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Tennessee's Freddie Dilione, Tobe Awaka named finalists for 2023 USA Men's U19 National Team

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•06/12/23•

GrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball
Tennessee's Freddie Dilione V and Tobe Awaka (Tennessee Athletics/Team USA Basketball)

Tennessee basketball players Freddie Dilione V and Tobe Awaka are both finalists for the 2023 USA Men’s U19 National Team. The finalists were selected from a field of 35 players, narrowed down to 18 before the final 12-player roster is announced.

The final roster will be announced before the team leaves for the 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s Championship, scheduled for June 24 through July 2 in Hungary. Athletes eligible for the team must be citizens of the United States born on or after January 1, 2004.

Awaka, the 6-foot-8, 250-pound power forward from Hyde Park, N.Y., averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game off the bench as a freshman at Tennessee last season. He showed off a knack for rebounding in his 350 minutes played, grabbing 128 boards, including 59 offensive rebounds.

35 players invited to camp, competing for 12 roster spots

Awaka was a three-star prospect who committed to Rick Barnes and the Vols late in the 2022 recruiting cycle. He signed with Tennessee in July, joining the program midway through summer workouts. 

Dilione, the 6-foot-5, 180-pound redshirt freshman, reclassified from the 2023 class to 2022 and enrolled at Tennessee in January, joining the Vols midseason. He sat out as a redshirt and practiced with the team for the second half of the year.

He was a four-star prospect out of Word of God Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C., ranked No. 44 overall nationally. He was ranked No. 3 among shooting guards and No. 1 in the state of North Carolina.

Freddie Dilione V looking to give Tennessee instant offense

“It helped me get so far ahead,” Dilione said in March of the decision to enroll early at Tennessee. ‘G’ (Garrett Medenwald), the strength coach, got my body right. Coach (Rick) Barnes got my mental right, just learning the game of basketball. I think I’ll just be so far ahead.”

“I think it’s huge, I do,” Barnes said back in January when Dilione arrived on campus. “You look, (enrolling early has) been going on in football forever. The fact that he and his family decided they wanted to do it. I think it’s going to really help him a lot. Gives him a big head start on things.”

While Awaka added instant rebounding for Tennessee, Dilione will be looking to give the Vols instant offense when he joins the rotation this season. 

“I’m just a natural bucket-getter,” Dilione told Volquest in March. “Scoring comes easy to me.”

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