USA - Welcomes 46 Athletes To 2012 Men's Developmental National Team Mini-Camp

Forty-six of the nation's best young high school players have accepted invitations to attend the 2012 USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team mini-camp on Oct. 6-7 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The USA Basketball newcomers will be directed by lead clinician Don Showalter (Iowa City H.S., Iowa), who has captured four straight gold medals as head coach of the USA Developmental National Team from 2009-2012. Invitations were extended by the USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team Committee.

The mini-camp, which will be utilized to help USA Basketball train and evaluate members of the classes of 2015 and 2016 in preparation for upcoming Developmental National Team events, will include four training sessions - at 9 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. (times listed are MDT) on Oct. 6 and 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 7.

"The main purpose of the mini-camp is to get a look at the top players in this age group and familiarize them with USA Basketball and the opportunity to play for the U16 Tournament of the Americas to qualify for the U17 World Championship," Showalter said. "These players will get a chance to play against the top players in the country in their age group. We hope to accomplish a weekend of great competition along with some skill development."

While all 46 players are new to USA Basketball, 34 athletes (born on or after Jan. 1, 1997) are eligible for the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship (should the USA qualify), while the remaining 12 will train for future events such as the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and the Nike Hoop Summit.

"We hope the players are more familiar with USA Basketball after the weekend and have a great, competitive weekend playing against outstanding competition, and we have an opportunity to evaluate their skills," Showalter continued.

Attending camp from the Class of 2015 will be:  Thomas Bryant (Bishop Kearney H.S. / Rochester, N.Y.);Bryant Crawford (Gonzaga College H.S., D.C. / Kensington, Md.); Eric Davis (Arthur Hill H.S. / Saginaw, Mich.);  Timothy Delaney (Pitman H.S. / Mullica Hill, N.J.); Marcus Derrickson (Paul VI Catholic H.S., Va. / Bowie, Md.); Tyler Dorsey (St. John Bosco H.S. / Pasadena, Calif.);  Perry Dozier (Spring Valley H.S. / Columbia, S.C.); Hyron Edwards (East Chicago Central H.S. / East Chicago, Ill.); Andrew Fleming (Ensworth H.S. / Franklin, Tenn.);  Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake H.S. / Rice Lake, Wis.); Daniel Giddens (Wheeler H.S. / Mableton, Ga.); Jessie Govan (St Mary's H.S. / Queens Village, N.Y.);  Franklin Howard (Paul VI Catholic H.S., Va. / Camp Springs, Md.); William Jackson (Athens Christian School / Athens, Ga.); Marcus LoVett(Providence H.S. / Altadena, Calif.);  Charles Matthews (St. Rita H.S. / Chicago, Ill.); Malik Newman (Callaway H.S. / Jackson, Miss.); Ivan Rabb (Bishop O'Dowd H.S. / Oakland, Calif.);  Malachi Richardson (Roselle Catholic H.S. / Hamilton, N.J.); Horace Spencer (William Tennent H.S. / Warminster, Pa.); Diamond Stone(Dominican H.S. / Milwaukee, Wis.);  Elijah Thomas (Rockwall H.S. / Rowlett, Texas); Dennis Williams(Simeon Career Academy / Chicago, Ill.); and Stephen Zimmerman (Bishop Gorman H.S. / Las Vegas, Nev.).
Participants from the Class of 2016 include: Edrice Adebayo (Northside H.S. / Gatesville, N.C.); Tyus Battle(Gill Saint Bernard's School / Edison, N.J.);  Braxton Blackwell (Christ Presbyterian Academy / Nashville, Tenn.); Isaiah Briscoe (St. Benedict Prep / Union, N.J.); Amir Coffey (Hopkins H.S. / New Hope, Minn.); Benjamin Coupet (Simeon Career Academy / Chicago, Ill.); De'Ron Davis (Overland H.S. / Denver, Colo.);Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy / Winston-Salem, N.C.);  Asante Gist (Roselle Catholic H.S. / West Orange, N.J.); Eron Gordon (North Central H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.); Josh Jackson (Consortium College Prep / Southfield, Mich.);  VJ King (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S. / Akron, Ohio); Joshua Langford (Madison Academy / Huntsville, Ala.); Dedric Lawson (Hamilton H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.);  Malik Monk (East Poinsett County H.S. / Lepanto, Ark.); Ryan Murphy (Fairfield Prep / Westport, Conn.); Payton Pritchard (West Linn H.S. / West Linn, Ore.);  Devearl Ramsey (Sierra Canyon H.S. / Hidden Hills, Calif.); Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep / St. Louis, Mo.); Derryck Thornton (Sierra Canyon H.S. / Simi Valley, Calif.);  Khalea Turner (Riverside Academy / Marrero, La.); and Seventh Woods (Hammond School / Columbia, S.C.).

USA Basketball has named four court coaches to assist Showalter during the camp, including  Terry Dunn(Sierra H.S., Colo.), LJ Goolsby (KC Run GMC AAU, Mo.), James Lane (Doherty H.S., Colo.) and  Leo Papile(BABC AAU, Mass.).

Also on hand will be the 2009-12 USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team Committee, including non-voting chair Sean Ford (USA Basketball Men's National Team Director), AAU appointees Ron Crawford (Arkansas Wings AAU) and Boo Williams (Boo Williams AAU), as well as National Federation of High Schools representatives Eric Flannery (St. Edwards H.S., Ohio) and  John Olive (Torrey Pines H.S., Calif.) and athlete representative Kermit Holmes (1999 USA Pan American Games Team).

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