Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd will take incoming UA freshman Koa Peat and a young roster that still features plenty of national team experience to the FIBA U19 World Cup in Switzerland next week.
While it was no surprise that Peat made the final 12-player roster that was named Friday, it was notable that Lloyd’s team will mix in four of the best rising high school seniors in the country with two returning college players and six incoming college freshmen.
All of USA’s 12 players earned gold medals last summer playing for one of its two national junior teams, either in the FIBA U17 World Cup or the U18 AmeriCup, which was a qualifier for this summer’s U19 World Cup.
That experience could help USA while facing several other countries, most notably France and Australia, who are known to keep their top junior prospects together for months at a time.
“Everyone is on board, but if you haven’t left the country with a team, you don’t know what it means,” said Sean Ford, USA Basketball’s national team director. “It’s not their fault (if they haven’t). But Koa Peat, this is his fourth team. He understands. He knows.”
Peat was one of seven players who won gold in the U17 World Cup last summer, when he averaged 17.9 points and shot 62.5%, along with BYU-bound forward AJ Dybantsa, incoming Washington guard JJ Mandaquit and the four high school class of 2026 players.
Meanwhile, Lloyd is bringing assistants Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame) along from his U18 team last summer to the U19 team, along with five former U18 players: Purdue sophomore center Daniel Jacobsen, Michigan sophomore center Morez Johnson, incoming Duke freshman Nik Khamenia, incoming Louisville guard Mikel Brown and incoming Kentucky guard Jasper Johnson.
All four 2026 players from USA’s U17 team last summer are now ranked among the Top 10 in their class: Southern California guard Brandon McCoy, Georgia guard Caleb Holt, Virginia guard Jordan Smith and Louisville guard Tyran Stokes.
“I’ve been looking forward to this since last year,” McCoy said of the U19 event. “ This is the big thing right now.”
Of course, McCoy and several of the U19 players may have to assume much more complementary roles than they are used to. Part of the selection process included selecting players who will fit with each other and filling in where needed instead of dominating their teams.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, shown during a USA Basketball workout Thursday in Colorado Springs, now has a final 12-player group to take to Switzerland. Four of them played for him in U18 competition last summer while incoming UA freshman Koa Peat will join him this time.
“When you build a team, you build it in such a way that you have your starters, but you also have to think about the rotation,” Ford said. “The starters aren’t going to play the whole game. So who comes in for who? And then when do you get back to the starters in the course of the game?
USA will begin World Cup play on June 28 against Australia, with group play games also scheduled against France on June 29 and Cameroon on July 1.
UA sets three games
Arizona has only one remaining opening left on its 2025-26 schedule after adding Abilene Christian, Norfolk State and Bethune-Cookman for nonconference games at McKale Center.
Norfolk State will be the second game of UA’s own “multi-team event” at McKale Center over Thanksgiving week, likely on Nov. 28 or 29, after the Wildcats open against Denver on Nov. 24. That means the Wildcats will spend a rare Thanksgiving at home instead of competing in a MTE or neutral site game elsewhere.
Arizona will host Abilene Christian on Dec. 16, between games against Alabama and San Diego State, while Bethune-Cookman will visit McKale on Dec. 22, two days after the Wildcats face the Aztecs in Phoenix.
Arizona’s one remaining nonconference game is expected to be scheduled after Christmas, since the Big 12 season is not likely to begin until after New Year’s Day.
Rim shots
— Making the U19 roster meant McCoy won’t play for St. John Bosco High School in the Section 7 recruiting showcase this weekend in Mesa, but fellow UA recruiting target Cameron Holmes played for Goodyear Millennium after he was not named among the 18 U19 finalists Monday.
— Former UA wing Adama Bal signed with French ProA team Strasbourg after finishing his college career at Santa Clara.
