Aaron Gordon dunks at the McDonald’s All American game in Chicago in April. Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Incoming freshman Aaron Gordon made the cut Sunday as Team USA trimmed its tryout roster for its U19 World Championship Team.
Gordon, a 6-foot-8 forward, is one of 16 players remaining in the camp, with the final cut to 12 expected on Wednesday. Arizona sophomore-to-be Brandon Ashley and incoming freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson were among the 10 players cut Sunday.
The U19 team is coached by Florida’s Billy Donovan, assisted by Tony Bennett and Shaka Smart.
“I’m obviously very proud of the fact that we have three players with the opportunity to be on such a team, and in particular coached by that staff,” Arizona coach Sean Miller told ESPN radio last week.
“In the summertime, a lot of times you are looking for those unique, fresh opportunities. I don’t think there can be a better one than playing for Team USA, or trying to make the team. And if you don’t, then I think it’s tremendous motivation for the rest of the summer to come back and have a great season here at Arizona.”
Arizona recruiting target Justise Winslow, a 6-6 five-star senior forward from Houston, survived the first cut as the youngest player in the camp.
“We still have to get down to 12 players and the challenge right now is to see how these 16 guys fit into what we’re trying to do,” Donovon said in a press release. “We’ll learn a lot more in the next three practices; we’ll see how well guys pick up certain things; how the chemistry is; the way they bond, the way they connect.
The team will represent the United States at the U19 World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic, from June 27-July 7.
Here are the 16 finalists (and be sure to check out the video at the bottom of Gordon dunking an alley-oop pass during the first day of the training camp):
Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova University/Langhorne, Pa.)
Damyean Dotson (University of Oregon/Houston, Texas)
Michael Frazier (University of Florida/Tampa, Fla.)
Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech/College Park, Ga.)
Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty H.S./San Jose, Calif.)
Jerami Grant (Syracuse University/Bowie, Md.)
Montrezl Harrell (University of Louisville/Tarboro, N.C.)
Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.)
Elfrid Payton (University of Louisiana at Lafayette/Gretna, La.)
James Robinson (University of Pittsburgh/Mitchellville, Md.)
Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State University/Flower Mound, Texas)
Jarnell Stokes (University of Tennessee/Memphis, Tenn.)
Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke University/Houston, Texas)
Mike Tobey (University of Virginia/Monroe, N.Y.)
Nigel Williams-Goss (Findlay Prep/Happy Valley, Ore.)
Justise Winslow (St. Johns H.S./Houston, Texas).