COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Across the street from the multihued Tacos Del Gordo, an abandoned flower store and a mini-plaza advertising tattoos, liquor and coin laundry, sits an industrial-looking rectangular building formally known as “Sports Center II.”
It might be the biggest pressure-cooker in American youth basketball.
When UA coach Tommy Lloyd started running USA Basketball’s U19 training camp over the weekend at the nondescript building inside the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, rows of college coaches sat on the sidelines to watch what will become USA’s top junior team, while NBA executives will be invited in Monday.
Meanwhile, the college coaches who make up the USA Junior National Team committee, as well as Lloyd’s Team USA staff, are staring at the 31 participating players for more immediate purposes, trying to figure out quickly who will make the cut to just 12 and go on to Switzerland for the June 28-July 6 FIBA U19 World Cup.
Performing well here can change a player’s immediate future, his college career and NBA Draft stock – his NIL, rev-share and NBA salaries – all at once.
Five-star forward Cameron Holmes gestures during USA Basketball's U19 training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Cameron Holmes was tripped up, almost literally, the last time all that converged on him.
A five-star 2026 forward from Goodyear Millennium High School, who has long drawn Arizona’s recruiting interest, Holmes was in Colorado Springs to try out for USA’s U17 World Cup team last summer when he hurt his ankle playing one-on-one with friendly rival Elijah Williams and another camp participant.
He was out. No staying around longer as a finalist. No trip to Turkey, where UA incoming freshman Koa Peat and the rest of Team USA U17 won gold.
“I rolled my ankle, and they just told me straight up they had me on the roster,” Holmes said. “But if you’re injured, you’re injured. I just had to accept it.
“I was so confident I was going to make it. I really feel like that was my best year, because everything was just clicking for me. But things happen and I know God always has my back, and I’m back here again, ready for it.”
Holmes is back, but this time he’s alongside 30 other players, most of whom are a year or two older than him, trying to make a U19 team that is likely to be made up mostly of incoming and returning collegians.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd speaks to USA Basketball players as U19 camp opens on June 14.
Of the 31 players in U19 camp, Peat and seven others were on that U17 champion team last summer, while four were members of the U18 team that won the AmeriCup gold, a qualifier for this year’s U19 World Cup.
Basically, the U19 camp this year contains two USA cohorts merging into one for a chance to play in what is arguably the most prestigious non-senior basketball event in the world.
“These kids are kind of able to put away some of the bravado, and they have to get out there and compete,” Lloyd said. “USA Basketball is a great setting if you just want to watch really good young basketball players compete.”
It’s not club ball, not high school ball, not anything like it, really.
“Everybody’s just more hungry, and you’re really fighting for a roster spot,” Holmes said. “With AAU (club), you’re already on your roster. Here, everybody’s (fighting) for that spot. Everybody’s more hungry and nobody’s going to back down to you.”
Of course, it isn’t just about talent or experience. The USA Junior Team Committee, which decides the bulk of roster cuts, and Lloyd’s staff are also looking to piece together skills and chemistry into a cohesive bunch that will start World Cup competition just two weeks after camp opened.
Stars don’t have to be stars. In fact, the 2026 players especially may be better off not behaving as stars.
“For me, I just have to do little things,” said Tajh Ariza, a UA recruiting target in the class of 2026 from Los Angeles. “I’m not going to be a primary scorer here, so it’s just having to know my role, playing defense and just playing hard.”
Similarly, Holmes said he’s realized that “you’re not always gonna get your shot” with so much talent on the floor, and that two USA coaches with Arizona ties have helped Holmes dig into the subtleties of his game: Lloyd and Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire, the former UA standout and assistant coach who is serving as a training camp coach this week.
“I’ve picked up a lot of things from coach Stoudamire already,” Holmes said. “There’s a lot of things you have to cover. There’s a lot of things you have to do on the court, and the one thing he taught me was just being more (alert on the) help side, talking and don’t turn your back.
“He’s taught me how to space the floor, get to the corner.”
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd gestures to the crowd behind the Wildcat bench as he leaves the court with a 87-83 win over Oregon in the second half of their round of 32 in the men’s NCAA Tournament, Seattle, March 23, 2025.
While Stoudamire and fellow camp coaches Hubert Davis (North Carolina), Nate Oats (Alabama) and Mark Pope (Kentucky) have been coaching the scrimmage teams early in camp, Holmes said Lloyd has coached everyone to some extent already.
They had a talk before camp, too.
“One thing he has taught me is just be a high-energy guy, just get up and down the floor,” Holmes said. “We just listed some things that I could be better on, and we just worked from there – to rebound, and quick shooting. He’s always taught me how to be a better player on and off the court.”
Last summer, as a finalist for the U17 team last summer, Ariza learned lessons, too. Then heading into his junior season at Westchester High School — though he is transferring to St. John Bosco next season — Ariza said he realized he had to stay more consistent and pay attention to detail.
Holmes, meanwhile, learned to deal with adversity of an ill-timed injury.
This time, they’ll both learn from playing with and against older players. No matter how long it lasts.
“All these guys, if they find out you’re (class of) ’26, they look at you as you’re younger,” Holmes said. “But I look at it as an opportunity to just really just keep getting better. Every time you step out on the court with these guys, you just keep getting better.
“With U19s, you’ve just got to be more physical. You got to be there. You got to be mentally, physically there.”
