This tournament, held from July 19-23 in Valdivia, Chile, will be the competition for one of the junior U.S. basketball teams, which will include several Syracuse basketball recruiting targets.
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The Red Knights’ rising senior made it through the first round of tryouts in Colorado Springs in June but was denied during the most recent workouts in Houston.
Winston, a Detroit native and UD Jesuit graduate, was among the last five players cut, joining five-star 2017 high school prospects Kris Wilkes, Lonnie Walker, John Petty and Brandon McCoy.
Walker, a two-time All-State pick and Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior, still has a season to play with the Red Knights.
Team USA, competing in Group B, will open July 19 against Puerto Rico, then play Chile and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He’s assisted by Kevin Ollie (UConn) and Mark Turgeon (Maryland).
“I’m really excited about the make-up of our team”, said USA U18 and University of Texas head coach Shaka Smart. Group A teams include Argentina, Brazil, Canada and Dominican Republic.
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Four members of the USA Basketball team headed to the U18 world championships next week are part of the Syracuse recruiting radar. (Father Tolton Catholic H.S./Columbia, Mo.); M.J. Walker (Jonesboro H.S./College Park, Ga.); Paul ‘P.J.’ Washington (Findlay Prep, Nev./Frisco, Texas); and Trae Young (Norman North H.S./Norman, Okla.). He averaged more than 21 points a game this year and could have averaged more if Shen hadn’t been up by a lopsided margin late in most games.
