Taylor Chosen For USA U19 National Team Trials

May 27, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas men’s basketball sophomore-to-be Tyshawn Taylor is one of 17 student-athletes selected to attend the 2009 USA U19 National Team Trials.

The trials, open to those born on or after Jan. 1, 1990, will take place June 16-18 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Taylor will compete for one of 12 roster spots on the 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team. Sixteen nations will battle for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men title July 2-12 in New Zealand.

Taylor was an impact freshman for the Jayhawks this past season, starting all but two games and being named to the Big 12 Conference All-Rookie Team. The Jersey City, N.J., product was KU’s third-leading scorer at 9.7 ppg, and ranked second among Big 12 freshmen in scoring, assists (3.0 spg) and steals (1.1 spg). He reached double figures in scoring in 18 games and had three 20-point efforts. Along with being honored by league coaches as a top rookie, Taylor was selected to the Big 12 All-Freshmen Team by the media, was named to the CBSSportsline.com Freshman All-America Third Team, and was a four-time Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week (Dec. 5, Dec. 22, Jan. 19, March 2).

Following the trials, the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee is expected to announce finalists for the 12-member USA U19 World Championship Team roster. Training camp for the selected finalists will begin June 19, with the 12-member roster being announced prior to the team’s departure for New Zealand on June 25.

The 2009 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team Trials roster includes Kemba Walker (Connecticut / New York, N.Y), Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest / Norcross, Ga.), Dominic Cheek (Villanova / Jersey City, N.J.), Drew Gordon (UCLA / San Jose, Calif.), Kenny Boynton (Florida / Pompano Beach, Fla.), Darryl Bryant (West Virginia / Brooklyn, N.Y.), DeAngelo Casto (Washington State / Spokane, Wash.), Seth Curry (Duke / Charlotte, N.C.), Gordon Hayward (Butler / Brownsburg, Ind.), Darius Miller (Kentucky / Maysville, Ky.), Arnett Moultrie (UTEP / Memphis, Tenn.), Ralph Sampson III (Minnesota / Duluth, Ga.), John Shurna (Northwestern / Glen Ellyn, Ill.), Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas / Jersey City, N.J.), Howard Thompkins (Georgia / Lithonia, Ga.), Klay Thompson (Washington State / Ladera Ranch, Calif.) and Terrico White (Mississippi / Memphis, Tenn.).

University of Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon will serve as head coach of the team; Chris Lowery of Southern Illinois and Matt Painter of Purdue will serve as assistant coaches.

The trials invitations were extended by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, chaired by Jim Boeheim, head coach, Syracuse University. In addition to Boeheim, the 2009-12 Men’s Junior National Committee, which was formerly known as the Men’s Collegiate Committee, includes NCAA appointees Lorenzo Romar (head coach, University of Washington), Bruce Weber (head coach, University of Illinois) and Roy Williams (head coach, University of North Carolina); and athlete representative Jay Williams, a member of the 2002 USA World Championship Team.

Led by Davidson College head coach Bob McKillop, the 2008 USA U18 National Team secured the USA’s berth to the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship with a silver medal finish in its zone qualifier, the 2008 FIBA Americas U 18 Championship, last summer in Mendoza, Argentina.

The United States has been placed in Group B at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship, along with Egypt, France and Iran. The 12 remaining 19-and-under national teams were distributed as such: Group A includes Angola, Greece, Lithuania and Puerto Rico; Group C consists of Australia, Canada, Spain and Syria; and Group D is comprised of Argentina, Croatia, Kazakhstan and host New Zealand.

The U.S. squad’s preliminary round slate opens with a July 2 contest against Iran, followed by France on July 3. The USA squad will celebrate the Fourth of July by taking on Egypt. The top three teams from each preliminary group will qualify for the preliminary second round, while the fourth-place teams will qualify for the classification round to determine 13th to 16th places.

