OSU Basketball: Incoming Point Guard Invited To Team USA U19 Camp

Oklahoma State signee and high school All-American Jawun Evans earned an invite to the USA Basketball U19 training camp next month in Colorado Springs.

Training camp begins on June 13 where Evans will compete for a spot on the 12-man roster for the FIBA U19 World Championships in Crete, Greece. The list of roster finalists is expected to be announced on June 15, and the final roster will be released prior to the team's departure. The USA will open play against Iran on June 27.

“It's a great honor for Jawun to be invited to this training camp,” said OSU head coach Travis Ford. “He's worked tremendously hard for this, and had such a great high school career. We wish him nothing but the best with USA Basketball.”

If selected to the roster, Evans will become the third OSU Cowboy to represent his country on the U19 squad. Matt Clark won gold with USA Basketball in Salvador, Brazil in 1979, and Marcus Smart paved the way for the 2013 squad to win the world championship in Prague, Czech Republic.

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.The team is seeking its first back-to-back FIBA U19 World Championships since 1979 and 1983.

“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.”

Evans is ranked by ESPN as the sixth best point guard in the country, and the No. 33 player in the nation regardless of position. The Dallas Kimball High School product was the only player in the state of Texas to earn a spot on the McDonald's All-America game, and he was one of 30 players nationwide to earn a spot on the Parade All-America team.

He averaged 23.3 points, 7.5 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game as a senior, and earned Dallas Morning News First-Team All-Area honors.

This year's U19 USA Basketball squad will be led by Sean Miller of the University of Arizona, along with his brother, Archie Miller (Dayton), and Ed Cooley (Providence).

Players returning to the training camp include: Isaiah Briscoe (Roselle Catholic H.S./Union, N.J.);Jalen Brunson (Stevenson H.S./Lincolnshire, Ill.); Terrance Ferguson (Homeschooled/Flower Mound, Texas); Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C.); Josh Jackson(Prolific Prep, Calif./Southfield, Mich.); Diamond Stone (Dominican H.S./Milwaukee, Wis.); Caleb Swanigan (Homestead H.S./Fort Wayne, Ind.); Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.); Allonzo Trier (Findlay Prep, Nev./Seattle, Wash.); and Seventh Woods (Hammond School/Columbia, S.C.).

Newcomers to the USA training camp include: Tyus Battle (St. Bernard's School/Edison, N.J.); Justin Bibbs(Virginia Tech/Dayton, Ohio); Brekkott Chapman (Utah/Roy, Utah); Vince Edwards(Purdue/Middletown, Ohio); Jawun Evans (Kimball H.S./Dallas, Texas); Riley LaChance(Vanderbilt/Brookfield, Wis.); T.J. Leaf (Foothills Christian H.S./Lakeside, Calif.); Silas Melson(Gonzaga/Portland, Ore.); Malik Monk (Bentonville H.S./Lepanto, Ark.); Chinanu Onauku(Louisville/Lanham, Md.); Eric Paschall (Villanova/Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.); L.J. Peak(Georgetown/Gaffney, S.C.); Malik Pope (San Diego State/Sacramento, Calif.); and Thomas Welsh(UCLA/Redondo Beach, Calif.).