Jackson Set to Attend 2021 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team Training Camp

PULLMAN, Wash. – Rising sophomore Dishon Jackson has garnered an invitation to attend the 2021 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Cup Team training camp June 20-27 on the campus of TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. Jackson is one of 27 invitees to the training camp as Team USA, coached by TCU's Jamie Dixon. Athletes eligible for the team must be U.S. citizens, born on or after Jan. 1, 2002, and will compete in hopes of being named to the 12-member team that will represent the USA at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup in Riga, Latvia July 3-11

Jackson looks to join Coug greats Klay Thompson (2009) and DeAngelo Casto (2009) as young Cougars to represent the USA at the U19 competition

"It means a lot, just being able to suit up in the USA jersey is an honor," said Jackson. "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. I am very grateful for the opportunity."

The youngest player on the Cougars roster at barely over 18 years old, Jackson proved himself one of the best young bigs in the Pac-12 in his first year of collegiate basketball earning Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorable Mention honors at the end of the 2020-21 season. Despite getting a late start to his freshman season, Jackson quickly established himself as a reliable presence for the Cougs pushing himself into the starting five Jan. 2 against Arizona and cementing himself as a threat on both ends of the court.

Playing against some of the elite interior talents in the country, Jackson averaged 7.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 blocks per game in Pac-12 play including recording career scoring nights of 14 points on the road and 18 points at home against U19 Team USA alum and projected top-3 pick Evan Mobley of USC. Defensively, Jackson finished his inaugural season tied for sixth on the WSU freshman top-10 list for blocks posting with 22 total blocks while his 0.92 bpg ranks fifth.

On the list for training camp are 17 who played for NCAA Division I programs this past season and 10 who will be collegiate freshmen in the fall. The 27 athletes expected to attend the U19 training camp are: Devin Askew (Texas/Santa Ana, Calif.); Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Hamilton H.S./Sussex, Wis.); Kendall Brown (Sunrise Christian Academy /Cottage Grove, Minn.); Kennedy Chandler (Sunrise Christian Academy/Memphis, Tenn.); Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin/La Crosse, Wis.); Derek Fountain (Mississippi State/Holly Springs, Miss.); Caleb Furst (Blackhawk Christian School/Fort Wayne, Ind.); Jordan Hall (Texas A&M/Wildwood, N.J.); Chet Holmgren (Minnehaha Academy/Minneapolis, Minn.); Harrison Ingram (St. Mark's School/Dallas, Texas); Jaden Ivey (Purdue /South Bend, Ind.); Dishon Jackson (Washington State/Vallejo, Calif.); Meechie Johnson (Ohio State/Cleveland, Ohio); Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton/St. Louis, Mo.); Trey Kaufman (Silver Creek H.S. /Sellersburg, Ind.); Zed Key (Ohio State/Bay Shore, N.Y.); Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech/Port Arthur, Texas); Langston Love (Steele H.S. /Cibolo, Texas); Mike Miles (Texas Christian/Lancaster, Texas); Adam Miller (Louisiana State/Chicago, Ill.); Trey Patterson (Villanova /Somerset, N.J.); Hunter Sallis (Millard North H.S./Omaha, Neb.); Deivon Smith (Georgia Tech/Loganville, Ga.); Dalen Terry (Arizona/Tempe, Ariz.); Jabari Walker (Colorado/Inglewood, Calif.); Peyton Watson (UCLA /Long Beach, Calif.); and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas/Fort Smith, Ark.).

"Aside from the Olympics and World Cups, the FIBA U19 World Cup is the most challenging competition on the international calendar, and it will take a team of dedicated, selfless individuals to go to Latvia and try to win gold," said Matt Painter, chair of the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee and Purdue University head coach. "The committee feels we have a strong group of players coming into camp in June in hopes of securing a spot on the U19 team, and I'm looking forward to watching them fight to be a part of this USA Basketball team."

Featuring U19 teams from 16 nations, the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup is scheduled to be held July 3-11 in Riga and Daugavpils, Latvia. In addition to the USA and host Latvia, teams that will take part in this summer's U19 World Cup include Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, France, Japan, Lithuania, Mali, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Serbia, South Korea, Spain and Turkey.

The USA was drawn into Group D, alongside Australia, Mali and Turkey for the July 3-6 FIBA U19 World Cup preliminary round. The USA will open play against Turkey on July 3, followed by Mali on July 4 and close preliminary play against Australia on July 6.

Reigning FIBA U19 World Cup gold medalist, USA men's teams have won seven gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal while compiling an 98-14 overall record in U19 World Cup play since the event was launched in 1979. Even more impressive, the USA has won four of the past six U19 golds since 2009.

In addition to Painter, the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee also includes Shane Battier, athlete representative, University of Virginia head coach Tony Bennett; Providence College head coach Ed Cooley and Sean Miller, 2015 U19 World Cup gold medalist head coach.