Karter Knox, DJ Wagner lead Team USA to U17 Finals

On3 imageby:Zack Geoghegan07/10/22

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The Americans are just one win away from locking up another gold medal.

On Saturday, Team USA dominated Lithuania in the semifinals of the U17 FIBA World Cup in Spain by a final score of 89-62. After taking an early 21-7 lead following the first quarter, Team USA cruised to the 27-point victory with several Kentucky men’s basketball targets showing out on the hardwood. Among the seven prospects currently being recruited by the Wildcats, a couple of them stood out more than the rest.

Team USA won’t have to wait long before the championship game, which is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST against No. 2 ranked Spain. The contest will be streamed live on FIBA’s YouTube channel.

Against Lithuania, Team USA was led in scoring by four-star Michigan State commit Jeremy Fears Jr., who dropped 18 points on 6-10 shooting. He was aided by 14 points on 6-10 shooting from four-star Kentucky target Karter Knox, who is the younger brother of former Wildcat Kevin Knox. Karter also added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals to his 18-minute stat line.

The two next highest scorers both finished with 12 points apiece: DJ Wagner and David Castillo. Wagner, a longtime Kentucky target and No. 2 ranked player in the ’23 class, shot 5-6 from the floor, including a 2-2 mark from deep. He also contributed four rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 22 minutes of action.

As for the rest of the UK targets, five-star ’23 forward Ron Holland posted seven points on 2-9 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 28 minutes. Five-star ’24 PG Ian Jackson registered six points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in his 18 minutes. Asa Newell and Dennis Evans combined for just four total points while Johnuel “Boogie” Fland played just 41 seconds.

Team USA will need to take down Spain (5-1) on Sunday afternoon to secure the gold medal. Spain’s only loss of the event thus far was the opening game of group play against Lithuania, 71-68, but the group has won five straight since. Spain took down No. 3 ranked France 68-53 in the semifinals on Saturday.

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2024-03-28