Well, many athletes say that there is no greater honor than representing your country. And for incoming Syracuse basketball player Sadiq White, that dream might be coming true soon.
The five-star forward was announced as one of 33 players who will try out for the U-\19 USA National Team ahead of the U19 World Cup this summer.
Making this team would be a huge deal for White, who is a prized prospect for SU in the 2025 class. It’s a somewhat similar story to SU’s Donnie Freeman, who competed for The Bahamas in Olympic qualifiers this past summer, ultimately not making it to Paris 2024. Freeman had the chance to play against NBA-level talent.
While it’s just a U19 spot that White is competing for, this would still be a big opportunity. Even just the training camp will give him the opporutntiy to compete and learn from some of the best. Of the 33 players, seven have already started their collegiate careers, meaning White will be competing against similar talent to what he is used to.
Even more important? White will be learning from some of the best of the best. The head coaches of Arizona, Notre Dame, Texas Tech, North Carolina, Arizona and Kentucy make up the coaching staff for the U19 team. That’s a pretty good list of people (and SU fans just better hope they don’t try to lure him away form SU).
Should White make the team, he’ll travel to Switzerland for the World Cup in late June. The tournament only goes until July 6, leaving plenty of time for him to make it back to SU to train. And coming back to the 315 with hardware is certainly a possibility. The United States has eight U19 titles in its World Cup history, the most of any country.
