What to watch for in the FIBA Under-19 World Cup

The U.S team consists of some players who already have a year of college on their resume, some incoming freshmen and some still in high school. Kayleigh Heckel (UConn), Jordan Lee (Texas) and Zania Socka-Nguemen (Indiana) are the returning sophomores. Sienna Betts (UCLA), Jasmine “Jazzy” Davidson (USC) and Emilee Skinner (Duke) will start their first year of college in the fall.

Addison Bjorn from Missouri, Maddyn Greenway of Minnesota and guard Kate Harpring of Atlanta are the 17-year-old high school students. Team USA also includes three 16-year-olds: 2026 No. 1 recruit Saniyah Hall of Lorain, Ohio; 2026 No. 5 recruit Jerzy Robinson from Phoenix, Arizona; and 6’6 forward Sydney Douglas of Upland, California.

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Teri Moren of the Indiana Hoosiers is the head coach, and Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey and South Florida’s Jose Fernandez are her assistants. Moren was the head coach of the Under-18 AmeriCup team in 2024 and the assistant to Joni Taylor at the 2023 Under-19 World Cup in Spain.

“I keep telling them it’s like speed dating because we have not had a lot of time as a team,” Moren told The Next. “It’s a high-IQ group, and they are catching up fast. They are extremely talented and have great chemistry. The time [at the Under-18 AmeriCup] is valuable because they have been around our staff and know some of the things we run. But this is a whole different tournament. These teams will be far more talented and have been together longer. This is one of the hardest competitions.”

The U.S. is currently on a 21-game winning streak in the event and has the opportunity to surpass its record of 25.

“We have the potential to be great,” Moren said. “We need to have the mindset to score early and in transition, [play] fast, and execute at a high level.”

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Experience on the international stage

The U.S. team boasts accolades from several previous international tournaments at the junior level.

Skinner, Bjorn and Robinson were all on the team that won the 2024 Under-17 World Cup in Mexico. Bjorn and Robinson were also teammates at the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship and won a gold medal.

Davidson and Hall won the 2024 3X3 Under-18 World Cup.

Lee, Heckel, Davidson and Betts won the 2024 Under-18 AmeriCup in Colombia, where Betts was named to the All-Star Five after averaging 13.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. The 6’4 center is the No. 2 recruit in the class of 2025 and will join her sister Lauren with the Bruins.

“I’m very excited and prepared,” Sienna Betts told The Next. “I would say this is way harder [than the Under-18 AmeriCup], and I think it’s more competitive. There is a great opportunity to learn here and teach the younger players about things that will apply to [entering] college. I am looking forward to competing against different teams and seeing the world.”

Robinson was the MVP of both the 2024 Under-17 World Cup and the 2023 Under-16 FIBA Americas Championship. She recorded 20.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in the 2024 event. One year earlier, at just 14, she averaged 17.3 points per game and had 24 in the gold-medal game.

“I feel great,” Robinson told The Next. “We have a great team with strong preparations. We have one goal. I hear this is the hardest tournament to win. I have always played against high school players, and now, I am going up against college players. For me, I want to do my best and have the ball in my hands. This is the best competition in the world, and I want to win a gold medal.”

Group A: USA, Israel, Hungary and Korea

Team USA’s group includes a variety of up-and-coming talent. Korean point guard Lee Minji scored 12 points per game, with a high of 25, at the Under-18 Asia Cup last year, where her team placed fourth.

Israel’s Gal Raviv scored nearly 18 points per game at Quinnipiac last season. She was named MAAC Player of the Year as a freshman and transferred to Miami this offseason. At the 2024 Under-18 EuroBasket, Israel made the semifinals and Hungary was sixth. Eight players from Hungary’s balanced attack scored between 5 and 9 points per game. Still, according to FIBA, the Hungarian junior national team is ranked seventh in the world.

“Korea will be a tough team and the same with Hungary and Israel,” Moren said. “Our group play sets us up for getting our feet underneath us. All of these teams have trained for some time. Don’t take them for granted.”

Group B: Nigeria, Portugal, Canada and China

Canada’s team features Jasmine Bascoe of Villanova, who was named to the All-Star Five at the 2024 Under-18 AmeriCup, where Canada won silver. In addition, Michigan’s Syla Swords, who played on Canada’s 2024 Olympic team, is on the roster.

Idubamo Beggi and Abigail Isaac led Nigeria to silver in last year’s Under-18 AfroBasket.

Portugal is the debutant in the event, and its 6’7 center, Clara Silva (who transferred from Kentucky to TCU in the offseason), will have her hands full with China’s 7’3 Zhang Ziyu. Silva tied for the scoring title at the Under-18 EuroBasket with 18.7 points per game.

Related reading: Team Canada will introduce its next generation at U19 World Cup

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Group C: Australia, France, Brazil

Two teams in Group C won continental Under-18 championships in 2024. France won EuroBasket and Australia won the Asia Cup. Shooting guard Nell Angloma was the MVP of the Under-18 EuroBasket for France, averaging 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Ayla McDowell of Brazil, who is also an incoming freshman at South Carolina, ranked second in the AmeriCup with 14.8 points per game. Her team placed fourth.

Mali, the 2024 Under-18 AfroBasket champion, was also drawn into Group C, but it will not be able to participate due to visa issues. Washington Mystics forward and Mali native Sika Koné posted about the news in an Instagram story on Friday, writing in part, “This is really sad. Something has to change. @fiba — how can we be the champions of Africa and still struggle to represent our countries because of visa issues? It’s heartbreaking. … Don’t let politics and paperwork block dreams.”

Group D: Spain, Czech Republic, Japan and Argentina

The host Czech Republic will hope it finds success like its group rival Spain did when it won the silver medal at the 2023 Under-19 World Cup in Madrid.

Kokora Tanaka scored 19 points per game in Japan’s bronze-medal run at the Under-18 Asia Cup.

Argentina was the bronze medalist at the Under-18 AmeriCup.

All 15 teams qualify for the knockout stage and will be seeded based on their group-stage results. FIBA has not said how it will adjust the seeding with Mali being unable to compete.