By JOSH NEWMAN
Led by a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds from Josh Jackson, a trio of 2016 stars helped the United State Under-19 National Team overcome a slow start to defeat Iran, 83-53, Saturday morning to open the FIBA World Championships in Greece.
Jackson, the No. 1-rated player in the nation according to Rivals.com, shot 8-for-14 and added four steals, while Harry Giles finished with 14 points and nine rebounds and Jayson Tatum added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Giles and Tatum are rated second and third in the Class of 2016, respectively, by Rivals.
The two sides were tied at 15 after one quarter, but a 26-9 second quarter helped put the United States in control for good in what was the the head-coaching debut at the international level for Arizona head coach Sean Miller. Miller took over the U19 national team after Billy Donovan left the University of Florida for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A prohibitive favorite to take home gold from this event, the United States will continue play in Group A Sunday morning against Croatia, which has been in the news over the last 24 hours.
On Friday, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reported that Croatia will be without 7-foot-1, 17-year-old big man Dragan Bender over a sneaker dispute.
Bender, projected as the No. 5 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress, is under contract with Adidas. Nike and Jordan Brand signed an exclusive 11-year deal with the Croatian national team (at every level, including all men and women’s teams).
“They said to me, ‘If Dragan doesn’t use Jordan Brand shoes, he can’t play,” Bender’s agent, Maurizio Balducci, told DraftExpress Friday. “We are very sad. He wanted to defend the colors of his country, but it looks like commercial reasons are above sport reasons. I am so sad for all his teammates his coach. They did a great job during the past three weeks (preparing for the tournament).”
FIBA.com confirmed Givony’s initial reporting on Saturday morning.
Photo: USA Basketball
