Okogie selected for U.S. U19 world championship team
Josh Okogie’s stock continues to rise.
On Thursday, the Georgia Tech sophomore was selected to represent the United States on the team that will compete in the FIBA U19 World Championships in Egypt. Okogie was one of 12 players chosen from the original pool of 27.
“This is big,” Okogie said. “We came here on Sunday and there were 27 players. Everybody could play, everybody could score. When we scrimmaged, nobody missed a shot. Everybody was going 100 percent.”
Okogie is the first Georgia Tech player or alumni to compete on a U.S. team since Chris Bosh helped win a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. He is the first Yellow Jackets player to take part in a USA Basketball training camp since Marcus Georges-Hunt and Robert Carter Jr. in 2013.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Josh, and we’re so excited for him,” Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said. “Josh is a talented player who has come a long way because of his work ethic and diligence and desire to get better. Not many players have this kind of opportunity, and he will make the most of it.”
The deciding factor might have been effort and energy. Okogie plays at full-speed all the time, including on the glass, where he was Georgia Tech’s best rebounding guard last season.
“I tried to make sure I did the things I’ve learned at Georgia Tech and transition that over here,” he said. “I have a little bit of an advantage over some of the guys because I’ve had a whole college season under my belt, so I tried to bring a lot of energy, talk on defense, communicate, make sure my presence was known.
“Like Coach said, in the first and second game, everybody is all hyped. By that third game you start to get fatigued. It’s my job to bring the energy, get everybody rattled up and excited so we can play all seven games like we play the first one.”
The training camp is being held in Colorado Springs and began on June 18. The roster was cut to 18 on June 20 and was finalized after seven training sessions. The team will remain in Colorado and train through June 25 before leaving for Egypt.
“Every player on this team can play different positions and has different abilities,” said John Calipari, the Kentucky head coach who is coaching the U19 team. “This is a really hard process.”
Okogie was named to the ACC All-Freshman team and made the ACC All-Academic team. He started all 37 games and led the team in scoring (16.1) and added 5.4 rebounds. He scored in double figures in 32 games and led the team in scoring 17 times.
“Last night I was on my knees and said 30 prayers,” Okogie said. “It’s a blessing to see my dreams start to unfold. I thank God, my parents and my family for staying with me through this process. We’re just getting started.”
Other college players on the roster include Hamidou Diallo of Kentucky, Carsen Edwards of Purdue, Kevin Huerter of Maryland and Payton Pritchard of Oregon.
This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Okogie selected for U.S. U19 world championship team."