The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hepa named to USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team
06.05.2018 | Men's Basketball
Incoming freshman forward makes 12-person squad that will compete at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team home page
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — University of Texas incoming freshman Kamaka Hepa has earned a spot on the 2018 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team, USA Basketball announced Tuesday. The team, selected by the USA Basketball Junior National Team Committee, will represent the USA at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men on June 10-16 in St. Catharine's, Canada.
Hepa and Team USA will continue training twice a day at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The team will depart Thursday, June 7 for St. Catharine's, Canada. Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens who are 18 years old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 2000).
Hepa earned Gatorade Player of the Year accolades for the state of Oregon in his senior season at Jefferson High School in Portland. He averaged 16.5 points, 10.4 rebounds, 6.2 blocks and 3.5 assists while leading his team to a 25-4 record and a runner-up finish at the Class 6A state championship. Hepa was the Iolani Classic Most Outstanding Player and claimed a spot on USA Today's All-USA Oregon First Team. He previously was a two-time Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year in Alaska in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
The USA, which will be in the hunt for a fifth-straight U18 gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, will compete in Group A. Team USA will open preliminary round play against Dominican Republic on June 10 (5 p.m. Central), followed by a June 11 (7:15 p.m. Central) clash against Panama and a June 12 (5 p.m. Central) matchup against Puerto Rico. Group B features Argentina, host Canada, Chile and Ecuador.
Following the June 10-12 round-robin preliminary games, teams will be seeded within each group and all eight teams advance to the June 14 quarterfinal games. The semifinals will be played June 15 and the finals on June 16. The top four finishing teams will qualify for the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup.
2018 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team Roster
|
Number |
Name |
Position |
|
4 |
Cole Anthony |
G |
|
15 |
Armando Bacot |
F |
|
10 |
Ayo Dosunmu |
G |
|
6 |
Quentin Grimes |
G |
|
12 |
Kamaka Hepa |
F |
|
13 |
Matthew Hurt |
F |
|
11 |
Trayce Jackson-Davis |
F |
|
8 |
Josiah James |
G |
|
9 |
Tyrese Maxey |
G |
|
14 |
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl |
F |
|
5 |
Mark Watts Jr. |
G |
|
7 |
Colby White |
G |
