Donovan returns as USA Basketball U18 coach

By Adam Silverstein
February 4, 2014

Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan has been retained to continue leading USA Basketball during the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship, which remains unscheduled without a hosting city as of press time.

Donovan, who is a combined 14-0 as a USA Basketball head coach with gold medals in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship and 2013 FIBA U19 World Championship, also served as a court coach during the 2011 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team Training Camp. It will be his fourth year working with the organization.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with USA Basketball again this summer,” Donovan said in a release. “I’ve said it before, but anytime you are chosen to represent your country, that is really something special. USA Basketball is an outstanding organization, and I’m looking forward to another challenge at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.”


Donovan has decided to bring two new assistants with him this time around with Arizona head coach Sean Miller and Providence College head coach Ed Cooley joining his staff. Both will be coaching a USA Basketball team for the first time but (like Donovan before) have previously served as training camp court coaches.

“I have a lot of respect for Sean Miller and Ed Cooley, and I’m really looking forward to coaching with them,” Donovan said. “I look at this as a collaborative effort between all of us, and I know it will be a great experience working alongside both men.”

Donovan-led American teams are 14-0 in international competition. His teams have defeated opponents by an average of 39.9 points per game (40.7 points per game during the 2013 world championship run).

“Coach Donovan is not only one of the great college basketball coaches but he has proven to be successful with USA Basketball as well,” said Jim Boeheim, chair of the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee and head coach of Syracuse. “Coach Cooley and coach Miller give us a staff of great teachers and great coaches. The U18 team will be well prepared for international competition.”

Donovan will begin coaching the team on June 10 in Colorado Springs, CO as 25 players begin a nine-day training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center with only 12 moving on to earn spots on the competition roster.

The United States will compete in the FIBA Americas U18 Championship alongside Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay. The top four finishers will advance to the 2015 FIBA U19 World Championship.

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