MIES (Switzerland) - It'll be a new USA team but one that is again loaded at the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit, which is to be played on April 11 at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The USA will be gunning for a fifth consecutive win in the contest that showcases some of the best young players in the country against a World Select Team of international hoopsters.
Players for both teams will be 19 years old or younger.
The USA have announced a formidable roster that consists of Darius Acuff Jr., Nate Ament, brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Mikel Brown Jr., Chris Cenac Jr., AJ Dybantsa, Jalen Haralson, Jasper Johnson, Nikolas Khamenia, Malachi Moreno and Koa Peat.
Half of the USA team that won the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 in Türkiye are on the Nike Hoop Summit roster.
Cameron Boozer, a forward, was the team's leading scorer and rebounder at 20.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and was named MVP of the U17 World Cup.
Dybantsa joined Boozer in the All-Star Five after averaging 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals.
Peat was the USA's second leading scorer at 17.9 points per game and third leading rebounder at 5.6 per game, while point guard Cayden Boozer's 6.4 assists per game ranked No. 1 on the team.
Haralson, a shooting guard, gives the USA firepower on the perimeter. He buried 38.5 percent (10 of 26) from 3-point range at the World Cup while center Cenac was a huge presence on the floor, averaging 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.
This U17 WC 2024 USA team was special, breaking records after records. It will be interesting to see them play one year after such performances.
Other players have played for USA youth national teams. Darius Acuff Jr., a point guard, was the MVP of last year's FIBA U18 AmeriCup after leading the country to the title. Also in that squad were guards Mikel Brown Jr., an All-Star Five selection, Jasper Johnson, Nate Ament (guard, forward) and forward Nikolas Khamenia.
Malachi Moreno, a tantalizing 2.11M (6-11) center, has yet to play for the USA.
The head coach for the USA men is Frank Bennett of Chaminade College Prep in Missouri. Bennett was an assistant coach on the last two USA teams at the Nike Hoop Summitt. He was recently named as an assistant coach for the U16 USA team.
Among the players he coached at Chaminade were two-time Olympic champion Jayson Tatum of USA, and also Bradley Beal, who played for the Americans at the 2010 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup.
Assistants for the team will be Rob Brost from Bolingbrook High School in Illinois and former NBA star Charlie Ward, who was also a Heisman Trophy winner at Florida State in 1993, an honor that goes to the best player in college football.
FIBA