USA Basketball picks next World Cup qualifying roster

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer

USA Basketball has picked the 12 players that will be tasked with clinching a berth in next year’s World Cup.

The roster for the next two World Cup qualifying games at Washington was revealed Sunday, for matchups against Brazil on Nov. 11 and Colombia on Nov. 14. The Americans are closing in officially securing a spot in the 32-team World Cup that will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia next summer; one win may be enough to get that done, and two wins a certain to clinch a berth.

The U.S. roster is: Charlie Brown Jr., Chris Chiozza, Will Davis II, Michael Frazier II, Langston Galloway, Rodney Hood, DaQuan Jeffries, Alize Johnson, Jake Layman, Henry Sims, David Stockton and Craig Sword.

Davis, Frazier, Galloway, Jeffries and Stockton have all appeared in some of the first eight U.S. qualifying games in this World Cup cycle. Chiozza was part of the team that helped the U.S. qualify for the 2019 World Cup.

Frazier, Galloway, Jeffries and Stockton all played for the U.S. in the most recent qualifying window back in August, when the Americans went 2-0 by topping Uruguay in Las Vegas and going on the road to win at Colombia.

Jim Boylen will remain as coach for the fifth consecutive two-game qualifying window, assisted by Ty Ellis, Corliss Williamson and Mike Wells.

There are 12 teams remaining — two groups of six teams — from the Americas region, all vying for seven World Cup spots.

The U.S. is 7-1 in qualifying, leading Group F by two games with four remaining. Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay are all 5-3; Puerto Rico is 4-4 and Colombia is 3-5.

Canada leads Group E at 8-0, followed by Venezuela (7-1), Argentina (6-2), the Dominican Republic (5-3), Panama (2-6) and the Bahamas (2-6). Group E also has games in mid-November.

The top three teams in each group, along with the best fourth-place team, will receive World Cup berths. The final window of qualifying is in February, the World Cup draw takes place in Manila in March and the tournament runs from late August through mid-September.