Gonzaga duo of Chet Holmgren and Hunter Sallis, Washington State’s Dishon Jackson earn Team USA U19 camp invites

June 3, 2021 Updated Thu., June 3, 2021 at 10:05 p.m.

Guard Hunter Sallis commits to Gonzaga during a news conference at Millard North High School in Omaha, Nebraska, in March. (Omaha World-Journal)

By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com (509) 459-5585

Gonzaga incoming freshmen Chet Holmgren and Hunter Sallis and Washington State sophomore Dishon Jackson have accepted invitations to Team USA’s U19 World Cup team training camp.

They’re among 27 who will compete from June 20-22 at Texas Christian University for spots on the 12-player roster. The U.S. team will compete at the FIBA U19 World Cup from July 3-11 in Riga, Latvia.

TCU’s Jamie Dixon is the head coach. Stanford’s Jerod Haase and Yale’s James Jones are assistant coaches. Seventeen of the 27 players have Division I experience and 10 will be freshmen this fall.

Holmgren and Sallis were named to the McDonald’s All-American game and USA Nike Hoop Summit rosters, but the events weren’t held due to COVID-19. Holmgren and Sallis are among 12 who have participated in at least one U.S. junior national team minicamp.

The 7-foot-1 Holmgren is No. 1 in the 2021 class, according to 247sports’ composite rankings. The 6-4 Sallis, No. 6 when he committed to Gonzaga in March, is currently No. 18.

Holmgren has earned four prep player of the year awards (Naismith, Morgan Wootten, Sports Illustrated and MaxPreps). He played on four Minnesota state championship teams at Minnehaha Academy.

Sallis led Millard North High (Omaha, Nebraska) to the program’s first state championship. He’s the first five-star recruit in Nebraska history.

Former Zag Jalen Suggs played on the U.S. team that won gold at the 2019 World Cup. GU junior forward Anton Watson was among 18 finalists but didn’t make the 12-player roster in 2019.

Jackson, a 6-10 forward, averaged 7.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in conference games to earn Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention. He blocked 22 shots, sixth among freshmen in program history.

Jackson is bidding to join Klay Thompson (2009) and DeAngelo Casto (2009) as Cougars to play for the U.S. at the U19 competition.

“It means a lot, just being able to suit up in the USA jersey is an honor,” Jackson said. “Two years ago I had torn my meniscus when I thought I was going to get invited to the U16 team. That changed everything, and to see that two years later all the hard work and dedication that I have put into the game of basketball has paid off and to be getting this invite is huge for me.”