RIGA, Latvia – Three current Purdue men's basketball players will begin their quest for a gold medal on Saturday when the group phase portion of the FIBA U19 World Cup begins in Riga, Latvia.
Action gets underway Saturday as Canada will play at 8 a.m. ET, against Lithuania, while the Americans will play at 10:30 a.m. ET, vs. Turkey.
Caleb Furst and Jaden Ivey are representing the United States while Zach Edey is on the Canadian squad. The two countries have won the last four U19 World Cups, with Boilermakers having a hand in two of the titles. Caleb Swanigan helped the Americans win the title in 2015, while Trevion Williams lifted the USA to the 2019 title. Carsen Edwards was on the 2017 squad that won bronze, losing to Canada in the semifinals. The Canadians would go on to win the Gold medal in 2017.
Furst and Ivey led the United States in one of their two pre-tournament scrimmages. In a loss to Australia, Ivey (14 points, 2 rebounds) and Furst (11 points, 6 rebounds) combined for 25 points and eight rebounds in just 30 minutes on Wednesday.
Edey joined his team in Latvia after being one of the final cuts for the Canadian National Team that is going through Olympic qualifying in British Columbia.
Saturday, July 3 (All times Eastern)
Sunday, July 4 (All times Eastern)
Tuesday, July 6 (All times Eastern)
Edey, a 7-foot, 4-inch center from Toronto, was one of the nation's biggest surprises as a freshman in 2020-21.
He was named to the Big Ten's All-Freshman Team, after averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 59.7 percent from the field, the second-best percentage by a freshman in school history. He also shot 71.4 percent from the free throw line.
He was named to the freshman All-America team by CollegeInsider.com and was twice named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 30, March 8).
Ivey was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team a year ago and has been mentioned as a preseason All-American for the 2021-22 season. He averaged 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, but over the last six contests averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 37-of-79 (.468) from the field in that span. He scored 26 points against North Texas, the second-most ever by a Big Ten freshman in an NCAA Tournament debut.
Furst, a 6-foot, 10-inch freshman from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and a MaxPreps Honorable Mention All-American after a standout career at Blackhawk Christian. Furst led Blackhawk to the 2021 and 2019 Indiana State Championships, scoring 2,087 career points while becoming the school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He averaged 21.4 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocked shots as a senior.
Action gets underway Saturday as Canada will play at 8 a.m. ET, against Lithuania, while the Americans will play at 10:30 a.m. ET, vs. Turkey.
Caleb Furst and Jaden Ivey are representing the United States while Zach Edey is on the Canadian squad. The two countries have won the last four U19 World Cups, with Boilermakers having a hand in two of the titles. Caleb Swanigan helped the Americans win the title in 2015, while Trevion Williams lifted the USA to the 2019 title. Carsen Edwards was on the 2017 squad that won bronze, losing to Canada in the semifinals. The Canadians would go on to win the Gold medal in 2017.
Furst and Ivey led the United States in one of their two pre-tournament scrimmages. In a loss to Australia, Ivey (14 points, 2 rebounds) and Furst (11 points, 6 rebounds) combined for 25 points and eight rebounds in just 30 minutes on Wednesday.
Edey joined his team in Latvia after being one of the final cuts for the Canadian National Team that is going through Olympic qualifying in British Columbia.
Saturday, July 3 (All times Eastern)
- 8 AM – Canada vs. Lithuania
- 10:30 AM – USA vs. Turkey
Sunday, July 4 (All times Eastern)
- 5 AM – Canada vs. Japan
- 1:30 PM – USA vs. Mali
Tuesday, July 6 (All times Eastern)
- 5 AM – Canada vs. Senegal
- 1:30 PM – USA vs. Australia
Edey, a 7-foot, 4-inch center from Toronto, was one of the nation's biggest surprises as a freshman in 2020-21.
He was named to the Big Ten's All-Freshman Team, after averaging 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 59.7 percent from the field, the second-best percentage by a freshman in school history. He also shot 71.4 percent from the free throw line.
He was named to the freshman All-America team by CollegeInsider.com and was twice named Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 30, March 8).
Ivey was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team a year ago and has been mentioned as a preseason All-American for the 2021-22 season. He averaged 11.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game, but over the last six contests averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 37-of-79 (.468) from the field in that span. He scored 26 points against North Texas, the second-most ever by a Big Ten freshman in an NCAA Tournament debut.
Furst, a 6-foot, 10-inch freshman from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and a MaxPreps Honorable Mention All-American after a standout career at Blackhawk Christian. Furst led Blackhawk to the 2021 and 2019 Indiana State Championships, scoring 2,087 career points while becoming the school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He averaged 21.4 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 blocked shots as a senior.