Returning former NBA head coach Mike Fratello and featuring 11 players who were active in the NBA G League in 2019-20 and six players with USA Basketball experience, USA Basketball today announced the coaching staff and the 13 players who will participate in the USA’s Nov. 23-28 training camp to determine the 12-man roster for the November 2020 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying games.
Fratello, who served as head coach of the USA Basketball November 2020 AmeriCup Qualifying Team and led the U.S. to a 2-0 record, returns to lead the USA in the November AmeriCup Qualifying window. Also returning to the coaching staff as assistant coaches are November 2020 USA AmeriCup Qualifying assistant Othella Harrington and long-time NBA coach Joe Prunty.
Selected for the training camp were: Kaiser Gates (Maine Red Claws/Xavier); Tyler Hall (Westchester Knicks/Montana State); Jalen Hudson (Capital City Go-Go/Florida); Amile Jefferson (Lakeland Magic/Duke); John Jenkins (Hapoel Eilat, Israel/Vanderbilt); Jemerrio Jones (Wisconsin Herd/New Mexico State); Josh Magette (Lakeland Magic/Alabama-Huntsville); Yante Maten (Maine Red Claws/Georgia); Sir’Dominic Pointer (Canton Charge/St. John’s); Levi Randolph (Canton Charge/Alabama); Tyler Roberson (South Bay Lakers/Syracuse); Travis Trice (Gemani Basket Brescia, Italy/Michigan State); and Paul White (Salt Lake City Stars/Oregon).
The USA team will train daily Nov. 23-28 in Indianapolis, Indiana, and will play Bahamas on Nov. 29 (4 p.m. EST) and Mexico (7:30 p.m. EST) on Nov. 30. The full 2019-20 FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying schedule is available at https://www.usab.com/mens/americup/game-schedule.aspx.
Due to COVID-19 precautions, no spectators or media will be permitted to attend the games. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Six USA players boast of prior USA Basketball experience, including two members of the November 2020 AmeriCup Qualifying Team. Jefferson played for the USA on the November 2017 and the June/July 2018 USA Men’s World Cup Qualifying teams and helped the USA to a 3-1 record, averaging 4.8 points and 4.3 rebounds a game. Jenkins averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds a game for the November 2018 World Cup Qualifying Team and was part of the 2011 World University Games team. Magette and Randolph were members of the February 2020 USA AmeriCup Qualifying Team that defeated Puerto Rico twice — Magette posted averages of 9.0 points and 3.0 assists, and Randolph averaged 4.5 points and 2.0 rebounds a game. Trice was part of three USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Qualifying teams (February 2019, November/December 2018 and September 2018), helping the USA to an overall 5-1 record while averaging 12.0 points and 5.8 assists per game. White was a member of the 2011-12 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team and participated in the October 2011 minicamp.
Five of the U.S. players have NBA regular-season experience, including Jefferson (30 NBA regular-season games with the Orlando Magic – 18 in 2019-20 and 12 in 2018-19); Jenkins (171 NBA regular-season games – four with the Washington Wizards in 2018-19, 22 with the New York Knicks in 2018-19, 98 with the Atlanta Hawks in 2012-13 – 2014-15, 26 with Phoenix Suns in 2015-16 and 21 with Dallas Mavericks in 2015-16); Jones (six NBA regular-season games with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-19); Magette (26 NBA regular-season games – eight with the Orlando Magic in 2019-20 and 18 with the Atlanta Hawks in 2017-18); and Maten (two NBA regular-season games with the Miami Heat in 2018-19).
Six of the USA players have played internationally – Jenkins (China, Israel and Spain); Magette (Croatia, Greece, Netherlands and Spain); Pointer (Hungary, Israel, Lebanon and Venezuela); Randolph (Italy and France); Roberson (France and Greece); and Trice (Australia, France, Lebanon and Italy).
Eleven players were active in the NBA G League in 2019-20: Gates (Maine Red Claws); Hall (Westchester Knicks); Hudson (Capital City Go-Go); Jefferson (Lakeland Magic); Jones (Wisconsin Herd); Magette (Lakeland Magic); Maten (Maine Red Claws); Pointer (Canton Charge); Randolph (Canton Charge); Roberson (South Bay Lakers); and White (Raptors 905 and Salt Lake City Stars).
