USA Basketball has announced its 12-man roster for a pair of AmeriCup qualifying games that will be played later this month, according to a press release written by Michael Terry. The Americans will host Cuba in Kissimmee, Florida, on February 22, then will travel to Cuba for a second game on Feb. 25.
The roster is as follows:
- Jordan Bell, F/C
- Deonte Burton, G/F
- Michael Carter-Williams, G
- Will Davis, F
- RaiQuan Gray, F
- Dusty Hannahs, G
- Matthew Hurt, F
- Jayce Johnson, C
- Stanley Johnson, F
- Elfrid Payton, G
- Jahmi’us Ramsey, G
- Justin Wright-Foreman, G
Ten of the 12 players have at least some level of NBA experience, with Davis and Jayce Johnson the only exceptions. Carter-Williams, Stanley Johnson, and Payton are all former lottery picks. None of those 10 players are currently on NBA rosters, however, with Hurt being the most recent to play in the league (with Memphis on a 10-day hardship contract).
As previously reported, Jerome Allen will be the head coach for this round of qualifying games, with Melvin Hunt, Sydney Johnson and Bill Bayno serving as assistants. Bayno will also be a scout, per the release. Allen, Hunt and Bayno are all former NBA assistant coaches.
As Terry writes, the two qualifying games this month are the first of three qualifying windows ahead of the 2025 AmeriCup. In the other two qualifying windows, held Nov. 2024 and Feb. 2025, the U.S. will face Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, respectively.
Per the release, qualifying rounds consist of 16 teams distributed into four, four-team groups. Each team will play each opponent in their group twice, once at home and once away. The top three teams in each group (12 total) will advance to next year’s AmeriCup, which will occur Aug. 23-31, 2025, in Managua, Nicaragua.
Team USA has won the AmeriCup seven times, according to Terry, with the last victory coming in 2017. The Americans won bronze in 2022, which was the last time the tournament was held.