'Hoop dreams': Worcester's Amir Jenkins selected to USA men's U18 team for FIBA World Cup

WORCESTER — Amir Jenkins has been on the move over the past five months.

And he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

After helping North High win its second straight Division 1 state championship in March, transferring to Worcester Academy in April and elevating his game on the AAU circuit this summer, the 17-year-old from Worcester now finds himself hooping overseas.

All while representing his country on the hardwood.

Jenkins was recently selected to play on the USA Basketball men’s U18 3X3 team in the FIBA World Cup. Jenkins and his three other US teammates will begin pool play on Monday when they face teams from Egypt and Spain in Debrecen, Hungary.

“It means a lot to me and my family, and I think it means a lot to my city,” Jenkins told the T&G Thursday after a scrimmage in Germany. “It’s a great opportunity and I think it’s just the beginning.”

“You just don’t expect it,” added his father, Tishaun. “Hoop dreams.”

The 3-on-3 FIBA games are played on a half court with a 10-minute game clock and 12-second shot clock. Play is continuous, as teams will “clear” the ball behind the “2-point line” following a made basket, rebound or steal. The first team to score 21 points (either via 1-point field goals or 2-point baskets from beyond the arc) or lead when time expires will win the game.

“Three-on-3 is extremely fast paced,” said Todd Monsey, the head coach of the 2024 3x3 U18 National Teams. “So, what you’re going to see is quick scoring, quick decision making, and you can’t take your eyes off of it because if you do, you’re going to miss something.”

This past winter, Jenkins averaged 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.5 steals per game during North High’s historic season. The 6-foot-2, 167-pound point guard helped the Polar Bears go 24-0 and repeat as Div. 1 state champions.

Jenkins scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over Franklin in the state final before being named a T&G Hometeam Super Teamer and the MaxPreps Massachusetts Player of the Year.

“His quickness and his ability with the basketball is really special. It certainly stands out,” said Monsey, who met Jenkins two summers ago at a USA Basketball event. “But something that you may not always see is how intelligent he is and how he communicates with his teammates.”

Following a successful spring campaign with his Boston Amateur Basketball Club (BABC) 2026 team, which helped him garner Division I offers from University at Albany, Bryant University, George Washington University and Providence College, Jenkins joins a USA men’s team that returns to the 3x3 U18 stage after missing the competition last year. According to their website, the US men’s squad won a pair of U18 gold medals in 2021 and 2019.

Following pool play early next week, the top teams from each of the four five-team pools will move on to the tournament quarterfinals. The 2024 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup will stream live on the FIBA 3x3 YouTube Channel.

For Jenkins, taking his basketball talents overseas is just the latest move in a whirlwind of a year for the rising junior at Worcester Academy.

“It’s been life changing and great,” Jenkins said. “I’m very blessed.”

“We’re just excited to see how he does competing for a gold medal,” his father said. “It’s gratifying ... (We) get to see Worcester, Mass. under our man’s name.”

—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'Hoop dreams': Worcester's Amir Jenkins selected to USA men's U18 team for FIBA World Cup