Javon Bardwell, a five-star prospect in the class of 2027 who committed to KU back in October, has impressed overseas of late.
Playing for a 3SSB Select squad as part of the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy, Bardwell earned a spot on the event’s all-tournament team.
The 6-foot-6 wing began with 11 points and eight rebounds in an 81-66 loss to Eurocamp 1 on Friday, although committed seven turnovers in the process. Bardwell turned in his standout performance, however, on Saturday in an 89-83 victory over Next Gen, scoring 25 points on 11-for-19 shooting (including 3-for-7 from deep) with seven boards, six of which were offensive. He led all players in scoring, as well as in playing time (32 minutes).
Bardwell did not play in 3SSB Select’s third and final game on Sunday, a 93-76 victory over Team World.
Eric Bossi of 247Sports wrote the following of Bardwell after his Saturday showing: “An elite athlete, Bardwell was in all-out attack mode on both ends of the floor. He attacked the rim, shot jumpers, raced out in transition and then seemed to be all over the place defensively and on the glass. While his jumper can be a bit inconsistent, his ability to play above the rim and get to his spots in a hurry is a constant.
“Long term, we are talking about a guy who has absolutely elite defensive potential — especially when he shows up with a hyper competitive attitude like he did Saturday.”
Bardwell, who is originally from Harlem, New York, and has played high school basketball in Arizona, currently participates in Overtime Elite, where he averaged 17.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season.
KINNEY SETTLES FOR SILVER
Future Kansas point guard Taylen Kinney — Bardwell’s former OTE teammate — and the United States under-18 men’s national team had to settle for a silver medal in the AmeriCup after losing 67-65 to Canada on Sunday in Leon, Mexico.
It was the first-ever gold medal in the event for the Canadians, whose Deng Ngor hit a 3-pointer to tie and a go-ahead transition dunk late. Kinney got called for a charge trying to drive in against Settimo Yugu with 6.1 seconds remaining. Yugu missed a pair of free throws, but Quentin Coleman’s last-ditch attempt at a game-winning shot was off at the buzzer.
Kinney finished with 10 points, including two 3s. The Newport, Kentucky, native previously had six points and five assists in an 88-58 win over Argentina on June 1, 12 points and four assists in a 107-50 victory over Mexico on June 2 and three points on 0-for-6 shooting in an 84-62 win over Brazil on Thursday in the group stage.
The Americans beat the Brazilians again, 102-56, in a semifinal matchup on Saturday, with Kinney adding six points and five assists again, before the United States fell in the finals.
Among the country’s 14 medals in the under-18 AmeriCup, it was just the second silver and third non-gold overall.
Kinney was one of 12 participants selected for the youth team from a 32-player field that participated in a camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in late May.
“My experiences are that it’s very helpful,” KU coach Bill Self said of Kinney’s international experience, speaking on June 1 prior to the AmeriCup. “He’ll have a chance to run a team, do it a different way than what we’ll do it, but have to adjust on the fly and everything. It’ll be good.”
Kinney will now join his fellow Jayhawks on campus for summer workouts.
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