USA Basketball Announces Players for June's Youth Development Festival

30 of top underclassmen in country slated to attend

June 14, 2007

Courtesy of USA Basketball

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Thirty of the nation's top high school underclassmen, including seven who earned All-America honors for their play in 2006-07, have accepted invitations to compete in the 2007 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival, USA Basketball announced. The Festival will be held June 20-24 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Junior Development Committee, chaired by Don Showalter, head coach at Mid-Prairie High School (Iowa).

Included among the invitees are 2007 Parade Magazine All-America third team selections Jrue Holiday (Campbell Hall / Chatsworth, Calif.) and Greg Monroe (Helen Cox / Gretna, La.), both of whom were named as their respective state's Gatorade Player of the Year. Parade Magazine also listed Tyreke Evans (American Christian / Aston, Pa.) and Delvon Roe (St. Edward / Lakewood, Ohio) on its 2007 All-America fourth team. EA Sports listed Roe as its 2007 National Junior of the Year and Lance Stephenson (Lincoln / Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned 2007 National Sophomore of the Year accolades from EA Sports. Additionally, both Roe and Stephenson, along with Ed Davis(Benedictine / Richmond, Va.); Drew Gordon (Archbishop Mitty /  San Jose, Calif.), Holiday and Monroe were all on the 2007 EA Sports All-America second team.

In addition to 2007 All-America honorees Davis, Evans, Gordon, Holiday, Monroe, Roe and Stephenson, rounding out the 2007 USA Festival participants are: Farouq Aminu (Norcross / Norcross, Ga.); Jerime Anderson (Canyon / Anaheim, Calif.); J'Covan Brown (Port Arthur / Port Arthur, Texas); DeMarcus Cousins(Erwin / Birmingham, Ala.); Anthony Crater (Flint Southwestern Academy / Flint, Mich.); Larry Drew (William Howard Taft / Woodland Hills, Calif.); Devin Ebanks (St. Thomas More (CT) / Queens, N.Y.); Yancy Gates (Withrow / Cincinnati, Ohio); Scotty Hopson (University Heights Acad./Hopkinsville, Ky.); Malcolm Lee (John W. North / Moreno Valley, Calif.); Korie Lucious (Pius XI / Milwaukee,  Wis.); Leslie McDonald (Briarcrest Christian / Memphis, Tenn.); Nate Miles (Notre Dame / Fitchberg, Mass.); Reeves Nelson (Modesto Christian / Modesto, Calif.); Andy Poling (Westview / Portland, Ore.); Travis Releford (Bishop Miege, Kan. / Kansas City, Mo.);Andrew Steele (John Carroll / Birmingham, Ala.); Dexter Strickland (St. Patrick's / Elizabeth, N.J.); JT Thompson (Forrest Hills / Kings Mountain, N.C.); Erving Walker (Christ the King / Brooklyn, N.Y.); Willie Warren (North Crowley / Fort Worth, Texas);Jamil Wilson (Horlick / Racine, Wis.) and  Tony Woods (Rome / Rome, Ga.).

In its ninth installment, the 2007 USA Basketball Men's Youth Development Festival looks to continue to build on the success of the past eight Festivals. The 2007 Festival will feature three USA teams (Red, White and Blue) competing against each other, as well as against a Brazil Junior National Team in a round-robin format June 22-23. The semifinal games will be played June 23 and the gold medal will be contested on June 24. The athletes and coaches will be assigned to teams by the USA Junior Development Committee after the first training session.