Vonleh Named to Team USA
USA Basketball announced the roster for its 2013 USA Junior National Select Team over the weekend and New Hampton senior forward Noah Vonleh was among the ten players selected from around the country.
Vonleh will join former Team USA products Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Rondae Jefferson, and Aaron Gordon along with fellow newcomers Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Kasey Hill, Demetrius Jackson, and Bobby Portis. DeMatha Catholic’s Mike Jones will serve as the team’s head coach.
The team will take on the World Select Team as part of the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit, which will be played on Saturday, April 20th at the rose Garden in Portland, Oregon.
The Nike Hoop Summit, the country's premier annual basketball game for high-school boys, features America's top seniors playing against a World Team comprised of elite, international players who are 19-years-old or younger.
"I think first and foremost, looking at so much international basketball experience on this team, with the guys having played on the last U16, U17 and U18 teams, their familiarity with the international game is really going to be a benefit to us, and then so many of the guys actually having played with each other will be a benefit to us as well." said USA head coach Mike Jones (DeMatha Catholic H.S., Md.), who was an assistant coach in last year's Nike Hoop Summit, which saw the world team top the USA 84-75. "I learned a lot last year. I know our guys will be able to look at the World Team roster and recognize some of the players and have respect for their talent. We are going to be focused on making sure the USA wins. We don't want to lose two in a row."
The ten man roster includes eight of the top eleven players in the ESPN 100 rankings.
Noah Vonleh