University of Connecticut Athletics
Lamb Leads Team USA In Scoring At FIBA U19 World Championship
7/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
July 11, 2011
STORRS, Conn. - Coming off of a national championship season with the Huskies, UConn guard Jeremy Lamb (Norcross, Ga.) again proved his dominance at the FIBA U19 World Championship last two weeks in Latvia. Team USA finished with a 7-2 overall record and Lamb was named to the five-member All-FIBA U19 World Championship Team after leading the U.S. in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game and putting up a total of 146 points overall.
Of those, 35 points came in Tuesday's game against Lithuania, giving Lamb the second-most points ever scored in a game by a member of the United States U19 team. He made 13 of 23 shots in the game, including five of seven three-pointers. He also made the winning shot with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to lead the U.S. to a 107-105 victory.
"Jeremy Lamb was feeling it, and we had to find ways to get him the ball," Creighton forward Doug McDermott said. "And he took over."
Another tournament highlight for Lamb included his game-winner against Australia to put the USA up 78-77 in the game to decide fifth place. While Lamb and his teammates were proud of their effort, he did express some disappointment in finishing fifth.
"It's cool to put all you've got out there for your country," Lamb said. "It's a good feeling, but we came up short so, in a way, you feel like you let your country down. But we worked our hardest which is a good thing."
Lamb, who averaged 11.1 points and 4.5 rebounds as a freshman last season, clearly emerged as a leader throughout the tournament and hopes to carry that role into the fall when he resumes practice with the Huskies.
"People are going to play me tough, and it's going to be a challenge," Lamb explained. "But because of all the work I'm going to put in, I'll get through it."
Lamb averaged 16.2 points per game on 58-percent shooting during UConn's incredible run to the NCAA Championship and was selected to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team.
