COLUMBIA - Missouri basketball signee Jakeenan Gant is among 21 of the nation's top 18-and-under student-athletes who accepted invitations to participate in the 2014 USA Basketball Men's U18 National Team training camp.
The decision was announced Monday.
The training camp, scheduled to be held June 10-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., will be used to select the 12-member team that will compete in the USA Basketball-hosted 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship at the USOTC from June 20-24.
Gant is coming of an exceptional senior season in which he was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Georgia by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
The 6-foot-8, 215-pound forward averaged 21 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.0 blocks and 2.8 assists at Effingham County High School. Gant helped lead the Rebels to a 20-10 record and an appearance in the Georgia Class 5A state playoffs.
As a junior, Gant was named the Georgia Class 5A Player of the Year, averaging 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds. Effingham County finished the 2013 campaign with a 27-5 record and Gant burst onto the national scene with his all-state performance.
The 2014 FIBA Americas Championship will feature eight national teams from North, South and Central America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States and Uruguay.
The top four finishers will qualify for the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men. Players eligible for this competition must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1996.
Invitations were issued by the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee, chaired by Hall of Famer Jim Boeheim, the head coach at Syracuse.