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Three Kentucky Wildcats signees have made the Team USA Junior National Select Team to play in the 19th annual Nike Hoop Summit, it was announced Monday.
Edrice "Bam" Adebayo, De'Aaron Fox and Wenyen Gabriel will play for Team USA as they take on the World Select Team on April 9, 2016 at the Moda Center in Portland (OR) in the annual contest between some of the world's top high school and international prospects.
Fox, a 6-3 170-pound guard out of Katy (TX), is rated as high as No. 2 overall in the rankings by 247Sports. Scout ranks him at No. 4, Rivals has him at No. 5 and ESPN tabs him No. 7. Fox previously participated in the 2015 USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp and made the 2015-16 USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team in September.
Gabriel, a 6-9 210-forward out of Manchester (NH), is ranked as high as No. 10 in the national rankings. 247Sports and Rivals tab him at No. 17 and ESPN places him at No. 23.
Adebayo, a 6-9 225-pounder out of High Point (NC), is ranked in the top 10 by Rivals (No. 6) and ESPN (No. 6) while 247Sports has him at No. 14. He has prior USA Basketball experience and was named a MaxPreps All-American in 2013.
However, one notable UK signee not in the event is five-star guard Malik Monk. Rated as a top-10 prospect by every major recruiting service, Monk is easily the biggest snub to not make this game, as DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony writes:
Arguably the biggest "snub", Monk is considered a top five or six recruit by all of the high school services, and has been invited numerous times to USA Basketball headquarters in Colorado Springs, as recently as this past October for the Junior National Team minicamp. Monk's omission from the roster is likely heavily due to fit, as you never quite know how a ball-dominant combo guard like him will work on a team that looks like it will be very half-court oriented, particularly if asked to come off the bench. While Monk has frequently been part of USA Basketball mini-camp and training camps, he's never actually been on an official roster (some players on this team have been on as many as three), so there be somewhat of a trust issue there as well, as he does not possess as much experience playing with the other players in this group. Monk was unable to participate in the mini-camp last October due to injury, and may have lost his spot in the process to someone like Josh Langford, who proved to be one of the toughest and most competitive players in attendance, and thus very difficult to omit.
It's a pretty big snub Monk, who's easily one of the best high school players in the world right now and will probably be a high pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Here is the full 2016 roster:
| PLAYER NAME | POSITION | HEIGHT / WEIGHT | AGE | HIGH SCHOOL / COLLEGE | HOMETOWN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edrice Adebayo | F/C | 6-9 / 225 | 18 | High Point Christian H.S. / *Kentucky | High Point, NC |
| Jarrett Allen | F/C | 6-9 / 223 | 17 | Saint Stephen's Episcopal H.S. | Austin, TX |
| Marques Bolden | F/C | 6-10 / 254 | 17 | De Soto H.S. | Dallas, TX |
| Terrance Ferguson | G | 6-6 / 180.5 | 17 | Advanced Prep International / #Alabama | Dallas, TX |
| De'Aaron Fox | F | 6-3 / 170 | 18 | Cypress Lakes H.S. / *Kentucky | Katy, TX |
| Markelle Fultz | G | 6-4 / 185 | 17 | DeMatha Catholic H.S. / *Washington | Upper Marlboro, MD |
| Wenyen Gabriel | F/C | 6-9 / 210 | 19 | Wilbraham and Monson / *Kentucky | Manchester, NH |
| ^Harry Giles | F/C | 6-10 / 235 | 17 | Forest Trail Academy / *Duke | Winston-Salem, NC |
| Jonathan Isaac | F | 6-9.5 / 201 | 18 | IMG Academy / *Florida State | Naples, FL |
| Josh Jackson | F | 6-7 / 201.5 | 19 | Prolific Prep Academy | Southfield, MI |
| Joshua Langford | F | 6-5.5 / 204 | 19 | Madison Academy / *Michigan State | Huntsville, AL |
| Payton Pritchard | G | 6-0 / 175 | 18 | West Linn H.S. / *Oregon | West Linn, OR |
| Jayson Tatum | F | 6-7 / 206 | 18 | Chaminade College Prep / *Duke | St. Louis, MO |
Head Coach: LJ Goolsby, KC Run GMC, Kansas
Assitant Coach: Eric Flannery, St. Edward H.S., Ohio
^Injured and unable to participate
The game is played under international rules and features the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Select Team, comprised of the top high school seniors, playing against a World Select Team, comprised of top players 19-years-old or younger from around the world.
Former Kentucky greats and No. 1 overall NBA Draft selections, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and John Wall are alumni of the event. Current Wildcats Isaiah Briscoe, Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray played in last year's game.