Raymar Morgan To Try Out For 2007 USA Men's U19 World Championship Team
5/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 31, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State rising-sophomore forward Raymar Morgan has accepted an invitation to attend the trials for the 2007 USA Men's U19 World Championship Team June 28-30 in Dallas. Morgan is one of 20 players age 19 and under scheduled to participate in the trials. The trials will select the finalists for Team USA that will compete at the 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship July 12-22 in Novi Sad, Serbia.
"I'm definitely excited," said Morgan. "Anytime you can go and represent your country, it's a great thing. Getting a chance to play against some of these great players is a privilege. That's why I came to Michigan State, for opportunities like this. I'm just looking forward to getting better and winning games."
Morgan was MSU's second-leading scorer at 11.7 points per game and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. He missed seven games with a stress reaction in his right shin, but scored in double figures in 22 of his last 28 games. He closed out his freshman season on a strong note, averaging 14.0 points over the last 10 games. Collegehoops.net selected him as an honorable mention pick to its All-Freshman Team.
In addition to Morgan, players accepting invitations to participate in the 2007 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials include: Lavoy Allen (Pennsbury H.S., Pa./Morrisville, Pa.); Darrell Arthur (Kansas/Dallas, Texas); Michael Beasley (Notre Dame Prep, Mass./Frederick, Md.); Patrick Beverley (Arkansas/Chicago, Ill.); Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga/Highlands Ranch, Colo.); Dwayne Collins (Miami/Miami, Fla.); Stephen Curry (Davidson/Charlotte, N.C.); Tyreke Evans (Aston American Christian, Pa./Aston, Pa.); Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls H.S./Niagara Falls, N.Y.); Drew Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S./San Jose, Calif.); Donte' Greene (Towson Catholic H.S./Baltimore, Md.); James Hickson (Wheeler H.S., Ga./Marietta, Ga.); Damian Hollis (George Washington/Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.); DeAndre Jordan (Bellaire Episcopal H.S./Humble, Texas); David Lighty (Ohio State/Cleveland, Ohio); Tajuan Porter (Oregon/Detroit, Mich.); Corey Stokes (St. Benedict's H.S./Newark, N.J.); Deon Thompson (North Carolina/Torrance, Calif.); and Brad Wanamaker (Roman Catholic H.S./Philadelphia, Pa.).
Of the 20 players accepting trials invitations, 12 completed their collegiate freshman season in 2006-07, six completed their high school senior campaign in 2007, while two will be high school seniors in 2007-08. Seven players earned honors from their respective conferences. Beverley was selected the SEC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year and Curry was named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. Also, Arthur (Big 12), Bouldin (West Coast), Beverley (SEC), Hollis (Atlantic 10), Morgan (Big Ten), and Porter (Pac-10) were named to their all-freshman teams.
DePaul University head coach Jerry Wainwright, who served as an assistant for the 2006 USA U18 National Team, has been selected to lead the 2007 USA U19 World Championship Team, and Bruiser Flint of Drexel and George Washington's Karl Hobbs will serve as assistant coaches.
Trials for the USA U19 World Championship Team will be held June 28-30 at the Dallas Mavericks' practice facility in American Airlines Arena. The first trials session will be held on June 28, 5-7 p.m. (all times local, CDT). Two trials sessions (10 a.m.-12 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.) will be held on June 29 and 30. The selected USA team finalists will remain for the USA's July 1-7 training camp, which will also see the USA compete in the 2007 Global Games in Dallas.
The U.S. earned its 2007 FIBA U19 World Championship berth by claiming gold at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. The 2007 USA squad will be comprised of males 19-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1988) who are citizens of the United States. The draw for the tournament was held on Feb. 27, and the United States was placed in Group B for preliminary round action along with China, Mali and host Serbia.
In addition to the USA's pool, included among the 16 national teams that qualified through their FIBA zone tournaments are Brazil, France, Lebanon and Lithuania in Group A; Australia, Canada, Nigeria and Turkey in Group C; and Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Korea and Spain in Group D.
The USA will open play against Mali on July 12 at 6 p.m. (All times listed are local times. Novi Sad, Serbia, is six hours ahead of EDT), followed by China on July 13 at 8:30 p.m,. and will cap preliminary play against host Serbia on July 14 at 6 p.m. The top three teams from each of the four preliminary round groups advance to the July 16-18 second round. The top three teams from Groups A and B will compete in round-robin play in second round Group E; while the top three teams from Groups C and D will play each other in Group F. The preliminary round results carry over to the second round standings, and teams will only face advancing squads from the opposite group in second round action. Quarterfinals will be contested on July 20, the semifinals on July 21 and the gold medal tilt is slated for July 22.