The twelve teams qualified for the second round, which will be played July 6-8, will be divided into groups E and F, with six teams in each group. The top three preliminary round teams from groups A and B will advance to Group E, and the top three from C and D will advance to Group F. Each team will play the three new teams in its new group, with the final scores of all games played in the preliminary round carrying over to determine the second round standings. Teams finishing in first through fourth places in the two second round groups will qualify for the quarterfinals, with the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and finals. Teams finishing in fifth and sixth places in Groups E and F will play for ninth through 12th places. The quarterfinals will be held on July 10, semifinals are slated for July 11 and the gold medal game will be contested on July 12.

Originally known as the FIBA Junior World Championship, the tournament was held every four years from 1979 – 2007. FIBA recently changed its calendar and now holds age-based world championships every other year. USA men’s teams are 53-11 in the U19/Junior World Championships, capturing silver with an 8-1 record at the most recent U19 Worlds, held in Serbia in 2007.

USA U19 World Championship for Men Players of note include: Stacey Augmon (1987), Vin Baker (1991), Michael Beasley (2007), Dee Brown (2003), Vince Carter (1995), Nick Collison (1999), Stephen Curry (2007), Paul Davis (2003), Eric Floyd (1979), Jonny Flynn (2007), Larry Johnson (1987), Stephon Marbury (1995), Gary Payton (1987), Sam Perkins (1979), Wesley Person (1991), Kevin Pittsnogle (2003), J.J. Redick (2003), Bobby Simmons (1999), Scott Skiles (1983), Deron Williams (2003) and James Worthy (1979).

2009 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team Trials Schedule

Tuesday, June 16
4:30 – 7:30 p.m. Session I

Wednesday, June 17
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Session II
4:30 – 7:00 p.m. Session III

Thursday, June 18
8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Session IV
U19 Finalists Announced

*** MEDIA ADVISORY ***

Athletes and coaches will be available for interviews following each session. If you are unable to attend trials, but would like to schedule an interview, please contact Craig Miller, Caroline Williams, Jenny Maag or Justin Moore in the USA Basketball Communications Department at 719-590-4800.

2009 USA Men’s U19 World Championship Team Trials Roster
(NAME – POS – HGT – WGT – YOG – SCHOOOL – HOMETOWN)
Al-Farouq Aminu — F — 6-9 – 215 — 2012 — Wake Forest — Norcross, GA
Kenny Boynton – G — 6-2 – 187 – 2013 – Florida — Pompano Beach, FL
Darryl Bryant – G — 6-2 – 200 – 2012 — West Virginia — Brooklyn, NY
DeAngelo Casto – F — 6-8 – 229 – 2012 — Washington State — Spokane, WA
Dominic Cheek – G — 6-5 – 170 – 2013 – Villanova — Jersey City, NJ
Seth Curry – G — 6-3 – 180 – 2012 – Duke — Charlotte, NC
Drew Gordon – F — 6-8 – 235 – 2012 – UCLA — San Jose, CA
Gordon Hayward – F — 6-8 – 200 – 2012 – Butler — Brownsburg, IN
Darius Miller – F — 6-7 – 223 – 2012 – Kentucky — Maysville, KY
Arnett Moultrie – C — 6-11 – 225 – 2012 – UTEP — Memphis, TN
Ralph Sampson III – C — 6-11 – 220 – 2012 – Minnesota — Duluth, GA
John Shurna – F — 6-8 – 210 – 2012 – Northwestern — Glen Ellyn, IL
Tyshawn Taylor – G — 6-3 – 180 – 2012 – Kansas — Jersey City, NJ
Howard Thompkins – F — 6-9 – 247 – 2012 – Georgia — Lithonia, GA
Klay Thompson – G — 6-6 – 187 – 2012 — Washington State — Ladera Ranch, CA
Kemba Walker – G — 6-1 – 172 – 2012 – Connecticut — New York, NY
Terrico White – G — 6-5 – 211 – 2012 – Mississippi — Memphis, TN

Head Coach: Jamie Dixon, University of Pittsburgh
Assistant Coach: Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois University
Assistant Coach: Matt Painter, Purdue University