For everything Kylan Boswell missed last summer, heβs making up for it now.
Maybe more.
Unable to take advantage of an invitation to try out for USA Basketballβs U17 team last summer because of a broken foot, Arizonaβs sophomore point guard has instead become a leading contender to make USAβs U19 team this year β and possibly play a leading role during the U19 World Cup later this month in Hungary.
Boswell is expected to make the final 12-player roster that might be revealed Friday, meaning his spring will turn into a summer whirlwind. Boswell would be scheduled to leave Colorado, spend two weeks in Europe, then return to Arizona, go through a few weeks of practices with the Wildcats, then cross the Atlantic again on UAβs likely trip to Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
βItβs gonna be a rollercoaster, but I think Iβll be fine,β Boswell said by telephone this week from the USA Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Itβs the sort of soft-spoken confidence Boswell showed during his steady climb back from his foot injury last year. Having missed the entire summer and nearly all of UAβs preseason practices, Boswell was cleared to play entering last season but didnβt become a significant contributor until midseason.
By the end of the season, it was clear he was ready for more. Boswell combined for 28 points with 6-for-9 3-point shooting during UAβs final regular-season road swing, at USC and UCLA, then averaged 15.8 minutes over the Pac-12 Tournament and the Wildcatsβ first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Princeton.
The early exit gave him time for only a quick breather. Boswell soon returned to the court, and before he reported to Colorado, he worked out in Southern California with players who were training for the NBA Draft.
βI took like two weeks off,β Boswell said. βThat was pretty much it.β
Although Boswell is one of only five players in USAβs camp who played college basketball last season, he said the competition has been fierce this week. After all, USA Basketball training camps are known for sometimes notifying star youth players that they have been cut for the first time in their lives.
βIt can be difficult,β Boswell said. βI really try not to put a lot of pressure on myself. Part of basketball is thereβs gonna be times where good things happen and when bad things happen.β
As it was, Boswell said he packed light for Colorado and maybe Hungary. But not because he doubted he could make the team.
βI have high expectations for myself, so I kind of expected to get in positionβ to make the team, Boswell said. βBut (packing) doesnβt really matter. Just pack whatever.β
During camp, Boswell and Villanovaβs Mark Armstrong have been relied on heavily at point guard while five-star 2024 guard Dylan Harper has also been gaining reps there.
The first three days of camp included two sessions each, with a lot of five-on-five scrimmages while USAβs junior national team committee evaluated the 30 initial camp invitees. The camp was then trimmed to 18 on Monday and 14 on Wednesday, when Boswell said more detailed work was held.
Boswell said it has helped him that Colorado coach Tad Boyle, who is serving as this yearβs U19 head coach, has some similar philosophies as UAβs Tommy Lloyd.
βThe stuff that weβre implementing now weβre gonna run over in Hungary,β Boswell said. βWeβre doing a few simple defensive plays, and some zone offense just in case we run into that overseas. Weβre mixing up some different stuff.β
While Boswell is among the nine players in camp with previous USA Basketball experience, having averaged 9.2 points and 4.5 assists during USAβs gold-medal finish in the 2021 FIBA U16 Americas championship, itβs a little different this time.
The U19 team is USAβs top youth club, carrying high expectations overseas, while NBA scouts and USA coaches alike are taking a close look at everything they do.
βIβd definitely say itβs a lot more intense than when I was playing U16,β Boswell said. βA lot of focus on the details. U19 might be one of the more important ones to go out there and win the gold.β
Also, thatβs far from a guarantee.
Even with a boatload of five-star talent that included Chet Holmgren in 2019, USA beat France and Victor Wembanyama just 83-81 to win the U19 World Cup that year, when UA had three representatives playing for other countries: Oumar Ballo (Mali), Bennedict Mathurin (Canada) and Azuolas Tubelis (Lithuania).
Whatever happens, if Boswell makes the team as expected, it will be a chance to better prepare for a season in which he could also be leading the Wildcats at point guard, with Kerr Kriisa off to West Virginia.
Veteran transfers Caleb Love (North Carolina) and Jaden Bradley (Alabama) have already arrived in Tucson to join incoming freshman KJ Lewis in what could be a mostly new-look backcourt.
Boswell said he hasnβt had a chance to meet Love and Bradley yet but played briefly with San Diego State transfer forward Keshad Johnson and knew Lewis from his recruiting visits.
βIβm trying to make sure I maintain my health and trying to work on my leadership while Iβm out here, (before) coming back with a new group of guysβ Boswell said. βI feel like we can do something special if we come together.β
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