Men’s Basketball: Pitt freshman point guard earns trip to Brazil with USA Under-18 Team

Before James Robinson wears the blue and gold of Pitt during the upcoming men’s basketball… Before James Robinson wears the blue and gold of Pitt during the upcoming men’s basketball season, he’ll put on a jersey with different colors — red, white and blue.

That’s because the incoming Panther freshman point guard from DeMatha Catholic High School in Mitchellville, Md. was recently selected to join the 12-man roster of the USA Basketball Men’s Under-18 National Team for its trip to the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 championship in Sao Sebastiao do Paraiso, Brazil later this month.

Florida men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan will lead Robinson and the rest of Team USA to Brazil as head coach, while Virginia Commenwealth’s Shaka Smart and Gonzaga’s Mark Few will join the team as assistant coaches.

Team USA begins round-robin play in Group A on June 16 against the Virgin Islands. The team will then face Mexico and Brazil on consecutive days.

Should Robinson and the 11 other members of Team USA finish in the top two of Group A, the Americans would face either Argentina, Canada, Columbia or Puerto Rico in the semifinals on June 19, and the winner of that game would advance to the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 championship game the next day.

The tournament will be Robinson’s second experience representing his country after he competed for Team USA at the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore. this past April.