From K-State
Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber and director of student-athlete development Shane Southwell helped guide Team USA to the gold medal at the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) U19 World Cup with a 93-79 win over Mali (mall-e) in the tournament finals in Heraklion, Greece on Sunday (July 7).
Weber, who served as a head coach in the USA Basketball system for the first time in his career, led Team USA to their seventh gold medal at the U19 World Cup, including the first since 2015, with a perfect 7-0 record.
Team USA averaged better than 100 points per game and won the tournament by an average of 28.7 points per game, including victories over New Zealand (111-71), Lithuania (102-84) and Senegal (87-58) to capture Group A then wins over Latvia (116-66) in the group of 16, Russia (95-80) in the medal round, Lithuania (102-67) in the semifinals and Mali (93-79) in the finals.
Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry was named the most valuable player of the U19 World Cup after averaging 13.1 points and 7.9 rebounds for Team USA. Weber and the Wildcats will face Perry and the rest of his Bulldog teammates at the Never Forget Tribute Classic on December 14, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Perry was joined on the five-member all-tournament team by Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton.
