Archbishop Mitty grad Aaron Gordon is among the 16 finalists for the USA Basketball U19 team, according to a release.
Reports from the tryouts are that Gordon is playing well. That seems fitting for the two-time California Mr. Basketball, as determined by Cal-Hi Sports.
Said Mitty coach Tim Kennedy via e-mail: "I was proud to hear (Aaron Gordon) is one of the 16 finalists for the team. It's another great opportunity to represent our country as well as learn from some of the top college coaches. The competition will prepare him even more as he gets ready to start his college career at Arizona."
Gordon helped Mitty to three state title games during his career, with the Monarchs winning two of them. In those games he finished with 73 points and 61 rebounds overall, including 22 points and 20 rebounds in last season's five-point loss to Mater Dei of Santa Ana.
“We had 26 really, really good players and all of the guys made the selection very, very difficult,” said USA U19 and University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan via release. “I think the things that stand out about this team is just the athleticism; the speed and quickness; the ability to defend and put pressure on people; and offensive rebound."
The U19 roster will be trimmed to the final 12 before the team leaves June 19 for three days of workouts at the Washington Wizards' practice facility in Washington, DC. The FIBA U19 World Championships are June 24-July 6 in Prague, Czech Republic.
Gordon is one of 10 players left who have previous USA Basketball tournament experience. He will play on scholarship at the University of Arizona in 2013-2014.
Among the players of note who have competed in the U19 World Championships in past years are Stacey Augmon, Stephen Curry, Stephon Marbury, Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, Klay Thompson and James Worthy.
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Reach John Murphy at jmurphy@Prep2Prep.com. Follow him on Twitter @PrepCat.
