Tajuan Porter and the U.S. U-19 national team only lost one game at the World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Too bad it was the gold medal game.
Host nation Serbia took home the gold with a 74-69 victory in the tournament finale. France, who lost to the U.S. in Saturday’s semifinal, won the bronze with a 75-67 victory over Brazil.
The U.S. men rallied from as far as 19 points down to close the gap in the fourth quarter, but a lackluster day from the free-throw line and behind the three-point line sunk their chances. The U.S. went just 11-of-24 on free throws and 6-of-21 behind the arc.
“We obviously lost the game at the free-throw line,” U.S. and DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright said on the USA Basketball Web site. “Yesterday’s game against France was a very difficult game and I think it drained us. We played a little bit tighter today, we just didn’t have the energy we usually have.
“But rather than say anything about what we did, I commend Serbia, their players, their coaches.”
Porter checked into the game for only two minutes Sunday, missing two three-point shots and turning the ball over once on a personal foul. He suffered a similarly uneventful five minutes in the semifinal against France Saturday – no points on 0-of-3 shooting, one rebound and two assists.
Against Argentina on Friday in the quarterfinals, though, Porter was able to show some of his game with some extended minutes. In 14 minutes of play, Porter went 3-of-9 with one three-pointer and three points from the free-throw line to score 10 points. The Oregon sophomore-to-be also earned an assist and grabbed a steal to add to his stat line.
Porter struggled for playing time throughout the tournament, ending up with just 115 minutes in nine games, ninth out of the 12-member U.S. squad. Porter averaged just 5.4 points per game during the tournament and 8.5 during the team’s four exhibition tune-up games leading into the World Championships.
The playing time likely impacted his shooting touch, as Porter averaged just 29 percent from behind the three-point line. Porter’s field-goal percentage of 34.7 percent was lower than the mark he set during Oregon’s 2006-07 season, and his three-point numbers pale in comparison to his 43.7 percent shooting from behind the arc for the Ducks. For the Pacific-10 Conference’s all-time freshman three-point leader and a player who gained national attention during the NCAA Tournament last season for his three-point ability, the performance was subpar.
According to Oregonlive.com, Porter will return to Eugene in August after spending time at home in Michigan, and looks forward to sharing what he’s learned on his national team tour of duty with his teammates.
Notes
Maarty Leunen completed training with the U.S. national team that will compete in the Pan American Games from July 25-29. Training concluded Saturday at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. From there, the team will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, host city for this year’s games, and will take on Argentina, Panama and Uruguay in Group A.
Tajuan Porter’s statistics
U-19 World Championships
9 games played
115 total minutes (12.7 mpg)
17-of-49 field goals (34.7 percent)
9-of-31 three-pointers (29 percent)