cameron Reddish — a strong Duke lean — and five-star wing Romeo Langford.
Langford is considering several ACC programs: Duke, Louisville and UNC.