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Georgia Tech Basketball: Okogie leads Team USA U19 to win over Angola

By Blake Silvers

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 07: A general view of the tipoff of the Louisville Cardinals' basketball game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the game at Hank McCamish Pavilion on January 7, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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The FIBA World Championship basketball tournament tipped off last week. USA’s 19-years-old and younger team is 2-0 so far, and with a lot of help from a Yellow Jacket.

Georgia Tech rising sophomore guard Josh Okogie has seen considerable playing time through the first two games for USA Basketball’s U19 squad, and led the team in scoring Sunday.

Okogie’s 17 points were a team best in USA’s win over Angola in the second game of the World Championships. He also had double-digit rebounds in the game with 10.

Team USA beat Iran 108-48 in their FIBA U19 World Cup opener on Saturday, and then took down Angola 109-68 in game two on Sunday. Both games were played in Cairo, Egypt.

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Okogie saw 16 minutes of playing time in game one, going 1-for-2 with two points and three rebounds for the United States. The Snellville, Georgia native played for 20 minutes on Sunday, hitting 6-of-12 shots. His 17 points led USA, and his 10 rebounds were only second to Austin Wiley’s 16 boards.

The FIBA U19 tournament was first held in 1979 as the FIBA Junior World Championship and is now held every two years.

Team USA’s U19 teams have won gold six times and silver three times in the tournament’s history, including gold in the last two (2013, 2015). The team will have an opportunity to make it three consecutive gold medals with a win this year.

A major part of Georgia Tech’s success under a new head coach Josh Pastner this past season, Okogie is playing for his coach’s mentor in John Calipari as part of Team USA’s U19. Pastner was an assistant coach under Calipari, and eventually his replacement at Memphis prior to leaving for Atlanta last season.

Okogie and Team USA U19 will take on Italy at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday morning, representing their nation internationally on Independence Day.