MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – In March, RMU guard Ryan Prather Jr. led the RMU Men's Basketball program to its first-ever Horizon League championship, punching the Colonials' ticket to the NCAA Tournament. This past Sunday, Prather and the Team USA 3x3 Nations League Team punched their ticket to the FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup after finishing first in the 14-game event.
The Americans finished with a record of 12-2, securing first place in four of the six three-team mini-tournaments. Team USA accumulated 560 tournament points, 100 points ahead of second-place Canada.
Prather averaged 6.0 points per game and recorded a personal-best 12 points in USA's 22-13 win over Canada in Stop 2.
"The overall experience was a blessing, it was great experiencing a new country, with new coaches and teammates and different people as well as representing the United States was a tremendous feeling," said Prather. "Being a member of Team USA was amazing because we were playing for our country across our chest which felt surreal. I give all the glory and credit to God who made it all happen. Just putting on that jersey makes you want to play hard every single possession because you want to represent your country well and show them what the US brings to the table."
Pather added, "The new relationships I built with my coaches and teammates were amazing because we all trusted in each other which made our bond even stronger. Everything we did was together - no matter if we were eating dinner or hanging out, we were with each other a lot which helped us form that connection and bond .That helped us tremendously on the court and I loved getting coached by those guys and I loved playing with those guys. Everyone knew the goal we were chasing and we all wanted to win every game."
Next up for Team USA is the FIBA 3x3 U23 World Cup, scheduled for September 17-21 in Xiong An, China.
Launched in 2017, the FIBA 3x3 Nations League features two age groups – U23 and U21 – with dozens of national federations competing in designated conferences with the goal of reaching the FIBA 3x3 Nations League Final. Each conference has six one-day events which includes daily pool play and a final. Teams earn tour standing points after each one-day event. The best-ranked team in the standings after the sixth day are declared winners of their conference and qualify for the Final.
