Former UNC forward Isaiah Hicks–a starter on the 2017 NCAA Championship team–was among 14 players selected earlier this week to compete for a roster spot with the U.S. Men’s National Team as it gets set to begin qualifying games for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.

Head coach Jeff Van Gundy will then cut the team down to 12 players following training camp in Las Vegas, which is set to begin on Sept. 6.

Once the roster is selected, Team USA will square off against Uruguay on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas before traveling to Panama City to face Panama on Sept. 17.

“With our September second-round games marking the start of the most critical part of the World Cup Qualifying, I think it is imperative for us to look for players who possess mental fortitude, who are tough, and who have experience,” Van Gundy said. “All of our second-round games are going to very, very difficult and competitive battles. Argentina, Panama and Uruguay are all really good and well coached.”

When the second-round qualifying games are completed, the top seven teams from the Americas region will qualify for the 2019 FIBA World Cup–an event that will see more-proven NBA stars populate the Team USA roster.

Hicks played 18 games last season for the New York Knicks, averaging 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

For the full list of the 14 players competing to make the U.S. National Team for the qualifying round, click here.

 

 

Photo via NBA.com

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