USA name final roster for third window games at Mexico and Cuba

Colorado Springs  (FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers 2019)  – USA Basketball has named its final roster for the third window of FIBA Americas World Cup Qualifying games. The Americans will face Mexico (2-2) on June 28 in Mexico City and play Cuba (0-4) on July 1 in Havana. 

 Seven of the 12 players have previous FIBA World Cup Qualifying game experience and all 12 athletes have or are competing in the NBA G League.

Hearn, Holmes, Jefferson and Munford return from the November 2017 Qualifying Team that finished defeated Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Back after leading the USA to wins over Cuba and Puerto Rico during the February 2018 window are Braun, Stockton and Thomas. 

Hearn, Holmes and Munford were all key players in the USA's gold medal run at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup.

Both McKinney Jones and Thornton were selected to the roster after previously having to withdraw from the February USA World Cup Qualifying Team training camp due to signing 10-day contracts with NBA teams. 

"They're together," said USA World Cup Qualifying Team head coach Jeff Van Gundy when asked what he liked about his 12-member squad. "This is a good group of committed athletes that I think are going to represent us well.

"It's a brutally hard decision and all 14 of the players here were deserving. It came down to keeping an extra point guard versus an extra wing and those aren't easy decisions."

FIBA