Latest news with #FIBAU19
Forbes
2 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
USC And UCLA Freshmen Help U.S. Win FIBA U19 Women's World Cup
High School Basketball: McDonalds All-American Game: West Team Jazzy Davidson (6) in action, ... More dribbles vs East Team during the game at Barclays Center. Brooklyn, NY 4/1/2025 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164703 TK1) USC and UCLA are located about 15 miles from each other in Los Angeles. The schools are not only among the most prestigious academically in the nation, but their sports programs have been rivals for decades. Starting this fall, the women's basketball programs will have two impressive freshmen who are likely to be going head-to-head over the next few seasons: USC's Jazzy Davidson and UCLA's Sienna Betts. On Sunday, Davidson and Betts were teammates and helped the U.S. win the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, defeating Australia, 88-76, in the final. Saniyah Hall, ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2026 and a rising senior, scored a game-high 25 points and added nine rebounds and seven assists. Hall, a 6-foot guard who doesn't turn 17 until July 30, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 19.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game as the U.S. went 7-0. Meanwhile, Davidson, a 6-foot-1 guard and ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2025, had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals on Sunday. Betts, a 6-foot-4 forward and ESPN's No. 2 recruit in the class of 2025, had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Betts was named to the All-Star Five, an honor given to the event's five best players after averaging 14.6 points, 10 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, while Davidson was named to the All-Second team after averaging 14.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3 steals per game. Betts is the younger sister of Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 center at UCLA who was a first-team Associated Press All-American and the Naismith defensive player of the year last season. Lauren Betts, who averaged 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocker per game last season, is projected as the No. 1 pick in next year's WNBA draft, according to ESPN. Besides the Betts sisters, UCLA returns last season's second- and third-leading scorers in guard Kiki Rice (12.8 points per game) and forward Gabriela Jaquez (9.6 points), the sister of Jamie Jaquez, Jr., a former UCLA star and current Miami Heat player. The Bruins also have a talented transfer in guard Gianna Kneepkens, who averaged 19.3 points per game and made 44.8% of her 3-poimters last season. Kneepkens was a member of the U.S. team that won the FIBA Women's AmeriCup earlier this month. Davidson is joining a USC team that is in a state of flux with All-American guard JuJu Watkins coming off a knee surgery. Watkins, who won the AP national player of the year last season and averaged 23.9 points per game, sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the second round of the NCAA tournament. USC has not commented on when Watkins will return, but she should miss significant time this coming season. With Watkins out, the Trojans will rely more on Kennedy Smith, a guard who averaged 9.5 points per game as a freshman last season. They also added two transfer guards in Kara Dunn, who averaged 15.5 points for Georgia Tech last season, and Londynn Jones, who averaged 8.5 points per game for UCLA last season. But they lost a pair of guards in Avery Howell, who transferred to Washington, and Kayleigh Heckel, who transferred to UConn. Heckel, a 5-foot-9 guard, was on the U.S. team that won the U19 title on Sunday. She averaged 9 points per game, good for fourth on the team, and started each of the seven games. Jordan Lee, a 6-foot guard who is entering her sophomore year at the University of Texas, was the U.S.'s other starter alongside Heckel, Hall, Betts and Davidson. The other members of the team were rising Indiana sophomore Zania Socka, who transferred from UCLA; Emilee Skinner, an incoming freshman guard at Duke and the No. 4 ranked player in the high school class of 2025; four rising high school seniors in guards Kate Harpring (ranked No. 4 in the class of 2026), Jerzy Robinson (No. 5), Maddyn Greenway (No. 11) and Addison Bjorn (No. 13); and Sydney Douglas, a 6-foot-5 forward who is entering her sophomore year at Centennial High School in southern California. Douglas is ESPN's No. 2 recruit in the class of 2028. The U.S has now won four consecutive FIBA U19 Women's World Cup titles. The previous teams were filled with future college stars and WNBA players, including Aliyah Boston (2019), Cameron Brink (2019), Paige Bueckers (2019), Caitlin Clark (2019 and 2021), Lauren Betts (2021), Azi Fudd (2021), Madison Booker (2023) and Hannah Hidalgo (2023). It's a safe bet that at least a few of the players who won the championship on Sunday will be excelling at the college and professional levels in the coming years, too.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch USA vs. Australia in FIBA women's basketball U19 World Cup
