Munford among US picks for Basketball World Cup qualifiers

By: Kevin Holden Twitter

Posted: Jun 25, 2018 10:05 PM CDT

HOUSTON (AP) -- The U.S. has selected 12 players with G League experience to play in its upcoming Basketball World Cup qualifying games.

The Americans visit Mexico on Thursday and Cuba on Sunday in their final two games of the first round. The U.S. is 4-0 under Jeff Van Gundy and has already clinched its spot in the second round.

Van Gundy's roster announced Monday was: Xavier Munford, Amile Jefferson, David Stockton, Alex Caruso, Taylor Braun, Trey McKinney Jones, Reggie Hearn, Jonathan Holmes, Kevin Jones, Nick Johnson, Rashawn Thomas and Marcus Thornton.

This is the first window of games in FIBA's new qualifying system that didn't fall during the season. Some NBA players have joined their national team rosters, but the Americans opted to remain with G Leaguers, as they did in the previous four games.