Jenkins, who has played five seasons (2012-13 to 2016-17 and 2018-19) in the G-League (Bakersfield Jam, Capital City Go-Go, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Idaho Stampede and Westchester Knicks), played in 2019-20 in China and Israel. Trice, who spent three seasons (2015-16 to 2018-19) playing for NBA G League teams (Austin Spurs, Westchester Knicks and Wisconsin Herd), played in 2019-20 in France and Italy.
Fratello, who is an analyst for NBA TV and for nationally televised games on TNT, served as an NBA head coach during 17 seasons, including coaching stints with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and Memphis Grizzlies. Boasting of an NBA career regular season record of 667-548 for a .549 winning percentage, he led teams to the NBA playoffs in 11 of his 15 full seasons as a head coach. He ranks 20th in all-time NBA regular season wins (667) and 21st in games coached (1,215).
During the first window of FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying that was held Feb. 20-24, 2020, Fratello led the USA team to a pair of wins, defeating Puerto Rico 83-70 in San Juan and 95-73 in Washington, D.C. Fratello also served as the Ukraine national team head coach from 2011-14 and led Ukraine to their first-ever FIBA World Cup appearance.
Harrington returns to Fratello’s USA staff after most recently serving as an assistant coach for the February 2020 AmeriCup Qualifying games. He also served as the team scout for Jeff Van Gundy and the USA World Cup Qualifying teams during their November/December 2018 and February 2019 competition windows and helped USA squads compile a 5-1 record during the three stints, as well as earn a qualifying berth for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Prunty brings 23 years of experience in the NBA to Fratelllo’s USA AmeriCup Qualifying staff. NBA teams with Prunty as a part of their coaching staff qualified for the 17 NBA Playoffs in his 23 NBA seasons and he has been part of teams that have won three NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005), all as a member on the San Antonio Spurs staff, and advanced to the NBA Finals with Dallas in 2006. Prunty served as interim head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and went 21-16 over the final 37 games of the 2017-18 season, also spent five summers as head coach of Great Britain’s national team from 2013-2017, qualifying the Brits for EuroBasket in 2013 and 2017.
FIBA AmeriCup Qualifying
The 2020-21 FIBA AmeriCup qualifiers features 16 teams from the Americas zone divided into four groups of four teams. The top three finishing teams in each Group will earn a qualifying berth in the FIBA AmeriCup 2022.
FIBA AmeriCup 2022 qualifying consists of three windows, and each window features two games. The first window was held Feb. 20-24, 2020, and the USA team, led by Fratello, earned a pair of wins, defeating Puerto Rico 83-70 in San Juan and 95-73 in Washington, DC. Window two of AmeriCup Qualifying takes place Nov. 27-30, and the third and final qualifying window is scheduled to be held Feb. 18-22, 2021. The Americans are slated to close out AmeriCup qualifying play at the Bahamas on Feb. 18 and at Mexico on Feb. 21.
AmeriCup Qualifying Group A consists of Argentina (1-1), Chile (1-1), Colombia (1-1) and Venezuela (1-1); Group B includes Brazil (2-0), Panama (2-0), Paraguay (0-2) and Uruguay (0-2); while Group C features Canada (1-1), Cuba (1-1), Dominican Republic (1-1) and U.S. Virgin Islands (1-1).
The FIBA AmeriCup 2022, considered the FIBA Americas zone championship, will feature 12 nations from North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
The USA men’s won the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup with a 5-0 record, and in its next most recent participation in 2007, the U.S. rumbled over its opposition in Las Vegas and finished 10-0 to win gold and capture one of the FIBA Americas zone’s two qualifying berths for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Overall, USA Basketball officially has now fielded teams in nine AmeriCups (formerly known as FIBA Americas Championships), and has won seven gold (2017, 2007, 2003, 1999, 1997, 1993 and 1992) and one silver medal (1989), while compiling a 65-10 win-loss record.
For more information on the USA Basketball team fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
The National Governing Body for Men’s and Women’s Basketball in the United States (usab.com)