June 2, 2015
The SEC’s leading freshmen scorer in 2014-15, Commodore guard Riley LaChance, has been selected to participate in the 2015 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team training camp that will take place June 12-26 at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The training camp will be utilized to select the 12-member roster for the 2015 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Championship Team. The USA will look to defend the USA’s 2013 U19 gold at the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship that will be held June 27-July 5 in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens who are 19 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1996).
LaChance, who was named to the SEC All-Freshman team and won a program-best four SEC Freshmen of the Week honors, averaged 12.3 points per game in 2014-15 and and finished third on Vanderbilt’s single-season freshman scoring list with 429 points – one of only four Vanderbilt freshman to ever eclipse the 400-point barrier. He also finished with 102 assists on the season, which is fourth on the all-time freshman assist list.Â
He finished the season second among all SEC freshmen in three’s made per contest at 1.9 per game (behind teammate Matthew Fisher-Davis), which was sixth in the conference overall. Earlier in the season, he poured in two consecutive 26-point games against Purdue and Western Carolina, and had three 20+ point games this season. In all, he has scored in double figures in 24 contests.
“It should be looked upon as a tremendous honor to be selected to tryout for this team, because the competition is so strong,” said Jim Boeheim Syracuse Hall of Fame head coach and chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, which is responsible for selecting players and coaches for the team. “Our committee does a great job identifying players who will represent our country in international competition. We know that even in the training camp, the competition will be fierce.”
For the complete release from USA Basketball, please visit www.usab.com.
2015 FIBA U19 World Championship
The USA has captured a record five FIBA U19 World Championship gold medals and three silver medals in the 11 editions of the event, which first was held in 1979. Played every four years through 2007, the U19s now are held every other year, and the USA men own an all-time record of 78-13 at the event.
As defending U19 champions, the USA has an opportunity to win consecutive FIBA U19 World Championships for just the second time since the competition began in 1979. The United States captured back-to-back gold in 1979 and 1983, and since then, Yugoslavia (1987), Greece (1995), Spain (1999), Australia (2003), Serbia (2007) and Lithuania (2011) have won a single gold medal, with the USA also earning gold in 1991, 2009 and 2013.
For the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship, the USA has drawn preliminary round Group A and will play Iran on June 27, Croatia on June 28 and Egypt on June 30. Playing in preliminary round Group B will be Argentina, China, Spain and Turkey; Group C features Australia, Canada, Italy and Tunisia; and Group D includes Dominican Republic, Greece, Serbia and South Korea.
All 16 teams advance to the round of 16 that will be played on July 1. The winners advance to the medal-round quarterfinals on July 3, while the round of 16 losers will compete out for 9th-16th places. The semfinals are on July 4, and the finals are on July 5.
Members of past USA U19 teams have included standouts such as: Stacey Augmon (1987); Vin Baker (1991); Vince Carter (1995); Nick Collison (1999); Stephen Curry (2007); Eric Floyd (1979); Aaron Gordon (2013 MVP); Tim Hardaway Jr. (2011); Montrezl Harrell (2013); Gordon Hayward (2009); Larry Johnson (1987); Jeremy Lamb (2011); Stephon Marbury (1995); Doug McDermott (2011); Jahlil Okafor (2013); Gary Payton (1987); Sam Perkins (1979); J.J. Redick (2003); Marcus Smart (2013); Klay Thompson (2009); Scott Skiles (1983); Deron Williams (2003); Justise Winslow (2013); and James Worthy (1979).
