Gabriel Named to USA Basketball Select Team
Wilbraham & Monson Academy and Mass Rivals forward Wenyen Gabriel was named to USA Basketball's 19-and-under team for the 2016 Nike Hoop Summit, which takes place on April 9th at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
The Nike Hoop Summit is an annual basketball game for top U.S. high school senior boys that features the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team against a World Select Team that is comprised of elite international players who are 19 years old or younger.
Gabriel will be joined on the team by three-time USA Basketball gold medalists Terrance Ferguson (Advanced Prep International/Dallas, Texas), Josh Jackson (Prolific Prep Academy, Calif./Southfield, Mich.) and Jayson Tatum (Chaminade College Prep/St. Louis, Mo.). Additionally, three-time USA gold medalist Harry Giles (Forest Trail Academy/Winston-Salem, N.C.), who is injured and unable to play, will attend the event as an honorary USA team captain.
Also playing for USA Basketball will be Portland-area guard Payton Pritchard (West Linn H.S./West Linn, Ore.), who was a member of the 2015 USA Basketball 3x3 U18 World Championship Team; as well as USA Basketball training camp veterans Edrice Adebayo (High Point Christian H.S./High Point, N.C.), Jarrett Allen (Saint Stephen’s Episcopal H.S./Austin, Texas), Marques Bolden (De Soto H.S./Dallas, Texas), De’Aaron Fox (Cypress Lakes H.S./Katy, Texas), Markelle Fultz (DeMatha Catholic H.S./Upper Marlboro, Md.), Jonathan Isaac (IMG Academy/Naples, Fla.) and Joshua Langford (Madison Academy/Huntsville, Ala.).
The selection is a huge honor for Gabriel, not just becauses he was picked among the top players in the country, but also because he is the only member of the team without any prior USA Basketball experience.
On Oct. 3-4, nine of the USA Nike Hoop Summit players took part in the 2015 USA Basketball Junior National Team October minicamp, including Allen, Bolden, Ferguson, Fox, Fultz, Isaac, Jackson, Langford and Tatum while Adebayo and Pritchard have attended previous USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team training camps.
Adebayo, Fox and Gabriel have signed a National Letter of Intent to attend and play basketball at the University of Kentucky; Ferguson has verbally committed to the University of Alabama; Fultz signed with the University of Washington; Isaac signed with Florida State University; Langford signed with Michigan State University; Pritchard signed at the University of Oregon; Tatum signed with Duke University; and Allen, Bolden and Jackson remain uncommitted.
All 12 players are top-ranked athletes for the class of 2016. The ESPN 100 lists Tatum second, Jackson third, Adebayo sixth, Fox seventh, Isaac ninth, Ferguson 10th, Fultz 12th, Langford 17th, Allen 19th, Bolden 20th, Gabriel 23rd and Pritchard 42nd.
The 2016 World Select Team roster will be announced in March and is expected to include 11 or 12 of the best, young basketball players from FIBA's five geographic zones (FIBA Africa, FIBA Americas, FIBA Asia, FIBA Europe and FIBA Oceania), with the approved sanctioning of FIBA, the governing body of international basketball.
USA Basketball teams have compiled a 12-6 overall advantage in the series. Most recently, 30 points from Jamal Murray (Kentucky/Canada) helped the World Team capture an exciting 103-101 win that saw Luke Kennard (Duke/Franklin, OH) score 22 points for the USA. In 2014, the USA won 84-73 as Justise Winslow (Duke/Houston, Texas) lead the USA with 16 points.
An incredible 178 former USA and World Select Team members have been drafted by NBA teams, including 13 alumni in the 2015 NBA Draft and 14 players in the 2014 NBA Draft, and as of Oct. 21, 2015, a remarkable 78 former U.S. players and 33 former World team members were active in the NBA. Additionally, 31 former Hoop Summit players currently are competing on the collegiate level, including 20 U.S. players and 11 World Team athletes.
On the heels of both the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic, the Nike Hoop Summit is perhaps the biggest draw for NBA scouts since it includes practice days and true game conditions.
Wenyen Gabriel