It's the matchup we've all been waiting for since before the FIBA U19 women's basketball World Cup even started. Not just the gold medal game. But the finals matchup between USA and Australia that had been widely expected – despite both teams getting played down to the wire by France, and in Australia's case, by Hungary as well. Neither team has lost a game. With the tournament's top defense, USA has been dominant in every facet of basketball except for two offensive categories – three-point shooting and turnovers. Australia, on the other hand, has been electrifying from three with nearly 10 makes per game at above 40%. Both teams have a balanced attack in regard to individual production. America's top stars have been Montverde Academy (FL) wing Saniyah Hall (19 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 53.2% FG), incoming UCLA post and Grandview (CO) alum Sienna Betts (15.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 58.2% FG), Clackamas (OR) grad and incoming USC wing Jazzy Davidson (13.5 points, 4.0 assists, 2.7 steals, 1.2 blocks, 61.1% FG), and two players with a year of college ball already under their belt. They are point guard Kayleigh Heckel, a UConn transfer from USC who played high school ball at Long Island Lutheran (NY) and Texas University wing Jordan Lee, a former St. Mary's (Stockton, CA) star. Among Australia's top players to watch are forward Sitaya Fagan (12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds), guard Bonnie Deas (12.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 blocks), guard Monique Bobongie (11.6 points, 2.4 assists, 1.4 steals), wing Madison Ryan (10.8 points, 62.9% FG, 60% 3FG), and forward Manuela Puoch (9.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists). Both squads are also packed with impact players off the bench capable of taking over for stretches. Here's everything you need to know about live streaming USA vs. Australia. How to watch USA vs. Australia Live Stream:Watch on YouTube USA vs. Australia will air live on YouTube. FIBA's online game hub also has an embedded YouTube player. USA vs. Australia start time Date: Sunday, July 20 Time: 8:00 p.m. CEST (UTC+2) / 6:00 p.m. UTC / 2:00 p.m. ET / 11:00 a.m. PT Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. CEST on Sunday, July 20. The game will be played at Starez Arena Vodova in Brno, Czech Republic.
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
BYU Freshman Phenom AJ Dybantsa Leads Team USA To FIBA U19 Title
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND - JUNE 29: AJ Dybantsa of USA skies for a powerful dunk during the FIBA U19 ... More Basketball World Cup 2025 Group D game between France v USA at Lausanne Arena on June 29, 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Photo by Milad Payami/FIBA via Getty Images) AJ Dybantsa still has four months remaining until his first college game. Still, the incoming freshman at BYU is already a household name in basketball circles and a potential All-American and No. 1 overall selection in next year's NBA draft. This past week, Dybantsa only added to the hype surrounding him. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the FIBA U19 Men's World Cup after leading Team USA to a 109-76 victory over Germany in Sunday's championship game in Sweden. Dybantsa had 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting and 6 rebounds in 19 minutes in the final and averaged 14.3 points on 50% shooting, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the event's seven games. Team USA went undefeated in the tournament, winning by an average of 39 points per game. They defeated Canada, 108-102, in Friday's quarterfinals but no other game was decided by fewer than 15 points. Two years after Team USA finished a disappointing fourth in the FIBA U19 World Cup despite having two of the top six picks in this year's NBA draft (Dylan Harper and Tre Johnson), they got back on track this year and won their ninth gold medal in the event's history. Team USA had three of the top 10 recruits in the high school class of 2025, according to the 247Sports Composite, with Dybantsa (No. 1), Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 8) and Arizona forward Koa Peat (No. 9) plus four of the top five recruits in the class of 2026 in forward Tyran Stokes (No. 1), guard Jordan Smith (No. 2), guard Brandon McCoy (No. 3) and guard Caleb Holt (No. 5). They also had two players in 7-foot-4 center Daniel Jacobsen (Purdue) and forward Morez Johnson Jr. (Michigan) who are entering their sophomore