Video: Kevin Knox posterizes Lithuanian defender at FIBA U17 World ChampionshipMaxPreps National Junior of the Year part of gold medal team in Spain.There's a narrative out there in the basketball world that other countries are doing a better job developing young talent than the United States.
But in four installments of the FIBA U17 World Championship since 2010, the results would certainly indicate otherwise.
Led by MVP
Collin Sexton of
Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.), the United States ran away with another gold medal over the weekend, thrashing Turkey 96-56 in the final on Sunday night in Zaragoza, Spain.
The victory capped a dominant 7-0 run at the event as Sexton was joined by double-figures scorers
Gary Trent Jr. of
Apple Valley (Minn.),
Markus Howard of
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), Carte'Are Gordon of
Webster Groves (Mo.),
Kevin Knox of
Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.),
Wendell Carter Jr. of
Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) and
Troy Brown of
Centennial (Las Vegas, Nev.).
The United States won by an average margin of 44.6 points per game, winning by 20 points or more in all but one game and topping the 100-point mark in four outings.
Las Vegas point guard Troy Brown was one of seven players that averaged double figures for the USA at the FIBA U17 World Championship.
File photo by Jann Hendry
The 2012 team featuring Stanley Johnson, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker had owned the largest margin of victory average at 39.9 points per game.
In 2014, a squad led by Harry Giles, Josh Jackson, Malik Newman, Diamond Stone and Jayson Tatum went 7-0 in Dubai en route to a gold medal, winning by an average margin of 38.1 points per game.
Brad Beal, Andre' Drummond and Michael Gilchrist were the headliners on the initial FIBA U17 World Championship team in 2010. That group scored 100 points or more in seven of eight outings and won by an average of nearly 35 points per game.
All told, USA Basketball's U17 team is 30-0 in FIBA World Championship play with 26 of those victories coming by 20 points or more.
