Mark Pope watches top Kentucky targets win gold at FIBA U17 World Cup

Mark Pope traveled across the Atlantic Ocean over the weekend to get another first-hand look at a handful of his top high school recruiting targets. Pope sat courtside as Team USA again came away with a gold medal, winning the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup on Sunday in Istanbul, Turkey. By beating Italy 129-88 in the final, this marked the Americans’ seventh undefeated run to the championship trophy in this event.

After assistant coach Cody Fueger made an appearance last weekend for the group phase matchups, Pope made sure to soak in the elimination rounds. The U17 Team USA players who have heard from Kentucky include Cameron and Cayden Boozer, AJ Dybansta, Chris Cenac, Caleb Holt, JJ Mandaquit, Brandon McCoy, and Tyran Stokes.

Here’s how they all performed (across seven games played) on their way to winning another gold medal. Notice the steals per game numbers on these dudes. Players listed in italics have received an offer from UK.

• Cameron Boozer (’25 5-star PF): 20.1 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2 APG, 2.7 SPG | 69.6 FG%, 33.3 3PT%, 84.8 FT%
• AJ Dybantsa (’25 5-star SF): 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.6 SPG | 58.7 FG%, 31.8 3PT%, 69.2 FT%
• Tryan Stokes (’26 5-star SF): 12.3 PPG, 7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.9 SPG, 1.1 BPG | 57.9 FG%, 28.6 3PT%, 55.2 FT%
• Caleb Holt (’26 5-star SG): 11.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.9 SPG | 57.1 FG%, 50 3PT%, 78.6 FT%
• Brandon McCoy (’26 5-star PG): 10 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, 3.4 SPG | 64 FG%, 20 3PT%, 27.8 FT%
• Chris Cenac (’25 5-star PF): 8.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1 SPG | 53.8 FG%, 25 3PT%, 64.3 FT%
• JJ Mandaquit (’25 4-star PG): 6.6 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 6 APG, 2.1 SPG | 44.4 FG%, 21.1 3PT%, 66.7 FT%
• Cayden Boozer (’25 4-star PG): 4.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.6 SPG | 48.4 FG%, 25 3PT%, 66.7 FT%

For his efforts, Cameron Boozer was tabbed as the tournament MVP. He finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds against Italy in the gold medal game and nearly averaged a double-double for the entire event. Boozer was joined on the All-Star 5 by Dybantsa while the All-Second Team featured Stokes. McCoy was tabbed the Best Defensive Player behind his team-leading 3.4 steals while playing less than 17 minutes per outing.

Since the FIBA U17 World Cup was founded in 2010, Team USA has dominated every rendition. The Americans are now a perfect 51-0 throughout this event’s history and have come away with gold in all seven tournaments. They added to their historical run this year by scoring the most points (129) and dishing out the most assists (44) in a gold medal game. The previous assist record was just 26. Team USA’s average margin of victory was an incredible 64.3 points per game.