Arizona basketball signee Aaron Gordon was named most valuable player at the U19 World Championships after leading Team USA to the title in Prague, Czech Republic, on Sunday.
The Americans defeated Serbia 82-68 to win only their third title in the last eight U19 championships.
Gordon, a 6-foot-8 forward who was a five-star recruit, had six points and six rebounds in the championship game.
"I was surprised when I was named all-tournament, and once I got all-tournament, I thought, 'Hey, maybe I can get MVP too here,' and then they said my name," Gordon said. "I really didn’t even hear them say my name at first -- I had to ask my teammates. But I’m very honored."
Gordon, who attended Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, Calif., averaged a team-high 12.6 points and 6.2 rebounds a game to go along with 2.0 steals a game while shooting 61.2 percent from the field. Team USA finished 9-0.
Team USA and Florida coach Billy Donovan said in a statement, "I feel very, very honored my country asked me to coach this team. I think USA Basketball could have picked a lot of coaches who would have done a wonderful job.
"I thought the thing that changed our team was we had a great group coming back from last year (2012 USA U18 Championship Team) that had some experience, and I think the adding of Nigel (Williams-Goss), Gordon, (Jahlil) Okafor, Justise Winslow, those guys being a little bit younger so to speak, added a different element to our team. It was a special team, and I just feel honored that I could be a part of it."
