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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

Incoming Duke freshman R.J. Barrett and incoming Florida freshman Andrew Nembhard will be be part of the Canadian Senior National Team as it trains for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers.

Barrett and Nembhard played together on the UPlay Canada AAU team and at Montverde (FL) Academy, where they led a team that went 35-0 and won the Geico High School National Championship under coach Kevin Boyle.

Nembhard also played last week with the Canadian U18 team lost to the USA in the gold medal game of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario. Barrett was training in Los Angeles.

The team also includes current and former NBA players Anthony Bennett, Khem Birch, Chris Boucher, Dillon Brooks and Kelly Olynyk.

By ADAM ZAGORIA

The USA against Canada in the gold medal game was supposed to be the highlight of the week-long FIBA U18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario.

Instead, it turned into just another USA blowout.

The Americans thrashed Canada, 113-74, Saturday night to win the gold medal.

It was the third straight time the Canadians finished as runners-up to the Americans in the event.

The Canadians beat the Americans in the semifinals of the FIBA U19 World Championship in Cairo, Egypt last summer, but that team was led by R.J. Barrett, who was not with the U18 team this week and will soon be at Duke for his freshman season.

“It feels good,” said USA U18 and University of Kansas head coach Bill Self. “I think that we saved our best for last. I thought we played great the first half, and then kind of pieced together the second half. But, guys played great. They played unselfish, they played hard and defended. And, we caught Canada on a night where they probably weren’t as good as what they have been, obviously, but I do think our energy had something to do with that.”

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