The United States clinched its seventh straight U17 World Cup Championship in Istanbul, Turkey over the weekend. But to say they merely took home the gold would be the same as referring to Babe Ruth as a deep ball threat.

The team won all seven of its games by an average of 65.7 points (that is not a misprint). The scored exactly 900 points which provided a scoring average of 128.6 points per game. The also broke the century mark in every game. The event began on June 29 for the Americans, and concluded Sunday with a 129-88 finale over Italy. .

The U.S, U18 squad also won a title earlier in June at the 2024 FIBA Men's U18 AmeriCup in Argentina. The Americans went a perfect 6-0, and was also dominant in its own right winning by an average of 43 points. They title against Argentina on their home turf by a score of 110-70.

Eight players who hold scholarships from the University of North Carolina won gold medals on either of the U17 or U18 teams. A couple were very prominent and dominating against the international competition.

U17 United States Team

A.J. Dybantsa went to Europe widely regarded as the best player that the world of grassroots basketball had to offer. His numbers weren't jaw dropping due to the team's depth, and the margin of victory, but he did show his all-around game, and his ability to be a 6-foot-8 playmaker.

Dybantsa averaged 14.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, and most impressively 4.1 assists. He had six dishes in two of his games. Dybantsa never took more than a dozen shots in any game. He was efficient averaging 58.7% shooting. He also shot 31.8% from deep. Dybantsa has always been almost unstoppable getting to the rim, and this was no different. He made an impressive 73.1% of his two-point tries.

Although Dybantsa has the top-ranking in high school basketball, I have said I don't ever remember a player dominating games as easily as Cameron Boozer. Double-doubles look to be accomplished without as much as even breaking a sweat. He doesn't get outside of his game. He just dominates from 15-feet and in.

Boozer was the most impactful player in Turkey. He had five double-doubles in seven games, and was one rebound shy of a sixth. He averaged 15.7 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. 70 of his 79 shot attempts were of the two-point variety. He made 74.3% of those shots.

Koa Peat and Cameron Boozer made the most major cases for Most Valuable Player in Turkey. Peat averaged 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 20.8 minutes of time per game. He went over the 20 point plateau twice. His high water mark was a 26-point outing in the semis against Italy. He did that despite only taking 13 shots. He made 11. Peat had 19 points in the Championship Game versus Italy.

The five-star power forward was both effective and efficient. He shot shot 62.5% overall, and 65.1% from two-point range. Like Boozer, Peat knows what he does best, and plays to his strengths. He only took five three-pointers out of a combined 83 shots. He scored in double-digits in all seven games, and never scored less than 11 points.

Cayden Boozer is a pure point guard. He can get his points when needed, but when it comes to setting the table, and running the team he is as good as any in the 2025 class. So when you have a deep team averaging well over 100 points you have a point guard's dream.

Boozer had more assists (45) than shots attempted (31) for the tournament. He had nine assists in three games, and at least five in six of the seven contests. Boozer led the team at 6.4 assists per game to go along with 4.9 points, and 2.4 rebounds. He shot 48.4% overall, and 25% from three-point range.

Tyran Stokes has made a major statement for the top spot in the 2026 class. He did nothing to hurt that standing in Turkey. Stokes did everything well in 18 minutes of play per game. He ended up averaging 12.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. He had two-double-doubles. His ability to pass the ball might have been the most impressive factor for such a big, strong bodied player. He had 10 assists against China, and eight versus New Zealand. Stokes also had games in which he had at least 10 points, rebounds, and assists.

His best scoring outing was 17 points against Italy in 20 minutes. He finished with double digit scoring numbers in five of seven games. Stokes shot 67.4% from two-point range, and 28.6% from deep.

U18 United States Team

Despite being a consensus top-10 player in the 2025 class, Nate Ament played less than 10 minutes per game on this older roster. His best showing was 11 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in 23 minutes against Belize. He averaged 3.7 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 0.5 assists during his time in Argentina. He shot 55.6% from two-point range, and 25% from deep.

Jasper Johnson got more playing time than Ament logging 16 minutes per game. The five-star point guard played his best when it mattered. He scored 19 points in the championship game against the home Argentina team. He buried any hopes the locals might have had with four made three-pointers. Johnson also added 11 points against Canada in the semi-finals. He also had three assists in each game.

Johnson averaged 10 points, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 rebounds per game. He made 63.2% of his two-pointers, and led the U18 team in three-point shooting at 42.3%. He finished second in the event only behind Josiah Moseley of Belize.

Nikolas Khamenia was solid in Argentina. He averaged 7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. He did display his specialty as a three-point sniper. He had a higher shooting percentage from deep (38.5%) than inside the arc (35.7%). It is also safe to say that his numbers need to improve from shorter range. Khamenia had 11 points games against Argentina and Brazil. He also rebounded well. Khamenia had three separate games in which he grabbed eight boards.