USA BASKETBALL HISTORY
USA MEN’S U19 WORLD CUP TEAM 1979 RESULTS
SALVADOR, BRAZIL • AUGUST 15-25, 1979
The inaugural FIBA Junior World Championship was a resounding success for the young Americans. Led by coach Gary Cook, a talented USA team breezed past the competition and posted a perfect 8-0 record to capture the gold medal. The U.S. roster was filled with relative unknowns who would go on to make names for themselves in the college and NBA ranks. Players such as James Worthy, Eric ‘Sleepy’ Floyd, Sam Perkins and Lafayette ‘Fat’ Lever were just some the future superstars who wore the red, white and blue in 1979. The U.S. men were awarded a 2-0 forfeit over Panama to open the competition when Panama failed to arrive at the tournament in time for the opening game. The U.S. ,in its first taste of competition, handed Argentina a 98-61 loss. Canada was next to fall as the Americans crashed through the 100-point barrier en route to a 105-59 victory, and a 128-38 lopsided win over Egypt pushed the USA’s record to 4-0. The U.S. team broke a backboard during the warm-up prior to the start of its game against the USSR, causing a short delay, but the delay did nothing to halt the USA’s momentum as it posted an impressive 94-78 win over the Soviet Union to finish 5-0 after preliminary pool play. Playing aggressive defense and behind Worthy’s 28 points and 23 from Floyd, the U.S. cruised to a 134-77 win over Italy in the opening game of championship-round play, and one day later, Worthy scored 27 in a 99-74 rout of Yugoslavia. Facing host Brazil in the championship game, a standing-room crowd estimated at 11,000 cheered their team on, but the Americans had too many scorers. Taking command early, the U.S. led comfortably at half, 41-22, and went on to record an impressive 75-55 win to earn the gold. The U.S. was paced by Floyd’s 17 points, while Worthy added 12 and Scott Hastings tossed in 10 points.
1979 USA U19 WORLD CUP TEAM ROSTER
1979 USA RESULTS (8-0)
NAME
POS HGT WGT AGE SCHOOL
HOMETOWN
Panama
W, 2-0 (forfeit)
Argentina
W, 98-61 W, 105-59 W, 128-38 W, 94-78 W, 134-77 W, 99-74 W, 75-55
Matt Clark Darren Daye
G G G F C G
6-2 6-6 6-3 6-9 6-2 6-9 6-7 6-11 6-10
190 178 180 185 208 170 200 200 215 223 195 210
18 18 19 18 19 19 18 19 19 19 18 18
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma City, OK Granada Hills, CA West Des Moines, IA Independence, KS Gastonia, NC
Canada
UCLA
Eric Floyd
Georgetown
Egypt
Bob Hansen Scott Hastings Lafayette Lever Sam Perkins Randy Reed Fred Roberts Terry White Maurice Williams James Worthy
Iowa
Soviet Union
Arkansas
Italy
Arizona State Shaker H.S.
Tucson, AZ
Yugoslavia
F F
Watervliet, NY St. Louis, MO Riverton, UT Los Angeles, CA Gastonia, NC El Paso, TX
Forrest Park Jr College
Brazil
C F F F
Brigham Young Texas-El Paso
6-9 6-6 6-9
Southern California
FINAL STANDINGS
Ashbrook H.S.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
United States (8-0)
HEAD COACH: Gary Cook, Barrington High School (IL) ASSISTANT COACH: Jim Rosenstihl, Lebanon High School (IN) MANAGER: Royce Youree, Phoenix East High School (AZ) ATHLETIC TRAINER: Gene Castrovillo, Alfred University (NY) CHIEF OF MISSION: Dave Rowlands, Truman Community College (IL)
Brazil (5-3)
Argentina (6-2) Yugoslavia (5-3) Soviet Union (4-4)
Italy (4-4)
Canada (4-4) Uruguay (4-4)
1979 USA U19 WORLD CUP TEAM CUMULATIVE STATISTICS
9. Australia (4-4) 10. Philippines (2-6) 11. Panama (2-6) 12. Egypt (0-8)
NAME
G/S
FGM-A
PCT
FTM-A
PCT
REB
PTS
Eric Floyd Terry White Sam Perkins James Worthy Darren Daye Fred Roberts Bob Hansen Randy Reed
7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6
113/ 16.1 73/ 10.4 70/ 10.0
Scott Hastings 7
69/ 9.9 69/ 9.9 60/ 8.6 57/ 8.1 47/ 7.8 47/ 7.8 47/ 6.7 39/ 6.5 42/ 6.0
Lafayette Lever 7
Matt Clark
6
Maurice Williams 7
USA TOTALS OPP. TOTALS
7 7
733/ 104.7 442/ 63.1
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