Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team:
USA Basketball named 17 finalists for the U18 national team roster Saturday. Illinois freshman Ty Rodgers was one of the 17, which is down from the 27 players that arrived in Houston earlier this week for training camp ahead of the FIBA U18 Americas Championship scheduled for June 6-12 in Tijuana, Mexico.
Five more players will be cut before the roster is finalized. Rodgers stands as good a chance as any of the 17 remaining players to make the final roster given his positional and skill set versatility. This isn’t an all-star team where the 12 best scorers are collected. It’s a team … playing for a gold medal. There’s a place for a guy that can do it all, and Rodgers can be that guy.
The finalists:
- Mark Armstrong, 6-3, G, Villanova
- Anthony Black, 6-7, G, Arkansas
- Xavier Booker, 6-10, F, Cathedral (Ind.)
- Kanaan Carlyle, 6-2, G, Milton (Ga.)
- Stephon Castle, 6-6, G, Newton (Ga.)
- Eric Dailey Jr., 6-6, F, IMG Academy (Fla.)
- Caleb Foster, 6-4, G, Oak Hill Academy (Va.)
- Brandon Garrison, 6-9, C, Del City (Okla.)
- GG Jackson, 6-8, F, Ridge View (S.C.)
- Jared McCain,…
