The CU Buffs’ basketball team will have some major representation on the international stage this summer, as star 2023 recruit Cody Williams has been named to the Team USA roster for the 2023 U19 FIBA World Cup.
With Tad Boyle operating as the head coach for Team USA’s U19 squad, Williams will now have the added benefit of getting a lot of additional offseason work in with his new collegiate head coach, and he should find himself in a starring role for the national team too.
Not only did Williams get to join his CU Buffs head coach on the roster, but he’s also likely penciled in for a large role, considering what he brings to the team.
The USA’s U19 group is loaded with talent, but it boasts very little size. Despite being ‘just’ 6-foot-8, Cody Williams is one inch away from being the team’s tallest player, and is in a crop of just four Team USA players to stand taller than 6-foot-7. As a result, Coach Boyle will likely have to lean heavily on the newest member of the CU Buffs and the size he possesses.
Now, what the US is lacking in size they make up for in positional versatility and the ability to switch on defense with ease, without giving up any glaring matchup disadvantages. Gaining that experience on an international stage should translate beautifully to the college game for Williams, who will have to embrace many of the same concepts and philosophies with a Colorado Buffaloes team that’s hoping to hit the ground running.
It should also be noted that the placement of Coach Boyle and Cody Williams on the national roster could help the CU Buffs’ recruiting efforts. Both of the nation’s top-two non-committed basketball prospects are on the Team USA roster that Boyle will coaching, so it’s very possible that Boulder could land another white whale, just one year after nabbing Williams.
Team USA is now set to travel to Hungary, where they’ll compete in group play, before hopefully advancing to the knockout stage. In group play, the US will face Madagascar on June 24th, a Luka-less Slovenia on June 25th, and then will close things out with Lebanon on June 27th.
