Several Kentucky targets win gold medal at U17 FIBA World Cup
The Americans continued their domination of international basketball on Sunday afternoon.
Over in Spain at the U17 FIBA World Cup, top-ranked Team USA overcame a five-point halftime deficit against No. 2 ranked Spain in the championship round to secure a 79-67 victory. The win marks the sixth consecutive gold medal for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, a streak that began 12 years ago in Germany.
As you probably know by now, seven of the 12 players on the U17 Team USA roster are being recruited by the Kentucky Wildcats — some more than others. Several of them played significant roles in helping lead the Americans to another gold, including a few in particular who powered their squad during Sunday’s title game.
Among the top performers against Spain with connections to UK was Ron Holland. The ’23 five-star forward followed up a poor shooting exhibition in the semifinals against Lithuania with an steady showing on Sunday. The 6-foot-8 native of Texas went for 13 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block while shooting 6-10 from the floor in 27 minutes of action.
As for the rest of the Kentucky targets, five-star guard DJ Wagner went for six points, two rebounds, and four assists on a 3-12 shooting clip. Karter Knox wasn’t far behind with five points and four rebounds in just under 11 minutes. Other Wildcat prospects such as Asa Newell, Johnuel “Boogie” Fland, Ian Jackson, and Dennis Evans, failed to play more than 10 minutes in the gold medal game.
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Elsewhere, the likes of David Castillo (12 points) and Jeremy Fears Jr. (17 points, six assists) made headlines in the gold medal match. Rising high school sophomore Cooper Flagg was impressive once again, as well, posting an absurd line of 10 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, eight steals, and four blocks.
The Team USA program has now won all six U17 FIBA World Championships. The Americans won in 2010 (Germany), 2012 (Lithuania), 2014 (UAE), 2016 (Spain), 2018 (Argentina), and now 2022 in Spain. The 2020 World Championships in Bulgaria were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Team USA is also a perfect 7-for-7 in gold medal games when it comes to the U16 FIBA Americans Championship.
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