Miller chosen to represent Team USA

Kentucky's Darius Miller was chosen to represent the United States on its U19 squad after the completion of team trials this week.

Kentucky's Darius Miller was one of the twelve players chosen to represent the United States in the upcoming 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship.

Miller, who will be a sophomore this fall, said, "It is an honor to be a part of something like this. I never thought I would be able to experience playing on a national team. I'm just happy to have a chance to represent our country."

Joining Miller will be fellow Kentuckian Shelvin Mack (Butler). Joining Miller in representing the SEC are Howard Thompkins (Georgia)and Terrico White (Mississippi). The remaining members of the squad are: DeAngelo Casto (Washington State), Seth Curry (Duke-redshirting in '09-'10 as a transfer), Ashton Gibbs (Pittsburgh), Gordon Hayward (Butler), Arnett Moultrie (UTEP), John Shurna (Northwestern), Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas), and Klay Thompson (Washington State).

The squad will be coached by Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon. Dixon said of his squad, “We’re a pretty good shooting team from the perimeter and we have some big guys who can shoot the ball, so I think that’s going to be a strength. I’m concerned that we don’t really have experienced point guards, but I think we’ve got some wings that can make some plays.

"Now at this point we’ve got our team and we’ve got to just mold it. We didn’t do a lot of team stuff during these three days (of trials), but what we’re now going to do is focus on defending as a team and then running our offense, and just trying to play unselfish, playing hard and playing smart at the same time.”

Sixteen nations will battle for the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championship for Men title July 2-12 in New Zealand.