years of college. Throughout the tournament, it was a balanced effort with nine players averaging between 8 and 15 points per game and 11 of the 12 players averaging between 14 and just over 23 minutes per game. Still, the MVP went to Team USA's most famous player in Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 forward who turned 18 in January. He was originally set to graduate from high school in 2026, but he announced in October 2023 that he would reclassify to the Class of 2025, meaning he could enter college and the NBA earlier. After receiving interest from most major colleges, Dybantsa committed last December to BYU, a school that traditionally does not sign top recruits. But the Cougars and their well-heeled boosters have been investing in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) in the past two years and reportedly signed Dybantsa to an NIL deal worth millions of dollars. Dybantsa, a Massachusetts native, played his senior year at Utah Prep Academy, about 250 miles north of BYU's campus. Dybantsa is the only 5-star high school recruit to sign with BYU since 247Sports began ranking high school players in 2004. BYU's next two most highly ranked recruits during that 21-year period are center Xavion Staton, Dybantsa's teammate at Utah Prep who is entering his freshman season, and forward Kanon Catchings, who averaged 7.2 points as a freshman last season. Catchings transferred to Georgia in May. Dybantsa is joining an experienced BYU team that returns two starters in guard Richie Saunders (16.5 points per game on 51.8% shooting last season) and center Keba Keita (7.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 21 minutes per game). The Cougars also signed five transfers, including point guard Rob Wright, who averaged 111.5 points and 4.2 assists per game as a freshman at Baylor last season, and guard Kennard Davis, who averaged 16.3 points as a sophomore at Southern Illinois last season. BYU is No. 3 in CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish's most recent preseason rankings and is likely to be ranked in the top 10 in the Associated Press preseason poll for the first time when that is released in October. In fact, since 1980, BYU has been ranked in the preseason AP poll just twice: No. 18 in 1980 entering Danny Ainge's senior season and No. 24 in 2010 entering Jimmer Fredette's senior season. Ainge and Fredette are the only two players in BYU history to be named a first team AP All-American. They are third and second, respectively, among the program's all-time leading scorers. Dybantsa, meanwhile, will almost certainly leave after his freshman season, so he is no threat to surpass Ainge and Fredette on the school's career lists. Still, Dybantsa is already receiving the same amount or more attention than those two legends did heading into their final seasons, and the hype is only going to grow as the season gets closer.
New York Times
07-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
AJ Dybantsa, the potential No. 1 NBA pick in 2026, leads U.S. to gold: Takeaways
Team USA entered the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland as the gold medal favorite, and the Americans lived up to the hype, capturing the title with a dominant 109-76 victory over previously unbeaten Germany in Sunday's championship game. Both teams were 6-0 heading into the final, but the Americans' depth and firepower proved too much for a German squad led by Texas Tech standout and All-Big 12 freshman Christian Anderson Jr. Advertisement Incoming BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa capped off an impressive tournament run by achieving his goal — bringing home the gold with Team USA and taking home MVP honors with averages of 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Throughout the tournament, Dybantsa showed why he is such a highly touted prospect and presumed by many to be the No. 1 pick in next year's draft. Dybantsa can impact both ends of the floor at a high level and has the potential to be a two-way star at the next level. He didn't shoot well from 3 in this tournament (11.1 percent), but he should benefit by playing in BYU's offense, a system that will give him wide-open opportunities. What Dybantsa can do with the ball in his hands is reminiscent of Paul George. He is a big-shot creator with an excellent feel for the game, who can get downhill to either score or make plays for others. He also has a great motor; you don't typically see kids ranked this high play this hard so consistently. He had a steal in every game but one (France), but his length and activity were always a problem for opposing teams. AJ Dybantsa 🇺🇸 (@AJ_Dybantsa) Was named 'MVP' of the FIBA U19 World Cup. The BYU Cougars (@BYUMBB) freshman averaged:20 Minutes14.3 Points (50% FG | 84% FT)4.1 Rebounds 2.3 Assists1.1 Steals42 free throws made (1st) — Hoops HQ (@hhqsports) July 6, 2025 Dybantsa is one of the favorites to go No. 1 in the 2026 NBA Draft, and for good reason. But the 2026 class isn't as clear-cut as Cooper Flagg's 2025 class. This class has four prospects capable of going first, including Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson (Kansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke) and Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville). Several prospects boosted their draft stock during the World Cup, including Brown and Anderson. Advertisement Brown, in particular, made a major statement — firmly inserting himself into the conversation as a potential No. 1 overall pick. He led Team USA in scoring (14.9 points) and assists (6.1) on 46/47/82 shooting splits. He also led the team in efficiency and made 3s (20). His combination of skill and feel as a lead guard will have plenty of NBA teams lined up wanting him to run the show. Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr again put together another elite offensive performance vs Cameroon this time. Mikel had: 24 points 2 rebounds 8 assists 9-12 FG5-6 3PT19 minutes Mikel has been firmly making his case as a top 5 prospect in the 2026 draft class — Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) July 1, 2025 As for Anderson, he will be in the running to be Big 12 Player of the Year and first-team All-Big 12, alongside teammate JT Toppin, as the Red Raiders look to make another deep tournament run. Anderson averaged 17.3 points (10th in the tournament), 4.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists (second in the tournament), including two games in which he scored 27 and 29 points. He was arguably the best guard in the tournament, displaying similarities in his game to NBA veteran Dennis Schröder. Anderson will be on the German National Team for the 2028 Olympics. The 2025-26 season is set to be a landmark year for the Big 12, with the league welcoming its most loaded freshman class ever. Ten of the top 24 prospects — and 16 of the top 100, including Baylor's Koa Peat — are set to bring their talents to the conference. In Team USA's win, Peat became the first player to win three World Cup titles in FIBA youth competitions. Peat was one of the more consistent players throughout the tournament, averaging 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds. There were 54 college players in this tournament, which speaks to the depth of talent in the sport, especially as more international players come over. Advertisement Eric Reibe (Germany) and Jacob Furphy (Australia) make UConn deeper and more dangerous. Foreign prospects like Dash Daniels (Australia) get most of the headlines, but Furphy may be the best pro of all the international prospects in this tournament. The Washington Huskies are also in great shape moving forward, with JJ Mandaquit (Team USA) and Hannes Steinbach (Germany).
USA Today
05-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Saturday showdown: Team USA vs New Zealand in the FIBA U19 World Cup semifinals
As the FIBA U19 World Cup heats up, only four teams remain in the chase for glory, and it's shaping up to be a nail-biter! Team USA has proven their mettle, emerging victorious over Canada in a thrilling quarterfinal matchup on July 4th. With both Team USA and Germany favored to reach the finals, they now face formidable challengers—Slovenia and New Zealand—eager to upset the apple cart. Next up for Team USA is a showdown against New Zealand, who come into this clash with an impressive 4-1 record. They've made history by advancing past the quarterfinals for the first time ever after defeating host nation Switzerland 84-70. Leading the charge was Hayden Jones, who put on a spectacular performance with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. He wasn't alone; Julius Halaifonua added 17 points, while Oscar Goodman achieved a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, showcasing a powerhouse trio that's ready to make waves! Match-Up Snapshot: A New Rivalry?The history between Team USA and New Zealand is brief but notable; their only previous encounter in 2019 saw Team USA dominate with a score of 111-71. Currently, they hold a 1-0 series lead. Will they extend that advantage to 2-0? This upcoming match-up promises to be electrifying! Hayden Jones is not just any player; he's averaging an impressive 15.2 points per game alongside 8.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists throughout this tournament. He's definitely someone to watch as he leads New Zealand into battle against one of the tournament favorites. As Team USA gears up for what could be another historic moment on their quest for gold, they know that every second counts on the hardwood. The tip-off is set for 2 PM ET at Lausanne Arena in Switzerland—don't miss out on this clash of titans! Stream live at FIBA U19 YouTube Channel.
