COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (March 27, 2023) – USA Basketball announced today the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team coaching staffs. Leading 2023 USA Men’s U19 World Cup Team is Tad Boyle (University of Colorado) and he will be assisted by Mike Boynton Jr. (Oklahoma State University) and Leon Rice (Boise State University). At the helm for the 2023 USA Men’s U16 National Team is Sharman White (Pace Academy) alongside assistants Scott Finch (Fairport High School) and Chet Mason (Brush High School).
Coaching selections for the U19 Men’s National Team were made by the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team Committee, and coaching selections for the U16 Men‘s National Team were made by the Men’s Developmental National Team Committee. All selections were approved by the USA Basketball Board of Directors.
Boyle, Boynton and Rice will lead the U.S. in FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup from June 24-July 2 in Debrecen, Hungary. The trio coached the 2022 USA Basketball Men’s U18 Junior National Team to a gold medal at the FIBA U18 Men’s Americas Championship in Tijuana, Mexico, last summer.
Boyle’s time with USA Basketball dates to the 2013 USA Men’s World University Games Team training camp, where he served as a court coach. He was also a member of the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, where the U.S. took home a bronze medal. Additionally, Boyle was an assistant coach for the 2017 Men’s U19 Junior National Team that won bronze in the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Egypt.
Boyle has 17 years of coaching experience, 13 at the University of Colorado. He is the institution's all-time leader in wins coached with 272 and has led Colorado to 11 postseason appearances, including five NCAA Tournament appearances. Boyle is the first coach in school history to lead the program to three-straight NCAA Tournaments in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
“I'm once again honored and humbled to have the opportunity to coach with USA Basketball and this summer with the 19-and-under national team,” Boyle said. “Anytime you have the opportunity to represent your country, it's a responsibility that needs to be taken very seriously, and I'm looking forward to doing that and working with a bunch of great young men.
“I’m very excited to be working with Mike Boynton and Leon Rice for another summer. We had great synergy and chemistry last year as we won the gold medal with the 18-and-under national team. We look forward to the same challenges as we go to Hungary to try and accomplish the same.”
Boynton functioned as a court coach for the 2021 USA Men’s U19 team during training camp in Fort Worth, Texas, before the team won gold at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup. As head coach at Oklahoma State University, Boynton has compiled 107 wins through six seasons.
Rice is the winningest coach in Boise State men’s basketball history, having tallied 10 20-win seasons and eight postseason appearances, including the 2023 NCAA Men’s Tournament, during his 13 years leading the program.
White, Fitch and Mason will sideline the American bench at the FIBA Men’s Americas U16 Championship (date and location to be announced at a later date).
White’s most recent USA Basketball head coaching experience came last summer when he led the U.S. Men’s U17 Junior National Team to the gold medal at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup. That team went 7-0 to win the gold over competition host, Spain. White also led the U.S. to gold at the 2021 FIBA U16 Americas Championship, and was named head coach for the USA at the 2021 Nike Hoop Summit, though the game was not played. White was also recognized as the 2022 USA Basketball Junior National Team Coach of the Year.
“I am looking forward to this year's FIBA U16 Men’s Americas Championship,” White said. “After coming off a successful U17 World Cup last summer, the process of getting back to that tournament starts by qualifying in the U16's. We have a dynamic staff who will assist in putting together another group of players to accomplish the mission this summer. It's always an honor to represent our country in competition and we never take it for granted."
White continues to serve as the head coach at Pace Academy in Atlanta, having recently won his third state championship in the past four years in 2023.
Fitch, the head coach of Fairport High School in New York, will undertake his 15th assignment with USA Basketball. In 2022, Fitch was a member of the staff for the October Junior National Team minicamp and a court coach for the White-led U17 training camp. He was the head coach for the USA at the 2019 Nike Hoop Summit.
Mason’s first USA Basketball coaching experience came as an assistant coach for the U.S. at the 2022 Nike Hoop Summit. He was also on the coaching staff for the 2022 October Junior National Team minicamp. A standout player in college at Miami University, he currently is the head coach at Brush High School in Cleveland.
The U16 trio of coaches will be a part of staff at the USA Men’s Junior National Team minicamp in Houston from March 31-April 2.