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With former Florida coach Billy Donovan bolting to the NBA to coach the Oklahoma City Thunder, he will no longer coach the Team USA Under-19 Team.
His successor? According to Adam Zagoria, it will be our own Sean Miller: <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Arizona's Sean Miller will take over as coach of the <a href="https://twitter.com/usabasketball">@usabasketball</a> U19s for the Worlds this summer, source tells <a href="https://twitter.com/SNYtv">@SNYtv</a>. Ed Cooley one asst</p>— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamZagoria/status/596009582574608384">May 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
Being involved in USA Basketball isn't exactly new for Coach Miller. He was an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning 2014 Under-18 team in the FIBA World Championships.
This new role for Coach Miller should have a positive impact on Arizona basketball. Not only will the increased exposure allow Sean Miller to continue to establish himself as one of the top coaches in college basketball, but it should help him with recruiting too.
Many of the top high school recruits are involved in USA Basketball. Stanley Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Allonzo Trier, and Justin Simon, for example, have all taken part in the program.
Team USA holds extensive tryouts with a large number of prospects before cutting down to the final roster. Miller will now have the opportunity to evaluate these players, form a relationship with them, and hopefully make a positive impression on them as both a coach and on a personal level. All of which should help Miller on the recruiting trail moving forward.
The team will compete in the 2015 FIBA U-19 World Championship in Crete this June.