All Kinds of Basketball News

Updating some basketball news during these lazy days of Summer:

Congratulations to Jamie Dixon and the US Under-19 Men's basketball team for bringing home the gold for the first time since 1991.

This continues to raise his stock and can only be good for Pitt (at least as long as he sticks around). You've got to think he'll be involved in international basketball down the road.

Ashton Gibbs was an integral part of that team and looks to step into a larger role for Pitt this Fall. I'm expecting big things from Gibbs this year, but just hoping point-guard duties (should he get them) don't impact his shooting. That burden might have a negative effect on his three-point shooting, which is a huge asset for Pitt.

In other international news, Pitt women's player is now off of the women's under-19 team due to injury.

On the recruiting trail, Tom Droney has chosen Davidson despite some renewed interested by Pitt.

Droney, who called Pitt coach Jamie Dixon yesterday, said Dixon was "upset" when he told him of his commitment to Davidson.

"He said he really wanted to get back after me," Droney said. "They sent two scouts to watch me play at the Reebok All-American camp (last week) in Philadelphia.

"Pitt is one of my favorites. I love Pitt to death. Coach Dixon is a great guy, but they (are recruiting) a guard in my class."

I can understand Droney's decision - playing time will undoubtedly be easier to come by at Davidson. I'm very curious to see what kind of college player he'll turn into.

U-19 Team Rolling Along

The U.S. U-19 men's basketball team is rolling along with a 3-0 record after beating Egypt 112-55 on Saturday.

Team USA led, 33-11, after the first quarter and 62-24 at halftime. With the game out of reach, all 12 players saw court time in the second half.

"We handled things well," Dixon said. "We knew this was a game that we should win. One of our goals was to finish the preliminary round with our group's No. 1 seed, and we achieved that."

Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs led all scorers for Team USA with 18.

Dixon Wins Debut

Jamie Dixon and the USA U-19 team dealt Iran a harsh 51-point loss in the opener, 106-55. Scoring must have been pretty balanced as Tyshawn Taylor of Kansas led the team with only 13.

Pitt Super Soph Ashton Gibbs had 10.