GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- This is the time of year college basketball coaches are usually putting on camps or trying to catch up on family time, which is why it'll be interesting to see how Billy Donovan enjoys his first taste of coaching USA Basketball.
After a week of trials at the training complex in Colorado Springs, Colo., Donovan and his USA Under-18 team held its final practice Sunday and left Monday for Brazil, where the Americans will begin preparation for the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Men at Sao Sabastiao dos Paraiso.
The USA will play in Group 1 and open Saturday against the Virgin Islands, with the second game Monday against host Brazil.
Donovan will coach the team alongside former assistant Shaka Smart, now a star at Virginia Commonwealth, and Gonzaga coach Mark Few. UF trainer Dave “Duke” Werner is also traveling with the team.
No the obvious question: So who's on the team?
Well, no Gators, that's who. They're back in Gainesville working the Billy Donovan Basketball Camp. They're too old anyway. As for the trio of incoming freshman, they're not on the roster, either.
Instead, Donovan will be working with a collection of mostly incoming freshmen, several of them big-timers who figure to be heard from as collegiate rookies this season.
Here's some biographical sketches of the members of Donovan's roster, all of who have sign national letters of intent to play. Intentionally left off the list were two team members who have yet to sign and still considered to be in the recruiting process.
Watch out for these guys next year ... somewhere else:
Sam Dekker (6-7/200, forward, Sheboygan, Wis.)
College: Wisconsin
Of note: Gator fans will see Dekker this season when the Badgers come to the O'Connell Center for the front end of a home-and-home series the next two years. He averaged 32.5 points (on 58.7 percent from the floor 35.9 from 3-point range), 13.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game on the way to scoring the fourth-most points (2,629) in state history while playing at Sheboygan Lutheran High. He won a state title as a senior.
Shaq Goodwin (6-8/235, forward, DeKalb, Ga.)
College: Memphis
Of note: 2012 McDonald's All-American who had 26 double-doubles in leading Southeast DeKalb to a second straight Georgia Class AAAA state crown. Check out the build, too. Goodwin plans to play football for the Tigers in 2012.
Jerami Grant (6-7/190, forward, Bowie, Md.)
College: Syracuse
Of note: A product of the prestigious program at DeMatha High in Hyattsville, Md., where Grant led the team at 12.6 points per game. His father Harvey Grant was a first-round pick of the Washington Bullets (12th overall) in 1988 and Uncle Horace won three straight NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls alongside Michael Jordan from 1991-93.
Montrezi Harrell (6-8/230, forward, Tarboro, N.C.)
College: Louisville
Of note: Harrell signed with Virginia Tech, but was given his release after a coaching change and chose to sign with the Cardinals over the Gators just last week. [Hmmm. Wonder if Donovan will bring that up.] Harrell averaged 25.2 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy, which lost just one game all season. In a 122-119 overtime win against Fishburne Military School this season, Harrell had 51 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks -- and 18 dunks.
Jake Layman (6-7/180, forward, Wrentham, Mass.)
College: Maryland
Of note: All-time leading scorer at King Phillip Regional High with 1,752 career points to go with 1,098 rebounds and 391 blocks, for career averages of 20.6, 12.9 and 4.6, respectively. As a senior, Layman averaged 26.5 points, 16 rebounds, 5.8 blocks, 3.2 assists and 3.1 steals.
Rodney Purvis (6-4/190, guard, Raleigh, N.C.)
College: North Carolina State
Of note: He may want to think about a different nickname, considering “Never Nervous Purvis” was put to good use about 25 years ago (see Purvis Ellison). This Purvis was Gatorade's 2012 Player of the Year in North Carolina at Upper Room Christian Academy, where he averaged more than 25 points each of the last two seasons.
James Robinson (6-3/198, guard, Mitchellfield, Md.)
College: Pittsburgh
Of note: Teammate of the aforementioned Grant at DeMatha. He played on three championship teams in the tough D.C. area Catholic league, hitting the winning shot in the title game his freshman season. His father played quarterback at Norfolk State, which surely means the family was rooting against the Gators in Round 2 of the NCAA Tournament last March, right?
Marcus Smart (6-3/210, guard, Marcus, Texas)
College: Oklahoma State
Of note: Two-time Texas Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2012 McDonald's All-American. He averaged 15.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.8 steals per game in leading Flower Mound High to a 39.2 record and Class 5A state crown, the school's second in three years. He also took 43 charges as senior, which Donovan will love.
Jarnell Stokes (6-8/245, forward, Memphis, Tenn.)
College: Tennessee
Of note: If the info sounds familiar, it's because Stokes joined the Volunteers in midseason after graduating from high school in December. He appeared in 17 of 18 games for the Volunteers, averaging 25.6 minutes per game and hitting double-figure scoring seven times. He was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team after averaging 9.6 points and 7.4 rebounds. Scored four points and grabbed two rebounds in a win over the Gators at the O'Dome.
Rasheed Sulaimon (6-4/190, guard, Houston)
College: Duke
Of note: McDonald's All-American who averaged 27.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists at Strake Jesuit. Poured in 42 points in the area championship game.
